Unpacked: Rewards of Repetition

[Mark Wetherington]

Companion forum thread to: Unpacked: Rewards of Repetition

Greek philosophy says you can’t step in the same river twice, but what about backpacking the same trail?

[Jenny A]

Ah, interesting thoughts.  Every year I try to fish one or two new lakes, here in Colorado or elsewhere.  As satisfying as that is, it is enjoyable to return to special places.  They are the same, but they are not:  the light is different, the animals might be different, the weather is rarely the same, the fish might be taking different lures or flies, and I am different.  Same places, new things to be learned and experienced.

Sometimes having previous knowledge of a destination frees the mind and senses to appreciate it on a different level.

[Mark Wetherington]

Sometimes having previous knowledge of a destination frees the mind and senses to appreciate it on a different level.

You were able to accomplish in a single sentence what I was trying to put my finger on that entire essay! For me, familiarity with a landscape seems to allow me to experience it more richly rather than being bored by it.

[SIMULACRA]

To me, wandering familiar trails is like getting to know someone better. I end up finding myself traveling deeper into the off trail areas and exploring the mental notes kept of things I couldn’t get to the last time

[Michael B]

I see the hiking as the main joy, similar to running or cycling regular routes. I enjoy the sites, but usually the activity and the cameraderie are what do it for me (I’m usually not alone when hiking). A good trail is too good to only do once.

[Tom K]

I’ve been engaged in this approach to my special area for 47 years and counting, and have never become bored.  Each year I return at least once, sometimes with a companion, sometimes solo, on trail and off, spring, summer, and fall.  With each trip the line between me and that unique ecosystem  has become more and more blurred, to the point where I feel myself to be a part of it all, and it a part of me.   As I posted in a similar thread recently, I see the relationship as analogous to getting to know one woman really well through years spent together, as opposed to a series of one night stands.  Both have their advocates, but this is what has worked for me.

[Rex Sanders]

Mark, thanks for writing this.

I also like returning to the same area again and again. I’ve learned to appreciate the previously un-noticed, or the changes since last time or in a different season, or the familiarity the lets me relax and observe and mind-wander more. And I can mix it up a little by camping in different spots, or taking alternate routes.

On the other hand, I have a list of trips in new places I hope to get to … someday. Plus there’s a peculiar part of human nature where the dreams can exceed the reality, and sometimes we cling to the dreams rather than risking messy reality.

Some of my favorite places are not that “spectacular.” I find it odd when someone says “such-and-such is so much better.” I guess it depends on what you are seeking.

Over the years, a few of those areas got “discovered,” which is happening far more frequently thanks to social media. Sometimes I move my trips to less desirable times, or give up on the locale entirely. That can make me sad, but it also spurs me to try new, hopefully more obscure areas.

And many of my return-to places were swept by wildfire in 2020. Will be even more interesting when I return, which might not be for several years in some locations.

— Rex

[Michael B]

Thankfully most people are unwilling to hike in more than a few miles, and by and large the ones I meet when hiking further in than a few miles are people I don’t mind camping near (for the most part). Just another new experience even if it is in a familiar place.

[J David Sullivan]

As I move past three quarters of a century in age, I have found safety in hiking familiar trails hiked on older legs. I never tire of seeing the changing seasons in familiar woods, and I always see things I haven’t seen before. I generally hike alone and there is a comfort in knowing where the slippery roots are located on the trails. Each time I return from days in the woods, I generally think, next time through here I need to spend more time listening to the owls and the coyotes and seeing which trees have fallen since the last storm. This past trip, the coyotes weren’t as vocal. Was it a rough winter?

[Elph Morgan]

I’m also a fan of familiarity = deeper experience. 

I like putting time into the equation and have a favorite backcountry spot that I visit at the same time in early spring. Seeing it year after year at the same date is particularly gratifying.

And, of course, new places are great too!

[Mark Wetherington]

I like putting time into the equation and have a favorite backcountry spot that I visit at the same time in early spring. Seeing it year after year at the same date is particularly gratifying.

I do this as well, there are several places that I find to be particularly idyllic at certain times of the year and it’s nice to visit them around the same time multiple years in a row. I also enjoy visiting the same place at different times of year as well and seeing how different it can look.

[Geoff Caplan]

In Europe we’re usually walking above the treeline with expansive views and skyscapes.

And much of the magic is climbing into this ever-changing light.

Here in the Lake District we enjoy great sweeps of peaks and crags and waterfalls and tarns and lakes and rivers and woods and sea and islands – each reacting in their own way as the light changes.

We see them on cloudless days and on cloudy days, in rain, snow and storm, at dawn and at sunset and in moonlight. We watch the shadows of towering showers sweeping across the moors and sudden shafts of sunlight picking out a distant tarn.

Enjoy a walk a hundred times or a thousand times and it will never be the same. It’s familiar but different, and the relationship only deepens with repetition.

We live on a wonderful planet. Let’s hope we get better at looking after it…

[Ian H]

Repetition is great for that last-minute call, “It’s 3pm on a Saturday, weather’s good, I have no plans but work at 8am Monday”. Last month did just that, carrying an injury, a bit slower than last time so realised I wasn’t going to make the tent platform at the ‘official’ campsite. Hate walking by head torch, too risky on the ankles.

 

Had a gorgeous Milky Way view from a hilltop bivvy site, knew the one-night weather forecast was fine for a very exposed area, and that the trees around the main campsite would have blocked the best view.

 

Next morning leisurely breakfast in my sleeping bag as the sun rose, pleasant 3 hr stroll, and morning tea at a little waterfront cafe I’ve often driven past when it was shut after a longer day’s walk. You can always get some new enjoyment from a regular walk area, and the familiarity makes it easier than planning a new route.

 

Favourite bit apart from the star view? Cobwebs! Walking a familiar area at 7am, the dew beading on the silk in the sunrise was a miniature masterpiece. I’d never seen that in mid morning or late afternoon sun, when I usually walk that section. iPhone photos didn’t do it justice, I’ll go back with the SLR and macro lens – which is something else I don’t carry on a new walk, only when I’m sure I’ll get my value for effort.

[Kalman “Ghost Mule” Tinka]

This was a great article and one that really resonated with me. I am a serial repeater of trails as well, though I also try to make it somewhere new every season. There are a few trails that I could do over and over again and never get tired of them. The top of that list is Sundance pass in the Beartooth mountains. I enjoy your articles and find it very interesting that I also moved to Montana in 2014, but from Ohio. Cheers.

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