why do you bushwalk in preference to other activities?

[prickle]

..... that's where the best trout lurk

............. Samsung S4

[north-north-west]

Because diving has been too painful for the last 6 years or so. Hopefully I'll be able to do a bit more now = otherwise the small fortune I've spent getting the gear back into service will have been wasted.

[Happy Pirate]

why do you bushwalk in preference to other activities?
what is it about bushwalking that makes you do that activity in preference to other active pastimes?

i've done team sports, and athletics, i'm a bit over competitive sports and some of the egos.
bushwalking just clicked for me.
I avoid exercising indoors like the plague, I work indoors , i wont want to exercise indoors as well.
the wilderness either gets into you or it doesnt, and the outdoors got into me staying on a relatives orchard as a kid, i wanted to explore more of it and get into the real wilderness,
my parents never took me on anything more than a short stroll through the odd forest and i felt frustrated at never going further as a kid. went on the odd overnighter with cadets, then after frustration of an injury with running a mate invited me to do overnighters with him in the mountains, and i never looked back... there were so many places and terrains to explore and the changing weather made each experience different... free of the parents it was a big confidence booster and learning experience. lots of adventures and vistas burned into you memory never to be forgotten.
other physical activities played second fiddle to bushwalking...
not sure why but the bad weather was just added excitement to the whole recipie to make it a more interesting mix, a badge of honour to have endured. the mud, the tree roots. the cold, the wet, the wind, the snow all enhanced the experience, well up to a point... walking well groomed trails never quite had the same appeal...
the solitude, the open spaces, the emotions, friendships, the parephanalia. all added to the appeal.

For me that's not even the question that needs asking.
Being out bush just IS... what I continually question is why it is that I keep coming back home?!
Steve

[wayno]

also i got fed up with team sports where i'd get left on the bench too often. bushwalking doesnt tend to be an exclusive pastime

[Allchin09]

Definitely the mix of adventure, self reliance and the ability to enjoy some epic places!

[beardless]

Because bush running is arduous.Because of the beauty of the natural world. Because there is much time for contemplation and conversation.

[puredingo]

simply because surfing is getting more popular and bushwalking is getting less....and I'm selfish like that.

[Rob Gosford]

used to play a lot of golf......
Bushwalking and golf i find are similar, in that, both are a nice walk with nature. The sound of magpies and gallahs in the early morning are wonderful. However, the good thing about bushwalking is you don't have to hit the ball

they say that golf is a good walk spoiled

[icefest]

Because diving has been too painful for the last 6 years or so. Hopefully I'll be able to do a bit more now = otherwise the small fortune I've spent getting the gear back into service will have been wasted.

Open water or cave/cavern/sinkhole/penetration?

[north-north-west]

Because diving has been too painful for the last 6 years or so. Hopefully I'll be able to do a bit more now = otherwise the small fortune I've spent getting the gear back into service will have been wasted.

Open water or cave/cavern/sinkhole/penetration?

Caves, wrecks, deep stuff. Finally found some of my missing c cards today; might have to get the Instructor card replaced, it's just about falling to bits.

[Happy Pirate]

why do you bushwalk in preference to other activities?
what is it about bushwalking that makes you do that activity in preference to other active pastimes?

i've done team sports, and athletics, i'm a bit over competitive sports and some of the egos.
bushwalking just clicked for me.
I avoid exercising indoors like the plague, I work indoors , i wont want to exercise indoors as well.
the wilderness either gets into you or it doesnt, and the outdoors got into me staying on a relatives orchard as a kid, i wanted to explore more of it and get into the real wilderness,
my parents never took me on anything more than a short stroll through the odd forest and i felt frustrated at never going further as a kid. went on the odd overnighter with cadets, then after frustration of an injury with running a mate invited me to do overnighters with him in the mountains, and i never looked back... there were so many places and terrains to explore and the changing weather made each experience different... free of the parents it was a big confidence booster and learning experience. lots of adventures and vistas burned into you memory never to be forgotten.
other physical activities played second fiddle to bushwalking...
not sure why but the bad weather was just added excitement to the whole recipie to make it a more interesting mix, a badge of honour to have endured. the mud, the tree roots. the cold, the wet, the wind, the snow all enhanced the experience, well up to a point... walking well groomed trails never quite had the same appeal...
the solitude, the open spaces, the emotions, friendships, the parephanalia. all added to the appeal.

