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Do You Hike With an I-Pod????

Do you hike with an I Pod or Walkman????

  • Yes. Love it and will not go back.

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • No. Never do and probably never will.

    Votes: 25 69.4%
  • Sometimes...

    Votes: 10 27.8%
  • What is an I Pod????

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    36

thetrailboss

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This summer I have seen more anti-social hikers than ever before. Anti-social because my usual greeting and kind words are not being received by I-Pod toting hikers. With the I-Pod, many can put their favorite songs and entire CD's on a small electronic device. Now most of the hikers I have seen are thru hikers, so I can understand why you might want some tunes every now and then. But isn't hiking about being in the woods away from the electronic junk? Isn't it about listening to the wind in the trees or the silence? And what about the camraderie with your fellow hikers?

So do you wear an I Pod hiking and if so why? Or are you one of those Luddites who, like me, are left scratching their heads?
 

SkiDog

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This summer I have seen more anti-social hikers than ever before. Anti-social because my usual greeting and kind words are not being received by I-Pod toting hikers. With the I-Pod, many can put their favorite songs and entire CD's on a small electronic device. Now most of the hikers I have seen are thru hikers, so I can understand why you might want some tunes every now and then. But isn't hiking about being in the woods away from the electronic junk? Isn't it about listening to the wind in the trees or the silence? And what about the camraderie with your fellow hikers?

So do you wear an I Pod hiking and if so why? Or are you one of those Luddites who, like me, are left scratching their heads?

I ahd thought about it from time to time, but like you mentioned. The real reason I go to the woods is to escape from those things. I love to hear the natural sounds of the forest, plus how would you hear if someone was coming up on you or if an animal was approaching you...

Leave them at home...

M
 

zook

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I thought the whole idea of hiking was to get closer to nature and get away from all the noise.
I always hike with other people but even if hiking solo I don't think I would ever bring one with me.

So - none for me, thanks!
 

dmc

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I use one when I'm on the trail for a workout.
 

Jonni

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I don't have an I-Pod so I really don't apply when it comes to this. But the hiking trail is just that, a hiking trail. I hike to get away from that stuff and it seems to me as a rude thing to everyone else that may be using the trail to be listening to an I-Pod while hiking.
 

ski_resort_observer

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TB....I'm with ya totally on this. How many times have ya been somewhere and it appears some idiot is talking to you and you figure out quickly that they have one of those hidden cellphones on there head and even tho they standing next to you and looking right at you, they are talking on their cellphone.

BTW, there has been a similar thread recently started, not that it hasn't come up before, over on http://www.snowjournal.com/page.php?cid=topic9652, I have posted on that thread as well but with a diferent name. Should be easy to figure out which idiot is me....lol
 

Mike P.

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No & unless I'm on the trail for a week plus or I'm "forced" to be a camp site or on the trail during a game 7 that I care about (in which case I need a radio not an I-Pod) If on the trail that long I want a radio to keep up with the outside world not listen to a 5 - 30 year old song I've heard 20 - 2000 times before.

Back in the day when a walkman was the latest technology (just stop the what's a walkman Cr@p right now) I was big into listening to tunes while on the treadmill stairmaster or even jogging a bit warming up for a VB match but never hiking or being outdoors.

The big concern in the old technology was the damage you were doing to your ears blasting the music right into your ears. WHAT"S CHANGED ON THAT FRONT?

(yelling due to prior ear damage)
 

dmc

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I it seems to me as a rude thing to everyone else that may be using the trail to be listening to an I-Pod while hiking.

Well - color me rude...

I don't understand why me wearing an MP3 player is rude... I talk to people all week... And I hike/run trails to get away from people...

What if I don't buy into the comradery of the trail stuff??
 

ChileMass

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Well - color me rude...

I don't understand why me wearing an MP3 player is rude... I talk to people all week... And I hike/run trails to get away from people...

What if I don't buy into the comradery of the trail stuff??

Yeah - I can see this point. Esp if you're only out there for a workout. Or if you're out for an extended period, I'd need tunes, too.

But in general I am a Luddite as well. I go out to the woods, either skiing or hiking to hear the wind and the trees and the streams, not rock 'n roll. When our group goes camping it makes me crazy to see some of the kids with an XBox or other video game in their hands. Go run around or come climb a mountain with me and put the electronic gear away. The opportunity to quietly appreciate a beautiful natural setting is getting rarer every day.
 

dmc

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Cool... But i don't go around calling people rude and jump on a high horse when someone is into something different then I'm into... Unless they do something to bug me...
 

thetrailboss

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Cool... But i don't go around calling people rude and jump on a high horse when someone is into something different then I'm into... Unless they do something to bug me...

