What is is abut the woods?

November 1, 2006

I am addicted to walking in the woods with my dog. If I don't get out every day I'm not at work the day is a loss to me. If there is a cache on our walk, even better!

I'm hopelessly addicted and have been for years. Things around the house and friendships have suffered. Is this a bad thing? Anyone else the same way? Should I try to reform or just give up? :unsure:

Edited November 1, 2006 by danaG

November 1, 2006

I am addicted to walking in the woods with my dog. If I don't get out every day I'm not at work the day is a loss to me. If there is a cache on our walk, even better!

I'm hopelessly addicted and have been for years. Things around the house and friendships have suffered. Is this a bad thing? Anyone else the same way? Should I try to reform or just give up? :unsure:

Edited November 1, 2006 by danaG

November 1, 2006

Woods is good.

November 1, 2006

Why bother painting the house or mowing the lawn when there's good wood to go bushwacking thru'? :unsure:

November 1, 2006

I am addicted to walking in the woods with my dog. If I don't get out every day I'm not at work the day is a loss to me. If there is a cache on our walk, even better!

I'm hopelessly addicted and have been for years. Things around the house and friendships have suffered. Is this a bad thing? Anyone else the same way? Should I try to reform or just give up?

<raises hand> You are not alone! :blink: I don't manage the WOODS every day - wish I could! - but the dogs and I do go out and walk or run NEAR the woods almost every day. And we all tend to get a bit cranky during the winter when it's hard to do except on the weekends.

And it's NOT a bad thing, IMO; it's good for mind and body of everyone concerned.

My lurcher was 8 in July, my Redbone Chowhound will be 12 in February, and both of them are lean, fit, and active, and successfully competing in NADAC agility, as well... although the Old Man only does a couple of runs a day now.

Getting back to geocaching, one of the things I like about it is that it fits so nicely with my other favorite activities, e.g. hiking and photography... and even most urban ones can be done in company with the beasties and/or my S.O. and/or his kids.

Edited November 1, 2006 by cimawr

1.4k · November 1, 2006

Maybe you're addicted to fresh Oxygen. After all, leaves from trees (and most other vegetation) inhale your Carbon Dioxide and spit out breathable Oxygen for you. :unsure:

Edited November 1, 2006 by budd-rdc

November 1, 2006

I understand completely. Those days away from work are the entire reason we work in the first place.

And in the company of a good dog... searching for a cache... it pretty much can't get better

(unless of course your version of my family is along - then it's just grand!)

Let me offer these thoughts:

Neglected Items around the House: who cares when your dog adores you & you're in shape from hiking?
Lost Friendships: "Man's best friend is a dog" - if your friends don't have dogs, they can't begin to compete or even comprehend...

You know, the only tribute to the original inhabitants of the Americas found amongst all the statuary in New York City's Central Park is titled

"Indian Hunter" - a man and his dog, coursing through the woods on the hunt...

If the collective wisdom of the creators of Central Park have distilled the essence of the hunt down to that one statue, who are we to argue?

Read about this statue at Central Park Conservancy's webpage.

November 2, 2006

Hiking though the woods is great. Some people like going though woods and some do not it is that simple. :unsure:

3.9k · November 2, 2006

Being in the woods is a primal instinct. It's the hunter, gatherer in all of us. It's the root of our being. When we need calm and tranquility we seek nature. We spend our lives dominated by jobs, goverment, and social pressures. In nature, we dominate, so those pressures are gone.

Too profound I know. :unsure:

El Diablo

November 2, 2006

Yeah, I'll agree with those above and say that the calmness of the woods is what is so satisfying. There's nothing like getting away from the workplace for a nice hike by a babbling brook. :unsure:

November 2, 2006

No...no, I like the prairie.

1.2k · November 2, 2006

Every day you're not at work you're walking in the woods :unsure: ? Would that I could. Maybe you could find me a job in your neck of the woods. All we've got over here are brush fires and city gangs.