An interesting question, and by the look of most responses - not what I would have expected from this forum.
So I'll ask here (and maybe post a new thread)...
How many folk bushwalk for the bush experience (primarily) and how many as a sport / recreation / fitness experience?
curious
Steve

[wayno]

How many folk bushwalk for the bush experience (primarily) and how many as a sport / recreation / fitness experience?
curious
Steve

its a combination of the above, spent too many miles running around suburbia in my youth and cant stand exercising there any more.
i can scale the activity to suit my time and needs unlike a lot of organised sports.
i experience less frustration bushwalking than in other sports where emphasis is on willing and loosing,,
a sport like cricket must get frustrating,, friend of mine was regularly bowled out for ducks, he seldom spent much time batting at all, when you consider how long cricket games go on for, that must be frustrating...
bushwalking i can design my trip to suit myself, to give it a level of interest and physical challenge that i'm after....

[neilmny]

........How many folk bushwalk for the bush experience (primarily) and how many as a sport / recreation / fitness experience?
curious
Steve

I don't see it as a sport, it's far too personal to be a sport, I'm not out there to display
my skills and endurance to others (ie. sporting competition), I'm there just for my own enjoyment.
Imagine that "World Series Bushwalking" .............
I would find it difficult to proportion the remaining experiences but
I would put the bush experience/challange at the top of the list.....and maybe the fitness
experience at the bottom......the well being/recreation aspect is far more important....
oh..... I dont know it's really a fairly satisfying past time overall.

[MickyB]

I don't see it as a sport, it's far too personal to be a sport, I'm not out there to display
my skills and endurance to others (ie. sporting competition), I'm there just for my own enjoyment

+1

I go to enjoy the bush experience.

[tas-man]

why do you bushwalk in preference to other activities?
what is it about bushwalking that makes you do that activity in preference to other active pastimes? <snip>

This quote I came across seem to touch on why I go bushwalking - there are many facets to my bushwalking experiences and I can't easily describe them in words, but Bob Brown's often quoted phrase about going bush to "get back to yourself" comes close.

"Truth cannot be found by just lying down and thinking, or sitting around and talking. There is a physical component to the process of getting to the core of things. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it is there. It may have to do with the fact that we are physical and spiritual beings at the same time. (Even if you’re a down-to-earth type, not really into the spiritual side of things, you probably would admit that evolution came a long way: It enabled our minds to think of ourselves as being more than just the sum of the atoms that make up our body.)

The archaic, physical act of walking, especially travelling long distances on foot, makes us understand ourselves, the place we walk through (Earth) and the human condition, in a way that goes beyond its surface appearance. And, in my experience, we can find answers to real-life questions by combining our thinking process with a walk or a journey on foot.

I don’t have a coherent theory for the physical component of finding the truth. But I know that walking is a great way to experiment with it."

[Son of a Beach]

why do you bushwalk in preference to other activities?

I don't.

I bushwalk as well as other activities, not in preference to them. I don't usually have to choose between them, and am usually happy with which ever one I end up doing, whether it's bushwalking, sailboarding, camping at the beach, rock climbing, snorkelling, bike riding with my kids, or a variety of other outdoor and indoor activities.

As for why I like bushwalking... it's similar to what some others have said. I really like being there. More so than getting there or than any of the other apects of bushwalking. However, most of the other aspects are also good (including getting there). As I said in another very old topic:

I am a lazy bushwalker.

The lazy bushwalker is more interested in being there than getting there; more interested in being there than having been there; more interested in being there than in photos from there; more interested in being there than planning how to get there; more interested in being there than in the gear used to get there.

However, each of those other elements of bushwalking can enhance the experience of being there.

I’m happy to climb mountains or walk right past them. I’m happy to follow a track or bash through scrub. I’m happy to walk to the next camp site or stay at this one. I’m happy to walk with faster walkers, slower walkers or by myself. I’m happy to have a lighter load or to carry more luxuries. I’m happy to sleep in a tent or a hut or under a rock. I’m happy to wear boots or sneakers or to walk bare foot.

I’m most happy when I’m there with my wife who is even more interested in being there and less interested in getting there than I am.

Having my kids there with me is a bonus.

[gayet]

I don't.

Agree.

And I am well versed in the lazy bushwalker approach.

The journey simply gets me where I want to be. The mountains are merely a part of the journey, although I'd rather walk around, than over them. I'm happy to stay in one place for a day or 3, then walk further or retreat. I am happy alone or with others, although I prefer the alone bit.

Other interests are followed in different places. When I only have a few hours, a book fills the gap, or mangling a piece of wood, or transforming some mundane material into a different mundane item.

I bushwalk when the circumstances suit, when the mood is right and the time is available.

[awildland]

why do I bush walk?….for the bush and for the walk.

check out this lovely programme from ABC Radio National last year.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/why-we-walk/5068620

[Zone-5]

Because I simply enjoy my own company and the peace and quiet it brings.