Good point...that was not my aim though....sorry if you got that impression.
 
Last edited:

skibum9995

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I sometimes listen to my iPod while hiking solo. I prefer to chat with someone but if nobody else is around the iPod is the next best thing. I don't listen so loud that I can't hear what people say to me and say hi ot hikers I meet along he way. I'll put it in my pack when I get to a summit or other destination where people tend to gather but I don't see anything wrong with enjoying some tunes while cruising along a trail through the woods.
 

riverc0il

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number one modern pet peeve of mine: calling all MP3 players "i-pods." i-pod is a brand, mp3 player is the type of unit. i own a creative zen mp3 player and never bring it on hikes. i love hearing silence and the sounds of nature while hiking. but you can bet your booty that the tunes are blaring when i am in the car en route to the trailhead. but to each their own, i really don't care if other hikers are listening to mp3 players while hiking nor do i consider other hikers anti-social if they choose not to greet other hikers on the trail. the hike your own hike philosophy extends to all aspects of how each of us chooses to enjoy the woods. i do consider it rude to talk to someone with ear buds in your ears and the music going, but if i am just passing someone on the trail and nod or say hello, i am not expecting a coversation.
 

Mike P.

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Well said Steve, If I'm out solo I may only see people 10 -20 minutes out of a 10-12 hour day.

I don't even own a MP3 or IPod. Talking a couple of minutes on a summit wouldn't really hurt a telemarketer though.

HAVE THEY FIXED THE HEADPHONES OR ARE PEOPLE STILL KILLINGTHEIR EARS? With everyone wearing these, I just want to know if I should by medical stocks, especially hearing aid companies & people possibly looking at synthetic replacements of ear parts.
 

Jonni

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I don't mean to say that people with MP3 players or I-Pods on the trail are rude, I just mean to say that your out there to hike in the woods. It's just one of those pet peeves of mine to say to myself "Why do you bring something like that with you doing something like this?" Aren't you supposed to use hiking as a way to get away from that? You can listen to your music anytime, but there really isn't anyway that you can hike any time.

Call me crazy, and I don't mind if you do so, but I think hiking is supposed to be more than just the ability to walk through the woods. It should be the ability to enjoy the peace and serenity of the outdoors with out all the other distractions of normal life. Skiing is the same way, but to a much lesser degree.
 

dmc

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It's just one of those pet peeves of mine to say to myself "Why do you bring something like that with you doing something like this?" Aren't you supposed to use hiking as a way to get away from that? You can listen to your music anytime, but there really isn't anyway that you can hike any time.

The way I use the woods is up to me... And no-one else... I just went for a hike this morning before starting work.. Had the tunes on.. whatever...

I think it's rude for people to tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing when I'm not interfering in their life in any way...

Is it the woods about freedom? Or is it about me doing what the "status quo" wants me to do...?
 

Greg

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The way I use the woods is up to me... And no-one else... I just went for a hike this morning before starting work.. Had the tunes on.. whatever...

I think it's rude for people to tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing when I'm not interfering in their life in any way...

Is it the woods about freedom? Or is it about me doing what the "status quo" wants me to do...?

I totally agree here. I personally haven't used my iPod hiking or skiing, but I might try it skiing someday. If you're not impacting someone else's experience, who really cares?
 

dmc

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I totally agree here. I personally haven't used my iPod hiking or skiing, but I might try it skiing someday. If you're not impacting someone else's experience, who really cares?

And why judge?
 

jjmcgo

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If you ain't breaking

the law or regulations, I don't care what you do in the woods or what your philosophy is.
We share the taxpayer-supported woods with people who have all kinds of different goals in their usage. I don't know that any one person can define what "hiking" is.
To some people, the woods are a cathedral and to others, a playground.
 

riverc0il

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how to enjoy a hike is completely up to the individual. how do we reconcile peak baggers vs. non-peak baggers? who is hiking correctly? the person that hits all 48 4kers in NH or someone that could care less about how high a peak is? some bush wackers have sworn off trals completely. are their hikes more pure because they are closer to nature? are through hikers doing hiking better than day hikers? can someone not enjoy peace and serenity of the outdoors while listening to tunes? everyone is looking for a different experience, i don't see how they go about enjoying that experience is better or worse than the way i choose to enjoy the woods (no tunes). the problem with holding other people to a certain standard is that most likely, someone else is holding us to a standard we don't feel is completely justified.
 
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