| abstract |
In 2010 over 150 people completed their end-to-end hike on the Long Trail, a wilderness
hiking trail through Vermont, bringing the official total to over 4,000 completed hikes.
The Long Trail runs 273 miles from the Massachusetts border up to Canada, traversing
the ridge line of the Green Mountains. For those who have hiked the trail, why do they
desire to challenge themselves in a prolonged wilderness experience? Furthermore, in
what ways does a journey on the Long Trail impact hikers' lives?
In this paper, I explore the subculture of long distance backpacking on the Long
Trail as religious practice in two parallel tracts. First I argue that the Long Trail is a
sacred space and hiking the trail a sacred experience. Several aspects of long distance
hikes on the trail are earmarks of traditional religion, including philosophical and ethical
systems, rites of passage, pilgrimages, instructional and inspirational texts, and rituals.
The second part of the paper explores the ways that hiking the Long Trail impacts
hikers' lives. I analyze the reasons that people decide to hike the trail and what the
pilgrimage experience offers hikers. Additionally, how does hiking the Long Trail
transform attitudes and worldviews, or perhaps serve as a healing experience or as the
grounds of romantic bliss. I propose that long distance backpacking on the Long Trail can
not only drive an ethic of environmental conservation but also inspire a greater ethical
shift, as many hikers seek to incorporate a more simplistic and non-materialistic approach
to their everyday lives.
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