November 2, 2006

I'm the same. :unsure:

Now my first dog is old and arthritic. He was a great hiking dog for years, never got lost and could always find the way back (didn't have a GPSr for most of those years). He can't go out anymore and it really upsets him when he sees me get ready to go whether I take the other dog or not. Walking in the woods has lost something with the loss of this trail companion but not enough to stop me, just enough to make me feel guilty. I need to get out and away from the city. Luckily, here, I can do that in minutes instead of hours.

38.2k · November 2, 2006

I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately.

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life

... to put to rout all that was not life; and not,

when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

- Henry David Thoreau

Its not a bad thing at all. There is something about being in the woods that cleanses the spirit. I need a weekly fix.

November 2, 2006

What is is abut the woods?

Eheheheh... you said a butt :unsure:

No, but seriously... I to have quite the love of hiking through the woods. Unfortunately, there's very little in the way of wooded area near where I currently live. However, when I was growing up and visiting my grandma... nothing but poplar and tamerac forest on all sides. MAN, but those were the days. Love it. Still get out to the forests/parks in the city when I get a chance, but the "forest caches" as I call them are my favourites :}

November 2, 2006

Man, I bet the Berkshires were beautiful a couple weeks ago...I'm jealous!

Wasn't Thoreau a frequent visitor there?

The leaves are hitting their peak here in Baltimore, and I'm hitting the trails

as often as I can.

Of course nothing can compare to where ever you come from.

For me it's the hills in the Daniel Boone Forest back home in Kentucky.

2.7k · November 2, 2006

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps

Running before time took our dreams away

Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground

To a life consumed by slow decay

- Pink Floyd from "The Division Bell"

While I am not sure this is what the writer had in mind, to me this has been an inspiration to live life to the fullest.

Walking in the woods, cache or no cache, find or no find, helps keep me from succombing to a "life consumed by slow decay" even though I fully realize that such decay is inevitible.

I guess this part would be appropriate too:

enumbered forever by desire and ambition

There's a hunger still unsatisfied

Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon

Though down this road we've been so many time

-ibid

There has got to be just ONE more cache down the trail... and it will SURELY be "greener" than the one before... or is that possible?

The grass was greener

The light was brighter

The taste was sweeter

The nights of wonder

With friends surrounded

The dawn mist glowing

The water flowing

The endless river

Forever and ever

-op cit

(Thanks to all the cache owners, the park managers, and the British acid rockers.) :unsure:

7.9k · November 2, 2006

No...no, I like the prairie.

It's still 'the woods', except the trees are a bit shorter.

Just as it is here in 'the desert'.

November 2, 2006

Man, I bet the Berkshires were beautiful a couple weeks ago...I'm jealous!
Wasn't Thoreau a frequent visitor there?

The leaves are hitting their peak here in Baltimore, and I'm hitting the trails

as often as I can.

Of course nothing can compare to where ever you come from.

For me it's the hills in the Daniel Boone Forest back home in Kentucky.

Where abouts in the Daniel Boone are you from? My father used to work on the Boone, and I grew up in the area.

2.2k · November 2, 2006

Merging duplicate topics.

Thanks.

November 2, 2006

If I can't get out into the woods and soak up some nature at least once a week, I get VERY cranky. It is not a pretty picture :unsure:

24.7k · November 2, 2006

The woods? They are lovely, dark, and deep.

November 2, 2006

I too am sorely addicted and drive distance most every weekend to one Indiana forest or another. Morgan Monroe State Forest has had my heart for a few months now. But alas, I have finished that area for now. I even returned to place a couple caches of my own once I had found what there was to seek there. Yellowwood SF and Clark SF and Deam Wilderness and Brown Cty and on and on. I feel so lucky to live in green Indiana. The Hoosier Nat'l Forest is on my horizon. I've been there several times; it's immense an there's plenty to do there. It's nearly a 2 hour drive from home, and I am so addicted I don't care!

