[at-l] Why Walk 1,000 Miles?

[Raphael Bustin]

At 07:20 PM 10/29/2006 -0500, Jan Leitschuh wrote:

>Hi Rafe,
>
>Yes, that was perhaps a bit cynical, but forgivable given current affairs.
>Or maybe her references to God put you off, though the lady was not of any 
>particular religion.
>
>However, did you read further in the website?

<snip>

My reaction was a bit flip and provocative.  No, I
didn't check out the website or pursue it further.

I've read dozens if not hundreds of hiker journals and
diaries.  Many or most are filled with similar thoughts
and sentiments, and for sure I have felt many of them
at one time or another.  It's why I hike.  Or at least one
of the reasons.  Hey, I "preached" a sermon on the
A.T. to my Unitarian congregation last June, so
who am I to talk?  I used the term "spiritual health"
even though I'm a devout atheist.

What I'm reacting to is the missionary zeal.  Plus,
the very term "inner peace" invokes a gag reflex.
It's not that I don't seek it or want it -- it's the idea
that someone else can show me how to find it.

Are you familiar with the Grateful Dead's song
"Estimated Prophet?  It's a reaction to the same
sort of zeal that I was sensing from the description
of "Peace Pilgrim" -- and which I've sensed from
other hikers who (IMO) take themselves way too
seriously. Here's a link to the lyrics...

<http://arts.ucsc.edu/Gdead/AGDL/estimate.html>

It's pretty harmless stuff, not like I'm offended
or outraged.  Mostly, I just rolled my eyes.  But
like I said -- the very *absence* of that zeal was
one of the things I enjoyed in AWITW and which
sets that particular journal apart from most others.


rafe b
aka terrapin


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