Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
Originally Posted By GDeadphans
It molded me, and I am thankful I was exposed to the big inner city life.
I am too. Call it "Street Smarts" if you will, but growing up in the inner city instills a set of social skills that you do not get in the suburbs or rural areas. It's a hard thing to describe, but easy to recognize
I grew up in Birmingham England, the second largest city there. We hiked a lot on holiday, likely because my parents didn’t own a car and walking was a cheap and enjoyable pastime. Moved to Edmonton Alberta Canada at the age of 13. My hiking there consisted of long walks with my dog, nothing like I do today. The past 32 years I have lived in Kamloops BC, population of about 85,000. Lots of great hiking in these parts and so hiking is once again my passion.
I grew up in Birmingham England, the second largest city there. We hiked a lot on holiday, likely because my parents didn’t own a car and walking was a cheap and enjoyable pastime. Moved to Edmonton Alberta Canada at the age of 13. My hiking there consisted of long walks with my dog, nothing like I do today. The past 32 years I have lived in Kamloops BC, population of about 85,000. Lots of great hiking in these parts and so hiking is once again my passion.
Registered: 12/26/08
Posts: 382
Loc: Maine/New Jersey
Quote:
I am too. Call it "Street Smarts" if you will, but growing up in the inner city instills a set of social skills that you do not get in the suburbs or rural areas. It's a hard thing to describe, but easy to recognize wink
Very true. But you and I understand it. Its funny, no matter where I go in the USA, whenever I travel people always pinpoint very easily where I am from. Accent, personality, sweet & sexy Italian looks. LOL! IDK something about a city that molds a personality. City dwellers as easy going (notice the stress on easy going) like you and I, we can get along with people in any demographic...where as if you take someone who grew up in a rural area most of them will have trouble feeling comfortable in a big city. At least that is my experience whenever I have my rural Maine friends visit me in NJ or we go to Portland or something. ::shrugs::
_________________________
"To me, hammocking is relaxing, laying, swaying. A steady slow morphine drip without the risk of renal failure." - Dale Gribbel
I grew up on a farm in western Illinois. Our 160 acres was a combination of corn and bean fields, pasture, and woods. I always enjoyed walking the cow paths through the woods and pastures and did that more than anyone else in my family. There is virtually no public land in the area, and backpacking and camping never occurred to me back then. We had a big canvas tent that we set up in the yard about once a year, but I never slept in it overnight. After I moved to St. Louis, I happened to see a guidebook about area trails in a bookstore. The book mostly covered local parks and even city neighborhoods, but I found myself immediately gravitating to the longer and rougher trails. Then bought more guidebooks and did internet research to find more places to hike. I finally decided to start backpacking because of one-way trails that I could not hike in one day.
I think being on the farm had a lot to do with my enjoyment of walking/hiking. I remember as a kid seeing farms where the house and yard were completely surrounded by corn and bean fields, and thinking I would not want to live there with no nearby woods to walk in. I still think about that when I see those farms.
My hometown was around 5,000 inhabitants in n. California, in a valley surrounded by open space (oak, pine, and fir forests) and hills. I was used to seeing the open space and did enjoy the beauty of it. To me that's what the world looked like (not homes as far as the eye could see). We didn't have a family culture of hiking or backpacking, but we did camp out at Lassen once when I was small, which I really enjoyed, and spent a couple weeks in a cabin at Donner Lake where according to my sister we walked on trails with Dad, though I have no recollection of that. I did play outdoors and loved exploring, especially around the creeks near my house. I had cousins I would stay with on their ranch each summer, and experienced that life too. My high school band teacher had been a backpacker since the 1930's, and he was probably my inspiration for backpacking though I didn't actually do it for another 15 years after high school (did do dayhiking once I left home, though). When I went off to college I ended up in the SF East Bay area, where I still live, so I am comfortable in rural and city both.
Another Illinois farmer here. The family farm was in central Illinois in a big bend of the Sangamon River. Abe Lincoln navigated barges through the family farm. Part of the farm was flat farmland, but the woods near the river was fairly remote. No bridges so no traffic on the access road, and since most was flood plain there were no permanent houses.
Spent most of my free time on the river in my jon boat. Started solo camping before I had a driver's license.
_________________________
"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not." Yogi Berra
Born in Richland, Wa (Tri-Cities), spent my younger days hiking all over the Pacific northwest from N. California through Oregon and Washington with the Boy Scouts. I used to hike alot in the desert near my home in Richland when i was a kid. My teenage years were spent in Upstate N.Y, hiking the Adirondacks. Time spent in Ga,too. Now i am back where i belong in Oregon
BF
_________________________
Hammockers aren't stuck up, they're just above it all.
I grew up in Northwest Iowa, a small town with not much around it besides farms. So I grew up following creek bottoms flowing around town. I would riding my bike 4 miles to the nearest fishing hole outside of the next town. I figured out hiking could lead to some of the most peaceful fishing you could find.
I was a military brat growing up everywhere USA. Then I joined the military and raised my own brats. Still moving after the military, but now settled down in the state I was born. Good ole Tennessee.