Yes, I get surly and mean and sad and grumpy when I can't get to the woods on a frequent basis. Winters here do try my patience. I do enjoy winter hikes, but driving distance and then arriving to find that the gravel and dirt roads to the cache are not only untraversable, but can't even be found under the snow at all, well, that's such a supreme bummer. Still Indianapolis has several sweetly wooded parks that can be accessed pretty much any time within a day or two of a deep snow. It's not a vast forest, but it's something.

You say you are neglecting your friends? Bring them along! These days, all of my friends are geocachers. Some of them even drive 4WD SUVs. That'll help!

One other note: after months on real trails, wracking up one smiley at a time on miles long trails, I gotta say that having to stay local for a weekend and seek urban caches pales in comparison and leaves me very wanting. Yes, I can wrack up my numbers again, but I find that I care less and less and even less about that. Give me woods or give me.... um... I can't think of anything to put there. Nope. Just give me woods. :tired:

November 2, 2006

The leaves are hitting their peak here in Baltimore, and I'm hitting the trails

as often as I can.

Ditto!

I was lucky enough to be able to spend most of Monday morning hiking in Susquehanna State Park; getting a couple of caches while I was at it was just the icing on the cake. :tired: We've been blessed with some really glorious weather in the last couple of weeks... I'm making the most of it while I can.

November 3, 2006

Where abouts in the Daniel Boone are you from?

My father used to work on the Boone, and I grew up in the area.

I'm not really from the hollers, just hiked & camped there a lot...really miss it.

Originally from Lex, been in Balt for past few years.

I do a lot of my hiking in N. Baltimore County...very reminecient of the rolling

hills of the bluegrass.

Like CIMAWR, I also trapes around Lake Roland in Balt. City

November 3, 2006

Where abouts in the Daniel Boone are you from?

My father used to work on the Boone, and I grew up in the area.

I'm not really from the hollers, just hiked & camped there a lot...really miss it.

Originally from Lex, been in Balt for past few years.

I do a lot of my hiking in N. Baltimore County...very reminecient of the rolling

hills of the bluegrass.

Like CIMAWR, I also trapes around Lake Roland in Balt. City

November 3, 2006

I am addicted to walking in the woods with my dog. If I don't get out every day I'm not at work the day is a loss to me. If there is a cache on our walk, even better!

I'm hopelessly addicted and have been for years. Things around the house and friendships have suffered. Is this a bad thing? Anyone else the same way? Should I try to reform or just give up?

Man, I bet the Berkshires were beautiful a couple weeks ago...I'm jealous!

You're suppose to say, "They're always beutiful!" :laughing:

2.7k · November 3, 2006

I enjoy the backcountry (woods) to the point that is where I have chosen to put my favorite caches. Whenever I get the chance I'm in the hills and stay there till the day is done.

November 4, 2006

I'm not really from the hollers, just hiked & camped there a lot...really miss it.

Originally from Lex, been in Balt for past few years.

I do a lot of my hiking in N. Baltimore County...very reminecient of the rolling

hills of the bluegrass.

Like CIMAWR, I also trapes around Lake Roland in Balt. City

Me, I was born in Chicago, but we moved to rural PA when I was 5; if it wasn't for some of the parks around here, especially R.E. Lee (the trail head's just a couple of miles from my house) I'd go nuts for lack of open spaces....

If you ever see us out there, and feel like saying hello, feel free. :mad:

(I'm fairly easy to recognize by my dogs; not only their looks, but the fact that they have good trail manners. Although we were more easily recognized before I lost my little Jack Russell... everybody remembered her! )

As a side note, R.E. Lee's actually in the county; belongs to the City, but it's just outside city limits.

November 4, 2006

There's nothing like getting away from the workplace for a nice hike by a babbling brook.

There's more than enough babbling going on in my workplace!

