Strategies for staying motivated during long hikes.

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
SarahDeeCee
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Joined: February 11th, 2023, 7:34 pm

Re: Strategies for staying motivated during long hikes.

Post by SarahDeeCee » March 12th, 2023, 12:01 pm

Thinking about great trail mix breaks up ahead. Getting home to read spam posts on the forums too.

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retired jerry
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Strategies for staying motivated during long hikes.

Post by retired jerry » March 12th, 2023, 12:13 pm

That gave me a chuckle, thanks :)

Yeah, anticipating what new types of spam posts might appear

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Martell
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Location: SW Portland

Re: Strategies for staying motivated during long hikes.

Post by Martell » March 13th, 2023, 8:32 pm

On a long hike I like to think about what would be a nice place to purchase wedding dresses.

(Didn't we used to get wedding dress spam all the time?)
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retired jerry
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Re: Strategies for staying motivated during long hikes.

Post by retired jerry » March 14th, 2023, 6:43 am

you guys are giving me chuckles repeatedly, thanks, yeah, wedding dresses :)

doubleawilly
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Joined: July 6th, 2020, 12:06 pm

Re: Strategies for staying motivated during long hikes.

Post by doubleawilly » March 15th, 2023, 9:09 pm

I've done the AT and JMT, both pre-smartphone era so I didn't have any stimulating technology. Breaking down milestones and points of interest into very small chunks was key for me. Trail books and maps that provide high levels of detail (or apps like Gaia GPS, etc.) can be great for staying focused on what landmarks are ahead, whether they're 1 mile out, 5 miles out, etc. Sometimes just the thought of knowing there's a stream crossing in a few miles is enough to keep me focused on the task at hand rather than letting my mind wander into the existential nature of massive distances still needed to cover.

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