[at-l] Earl Shaffer's hike

[Jim Bullard]

And the anal retentive crowd will have one more thing to feel self-righteous
about.

I for one have never believed it was about honoring a bunch of paint marks
on trees, rather it was "*To see. And to see what you see*". The trail is a
path *through *the woods along the Appalachian Mountain chain. It isn't
about itself. It's about the the woods and the mountains that it traverses.
Hiking it is a ritual or pilgrimage, not unlike the rituals of religion,
meant to lead the participant to a larger, transcendent experience. The path
or ritual takes you to the emotional and spiritual space where you can be
open to and experience that transcendence, but if you get trapped in the
physical ritual, you will miss the transcendence.

Jim Bullard
http://jims-ramblings.blogspot.com/
http://members.photoportfolios.net/Jim_Bullard
http://jimbullard.zenfolio.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/jim.bullard


On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 11:26 AM, Warren Doyle <warrendance at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> I imagine the majority of AT fans will now redefine the definition of a
> thru-hike so it is watered down to hiking Most of the AT so they can
> rationalize their firm belief that Earl was the one.
> --
> Warren Doyle
> www.warrendoyle.com
> Founder/Co-Director - Appalachian Folk School
>                                        ContraBlossom
> 423-341-1843 (cell)
>
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