November 4, 2006

The outdoors, fresh air, getting exercise without even realizing it -- isn't that what life is all about (and geocaching)?

I'm not much interested in urban caching -- I much prefer the remote areas with trees, tall grass, singing birds, wildlife of any kind -- soothing, refreshing and great photo ops! My 3-year-old daughter loves it all too -- and we go almost every day -- both of us getting cranky when we can't get out.

Friends are people who have like interests and needs -- most fellow geocachers are probably much the same as you.

3.9k · November 4, 2006

I am addicted to walking in the woods with my dog. If I don't get out every day I'm not at work the day is a loss to me. If there is a cache on our walk, even better!

I'm hopelessly addicted and have been for years. Things around the house and friendships have suffered. Is this a bad thing? Anyone else the same way? Should I try to reform or just give up?

To me, this is a very sane and very wise response on the part of your body/mind/spirit/soul, and I would recommend listening to it and honoring it fully by spending as much time as possible in the woods. Ultimately, your helath and peace of mind and inner connection with Holy Spirit are far more important than any social "obligations". I find, for me (and we live in the wilderness, on a forested mountainside, so this is very doable, even in winter), something that helps even more is to stand (or walk) barefoot on the earth for at least ten minutes per day. Of course, if you live in an area where hookworm is very rampant, then you might wish to skip going barefoot on the ground for any significant length of time!

1.4k · November 4, 2006

Wrong? We are creatures just like the bears, squirrels, etc. and it is kind of our calling. We think if more people just took a "walk in the woods" once in awhile we'd probably be a much less stressed out society. We live for it too and have instilled it in our small children as well, geocaching has helped in this regard.

And though we certainly haven't been "everywhere", we think in all but a few cases being in an urban/suburban area is not an excuse either. We live just a couple of miles north of the Bronx, yet through geocaching we have learned of wooded areas not even 5 miles away that are deep enough that you can imagine that the surrounding urbanity doesn't exist.

November 4, 2006

"Amidst nature, the trees and stones will teach that which can not be learned from books."

Caches in the woods are my first preference.

2k · November 4, 2006

I feel really lucky because I live in Idaho which has more then its share of forests. One reason I work at the job I have which requires me to travel to large cities to work is that when I am off I can visit my favorite forest and stream, maybe to a little fishing, but especially breath the clean forest air. I would be depressed if I didn't have something like that to go to.

For the poster who has an older arthritic dog. Take him along on some easy walks in the woods. You might find the the woods will have a restorative effect on him, and you won't feel nearly so guilty.

November 4, 2006

To me, this is a very sane and very wise response on the part of your body/mind/spirit/soul, and I would recommend listening to it and honoring it fully by spending as much time as possible in the woods. Ultimately, your helath and peace of mind and inner connection with Holy Spirit are far more important than any social "obligations".

What he said!

I'll add that my relationships to humans tend to work much better when I DO get that time out in the woods with just my companions-in-fur....

something that helps even more is to stand (or walk) barefoot on the earth for at least ten minutes per day. Of course, if you live in an area where hookworm is very rampant, then you might wish to skip going barefoot on the ground for any significant length of time!

I've always been a barefooter (see avatar photo, or for larger version see my profile) and couldn't agree more here, as well. Although I'm not able to hike barefoot any longer, as I don't have time enough to harden off my feet in the spring these days.

WRT hookworm.... I need to look up how prevalent it is in NE MD, as I have an ongoing debate with my S.O. about going barefoot for that very reason. :laughing:

November 5, 2006

I too am a barefooter. Over the past year or so I've gotten into barefoot hiking AND geocaching. It really adds another dimension to the overall experience. There are actually quite a few people who enjoy this growing trend - removing the quarter inch of rubberized "protection" offered by the shoes we've become so dependant upon. When you head off down a trail sans shoes, you become intimately aware of the world around you. Your eyes are always scanning the ground ahead and your feet feel their way, active players in your walk through nature. I'd never suggest that people just chuck their shoes and head off willy-nilly into the woods but if you pace yourself and build your experience base, you will find its just as easy to tromp through thick woods full of briars and rocks as it is to stroll down a sandy beach. I try to build up in early spring and then tend to hike/cache barefoot whenever possible until fall. As for hookworm... Have you honestly heard of a case? No... Is it possible? Sure, but not likely. Life is full of risk and hookworm is such a minor worry that it doesn't even register in my mind. Now get out there!