My Dad and Mom were hikers and still are. My whole family and their families all hike and camp.
My dad's job necessitated a large city over a million. We moved to 5 large cities before I got married. That is why I hate cities and love backpacking and getting as far away from people as possible.
Edited by finallyME (01/03/1111:01 PM)
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.
Grew up in a small coal mining town in West Virginia in the 50's and 60's. The surrounding area was all wooded hills dotted with oil rigs. As a kid the backpack carried an Army surplus pup tent, coupla blankets, baloney sandwichs, and lotsa candy bars. Those were the good ol days when all the joints worked, no aches and pains.
Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
Technically I grew up in various small cities...that were part of Los Angeles or Orange County. Now these merge into a SuperCity that extends to the coast from the Transverse Ranges (Big Bear, Arrowhead, ect.) to Camp Pendleton. Orange County used to be filled with orange groves; now its filled with houses. Lots of food was grown in LA back then too. Open fields and draws that were over grown with vegetation existed in many areas. At one house, people down the street raised chickens, goats and rabbits, and behind us were horses. The old lady who own the horses would occasionally catch us stealing her pomagranites and shoot at us with a rock salt load in her shot gun. I collected giant turnips and kohlrobi to eat at home along with all sorts of berries. Not at all what the area is like now.
Registered: 12/26/08
Posts: 382
Loc: Maine/New Jersey
haha that sounds like fun skcreidc
_________________________
"To me, hammocking is relaxing, laying, swaying. A steady slow morphine drip without the risk of renal failure." - Dale Gribbel
Registered: 03/17/03
Posts: 501
Loc: Puget Sound, Washington
Castro Valley in the middle of the greater San Francisco-Oakland metropolis area. If you haven't seen it, think of it as "Leave It To Beaver" suburbia. We'd all ride our banana seat Sting-Ray bikes to after-school Cub Scout meetings. Sigh.
I was also a military brat and traveled from state to state. We moved from Eglin A.F. base Florda to Ankorage, Alaska. Talking about culture shock. Later in my father's carreer we moved to middle Tennessee and have mostly lived here ever since. About three hours from the south end of the AT near Fontana Lake.
_________________________
The first step that you take will be one of those that get you there 1!!!!!
Registered: 10/27/03
Posts: 820
Loc: north carolina
Grew up in several small towns, but all in the greater Philadelphia area, out in the 'burbs to varying degrees or in South Jersey. The final stop was a very small town, then surrounded by cornfields and a few suburban developments, 25 years later it's totally built up with subdivisions and office parks. Due to a quirk in how the school districts were laid out, I graduated in a high school class of almost 1000. (Yeah, it was a biiiig school district, with one high school for many feeder schools.) Very limited outdoor exposure when I was a kid -- the occasional fishing trip to a local state park. Got my first real outdoor exposure in Army basic training, then kept it up when I got out.
Registered: 12/26/08
Posts: 382
Loc: Maine/New Jersey
just curious kbennet, where at (NJ)? Did a lot of vacationing in Wildwood as a kid. Every year at Le Boot right at the beginning of the boardwalk. Love that place. Can't wait to take my future family there.
_________________________
"To me, hammocking is relaxing, laying, swaying. A steady slow morphine drip without the risk of renal failure." - Dale Gribbel
Technically I grew up in various small cities...that were part of Los Angeles or Orange County. Now these merge into a SuperCity that extends to the coast from the Transverse Ranges (Big Bear, Arrowhead, ect.) to Camp Pendleton.
I spent 3 years in Anahiem and Stanton CA. Then we moved to Texas.
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.
I grew up in northern Arizona before very many people lived here. We had a lot more freedom as kids than children seem to have these days. Freedom to wander in the woods, desert and canyons. For several years (1952 to 1959) my folks had the park concession at Canyon DeChelly (pronounced deshay)national monument. To get there one drove 40 miles on dirt roads. I went to a one room school with all the grades together and a single teacher. There was less than 500 population I would think.
My older sister and I rode horses in the canyon and played in the Indian ruins. For a couple of summers I lived in my tree house which I had built in a huge cottonwood tree. The ranger's daughter and I spruced up an overhang shelter about a quarter mile from home and spent several summer nights there.
I was married and had three children before I started backpacking but I have always been comfortable fooling around outside--my favorite place Mary
_________________________
Shikekeh hozhoogo naasha. I walk in beauty.
Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
You were fortunate to grow up on one of the world's most fantastic places. I worked there from 1969 to about 1974, primarily excavating Antelope House and messing around in the Canyon on weekends.
Do you remember Chauncey Neboyia? He was my dig foreman at Antelope House. The last time I was at the Canyon was for his funeral, but I want to get back and see some more of the back country.
Nope--I did not know your friend. You probably knew the Lafont family--they bought the place from my mother after my father died--at 38. In those days banks did not like to loan to women so they wanted their money fast and so it was sold.
_________________________
Shikekeh hozhoogo naasha. I walk in beauty.
Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:
Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!