One of my bad habits on days when I’m not hiking is watching the gyrations of the stock market. Hey, it’s very interactive. I suspect after this week there will be lots of people thinking of walking off into the woods, and perhaps never returning.
Hiking is about as cheap as it gets, considering you really don’t need much more than a pair of comfy shoes, though backpacking, geocaching and other variants can chew through a lot of coin. Then there’s the issue of long drives to trailheads, which do not mix well with $4 a gallon gas.
I’m curious as to how the rest of y’all are weathering the current econo-turmoil and if it’s taking any toll on your hiking. Are you seeing more or less people on the trails?
Your contributions welcome, as always.
Good points, Tom. . .I’m finding myself much more inclined to just bike up the hill to Tilden, or drive a short 15 to 20 distance to other nearby trailheads to enjoy local beauty. I’m sure, though, that once rains replenish bone-dry gullies and turn them into magical torrents and waterfalls, I’ll be caring less about $$$ and carbon footprint just to get to these wondrous places – Marin, Ohlone, Sunol, Diablo, Pt Reyes.
None of this turmoil is a shock to me. Our economy has been pretty sick for the last 2 years, and was already tanking on fuel prices before the latest mortgage crisis hit the media. I was already sufficiently queasy about the markets, and had already divested long ago into the proverbial mattress. So I guess I’m weathering as well as can be expected, but that’s little consolation. I’m even luckier to still be employed. My company laid off 10% of their workforce at our site in August, including some of my personal friends whom will now be entering early retirement by the end of the year.
But none of this has effected my hiking at all. I would still be doing that even if I were unemployed. In fact, I would probably be doing more of it with all the free time. I have grown more reluctant to drive long distances though. Except for vacation in August, and one trip to Clayton a week ago, I’ve stayed mostly in the south bay, and close-by coastal area near where I live. It’s not so much about the economy, but more because of not wanting to import oil, and it’s environmental. For the last two years, we have also not been using our dryer except for towels, or any electric heat. Our townhouse has baseboard heaters, but we do not use them. We’ve done all the other typical energy savers as well, and taken steps to save water too. We have been doing everything we can to go easy on the environment, and most of that just seems to dovetail into saving money, and energy.
I have not noticed any difference in terms of people on the trails, but I’m still doing it. I would go crazy if I couldn’t get out and visit the planet. My wife wholeheartedly supports all of this, and we hike together most of the time.
I usually hike with friends so we all split the gas or pay the driver a set amount. Once you’ve hiked in all the parks in the Bay Area you have to go further out to find cool new places!
The downturn in the economy has done WONDERS for my hiking. Well, due mostly to the fact that the company I was working for laid me off and all but went out of business. Since then I have been able to get out of town and on the trail a couple times a week (stopping back home to submit more resumes of course). I even stopped by the Bay this weekend for a couple events off-trail. I suppose eventually here my bills are going to catch up to me and then I will start to feel the adverse effects, but for now I am just trying to look on the bright side, “Sure I don’t have a job and am at a negative cash flow… but wow, check out how sweet this summit is…” I have to say, it is a good thing that those views are priceless, other wise I couldn’t afford them.
This past summer, the older Scouts in our troop went on a nine day canoe trip in the boundary waters. Wonderful, but kinda expensive with the airfare, roughly $3000 per person. I think this summer will be a long backpack trip somewhere in our wonderful state. Allowing $12 per person per day for food, eight days of backpacking is only $100. That is assuming that you don’t wild at REI before the trip.
Open to suggestions for a long backpack trip for 13-17 year old boys and a few adults trying to keep up with them.
I pretty much hike only in Northern California, and for the most part I do it locally, meaning within 0-60 miles or so of my house. I’m lucky to live near Mount Shasta, so I have mountains literally right outside my door. Gas costs and growing concern about my ecological footprint, including my carbon footprint, have definitely been part of this.
Regarding stock market gyrations, yes, it can be fun to watch. However, if you have money in the market, it can be a bit disconcerting, especially if you are trying to decide whether to buy, sell, or do nothing. I suggest making informed decisions about what you will do, and then stick to it. This will free up your mind and give you more time, time you should spend hiking!
No. No more than it might have been over the past few years.
More than the economy in general, what has kept me from wandering as far from home are the transportation costs. Versus previous years, I’ve sought trips that minimized vehicle miles, or trips that allowed me to share the same transportation with more people.