November 5, 2006

I'd never suggest that people just chuck their shoes and head off willy-nilly into the woods but if you pace yourself and build your experience base, you will find its just as easy to tromp through thick woods full of briars and rocks as it is to stroll down a sandy beach. I try to build up in early spring and then tend to hike/cache barefoot whenever possible until fall.

When I was a kid in rural PA, I basically never wore shoes - other than to school, church, shopping - from late March or early April until late October/early November.... and by mid-April or so I could run barefoot on a gravel drive or negotiate a multiflora rosa thicket (I had a "fort" in the middle of one).

As an adult, I kept doing that as much as possible, but never got my feet quite THAT tough again. In the last few years, though, I've not had the time to harden off my feet in the spring.

I used to get some VERY weird reactions from people at the park mentioned up-thread, btw, since you get a lot of citified types in the "park park" area of it; I swear some of them had never seen a person without shoes. :laughing:

As for hookworm... Have you honestly heard of a case? No... Is it possible? Sure, but not likely. Life is full of risk and hookworm is such a minor worry that it doesn't even register in my mind.

Heh, well... *I* ain't the one worried about it. My S.O. grew up on 12 rural acres, and returned to them a few years ago - but he was always forbidden to go barefoot because of "getting worms", hence the ongoing debate about whether or not I'm risking my health when I weed the garden etc. sans shoes. I need to bestir myself and find some factual ammunition before next spring. :blink:

November 5, 2006

I'd never suggest that people just chuck their shoes and head off willy-nilly into the woods but if you pace yourself and build your experience base, you will find its just as easy to tromp through thick woods full of briars and rocks as it is to stroll down a sandy beach. I try to build up in early spring and then tend to hike/cache barefoot whenever possible until fall.

When I was a kid in rural PA, I basically never wore shoes - other than to school, church, shopping - from late March or early April until late October/early November.... and by mid-April or so I could run barefoot on a gravel drive or negotiate a multiflora rosa thicket (I had a "fort" in the middle of one).

As an adult, I kept doing that as much as possible, but never got my feet quite THAT tough again. In the last few years, though, I've not had the time to harden off my feet in the spring.

I used to get some VERY weird reactions from people at the park mentioned up-thread, btw, since you get a lot of citified types in the "park park" area of it; I swear some of them had never seen a person without shoes.

As for hookworm... Have you honestly heard of a case? No... Is it possible? Sure, but not likely. Life is full of risk and hookworm is such a minor worry that it doesn't even register in my mind.

Heh, well... *I* ain't the one worried about it. My S.O. grew up on 12 rural acres, and returned to them a few years ago - but he was always forbidden to go barefoot because of "getting worms", hence the ongoing debate about whether or not I'm risking my health when I weed the garden etc. sans shoes. I need to bestir myself and find some factual ammunition before next spring.

November 5, 2006

I grew up "naked in the woods"!! My daddy called me his little wood nymph! I LOVE the woods which is why I love geocaching! I have moved back to the city and this wonderful sport has taken me to the "woody" parts of it! Even my friends notice a difference when I haven't had my quota of TREES! :laughing:

ivylibra224

2.5k · November 5, 2006

"Amidst nature, the trees and stones will teach that which can not be learned from books."

Exactly! That's why I took 74 kids to the woods last week for an all-day field trip to learn about geology.

What is is abut the woods?

Recommended Posts

Join the conversation