Date: 2012-02-13
To: The Lost Art of...
Miles today: 0.0

Boredom.Or rather, how to handle it. I've no doubt that a thru-hike (or even a section hike) of the AT must involve some amount of boredom. From what I've read, parts of Virginia lend themselves to this stimulation stagnation and others claim Pennsylvania inspires the blahs, but I suspect that nearly any part of a non-trivial hike is susceptible to boredom given the right conditions. One only has to imagine days of a steady routine (wake up, hike, go to bed) coupled with rainy weather (limiting one's ability to get the full effect of many of the vistas) and bland food, lack of hiking companions, etc. to see that boredom is likely at some point in time.The idea that perhaps we are for the most part less able than generations before us to tolerate and manage boredom was put into my head via a snippet from an interview I read of an artist. Her point wasn't the expected knee-jerk quip that we are bombarded with radio, TV, film, the Internet, video games, etc. to the degree that we don't have the space to get bored, but rather when we do get bored we simply turn from what is not longer interesting to something else, avoiding as quickly as possible the opportunity to get bored. As a result, we have very little experience in how to deal with boredom.A recent thread on Whiteblaze (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?38465-Getting-Off) asked the question, Why did you get off the trail/quit your hike? Of the many common answers (injury, lack of money, didn't meet expectations, etc.) the one that struck me most was "I wasn't having fun anymore." In many cases, the respondent pointed out they were tired of being uncomfortable (you can only be cold and/or wet and/or tired & sore for so long before it just becomes miserable). But, nearly as often the respondent pointed out that they had seen enough vistas, mountain tops, trees, etc. and seeing more just wasn't going to do anything for them.They were bored.And, there's nothing wrong with that. Hike your own hike -- if you've gotten from only half your planned hike all the vistas and views and wildlife sightings and nights of camping that you can stand or need, no one says you have to subject yourself to ever more. You're sated, so it's time to move on and find another challenge or interest.But I have to ask the question -- more for my own interests than anything greater -- how do we manage the boredom? That's a completely different question than "How do we eliminate the boredom." I know many hikers will do like I do: bring an iPod to occupy the mind while trudging on. (In fact, I've bought a few albums and audio books I refuse to listen to until I'm actually on the trail and need some mental stimulation.) For others, it'll be a book or a journal or their camera or a sketch pad. But, these are all tools to reduce or eliminate boredom.What I want to know is how one actually endures boredom. That is, let the boredom take root -- don't shove it away with an iPod or idle conversation -- and simply stew within it. I'm not sure many of us have the discipline or skills anymore to simply endure boredom.Going back to the artist's observation that we aren't equipped to handle boredom (though we are equipped to eliminate it), I think to what it must've been like for early settlers creeping across the plains in their Conestoga wagons. No satellite radios, no iPods, no seat-mounted monitors and DVD players, heck -- many couldn't even read, so books were out of the question -- and I'm pretty sure any kid that started "Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall" would've been tossed out of the wagon by -- oh, let's say -- Arkansas. So, they knew boredom and to a degree that most people today will never know. "Oh look, another scrub oak. Grass, grass, grass, grass, scrub oak, grass, grass, grass..."So, one of the things I'm [perversely] looking forward to on my hike is seeing how I handle boredom. PUDS, early nights at camp, trees, trees, and more trees -- I'm pretty sure that at one point or another, I will get bored even if only for a few hours or so. Will I reach for my iPod, will I dig around in my snacks and find yet another way to combine GORP, jerky, tortillas, peanut butter, and Clif Bars into the ultimate conglomerated trail snack, will I start yakking maniacally to the next hiker I encounter? Or, will I simply let the boredom envelope me and see what it takes to stay sane and keep my attitude up?Much like most people today don't know how to start a fire, pick a campsite, identify common birds or trees, or get from Point A to Point B using anything other than a car, accepting and handling boredom is a lost skill.It's time to brush up.