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When I get into a wild place, the first thing I notice is the lack of city noise. I really hate noise. Being in Flag the last several days ... the quiet in the forest is as sweet as a cool drink on a hot desert day. Hiking partners get tired of me telling them to shut up, which is one reason I prefer to hike alone.

I think traffic noise is the worst. I don't know what it is about the characteristics of the sound, but traffic noise drives me up a wall.

intimidated no way!
we could get great ideas from your posted hikes ;)
and im no hardcore backpacker, the longest single day mileage i racked up was a measly 34. thats weak!

jhodlof wrote:Hey, I didn't write that!

Sorry ... I screwed up the quote thingie. It's fixed now.

te-wa wrote:intimidated no way!
we could get great ideas from your posted hikes ;)
and im no hardcore backpacker, the longest single day mileage i racked up was a measly 34. thats weak!

Only a measly 34 miles, eh? Jeez, I do that by lunchtime. :whistle:

Dude you did 34 miles in one day? Holy crap! Most I've done is a measly 16

Walked from Tonto Fish Hatchery on the Highline westward to the Rimside Grille in Pine. 34 miles.
that was day 2, the first day we did only 17 starting at the 260 trailhead.
The elevation and trail conditions were nothing nice, either.

Most I have done is about 22.

Well, as for noise, I'm with the quiet crowd. I live in a very small town, with few shopping opportunities, one very old movie theater, and several very bad cowboy bars (I only know this from hearsay--have never been to them!) We do have the important stuff: grocery stores (2), doctors, hospital, dentists, community college, library, bookstore. I love it here. It is VERY quiet, especially at night, and I can see the Milky Way when I step outside at night, even though I live in town. The people are very nice here, although it is hard to find very many who are well-educated. That's okay, though, they make up for it in other ways.

I bike to work except when it's very cold, and usually not more than a few blocks. I did apply for a job in Greer this summer, that would be about 16 miles or so, one way, if I get the job. The job market here is not as bad as you might think. I have usually had an easier time picking up a job here than in the last city I lived in, which was Yuma, (during this past winter,) or in Tucson, where I lived for 13 years. I don't have a profession, however, I just work. Right now I drive the school bus. That is a job a person with a good driving record, no DUIs and no felonies can always get ANYWHERE!! (Gee, I wonder why? ;) ) Actually it is a pretty fun job to have up here in the mtns. We get to drive around in the mtns. and see elk, etc.

That being said, I can live comfortably in the city, as long as I have a little privacy in my living space, and am not on a main road--background traffic noise is not too bad if it is several blocks away. I have lived in several big cities and I don't mind them that much, but I have never had to commute very far to work. In Tucson I biked to work, also. Also, as for noise, in Yuma we lived in a trailer about 5 blocks from I-8. At night you could hear that high-pitched noise of the OTR semi trucks, driving through town on their way to San Diego or back East. I would wake up in the middle of the night and listen to them. It wasn't loud enough to keep me awake, but it reminded me I was NOT at home in Eagar, I was having a sort of life-changing adventure in Yuma. I can't imagine why I enjoyed that sound, but I did, because it was so out of normal from my usual life.

nonot wrote:Complaining about a 10-30 minute commute is such a laughable Arizona situation. In most states the commute in major cities averages 1-2 hours...each way! Get some perspective!

That doesn't make that type of lifestyle laudable or something to aspire to. I'd rather be laughed at for trying to keep commutes down to less than 30 minutes.

BTW - nowhere in Tucson is the noise (Especially at night) worse, more disgusting and simultaneously more amusing that here in town by the U of A. Especially graduation week...which is coming up

Ugh, party noise. That is much more annoying than traffic noise, in my opinion. Especially the boom boom boom of bass speakers. Ugh.

te-wa wrote:Walked from Tonto Fish Hatchery on the Highline westward to the Rimside Grille in Pine. 34 miles.
that was day 2, the first day we did only 17 starting at the 260 trailhead.
The elevation and trail conditions were nothing nice, either.

Don't forget we ran out of water too

azbackpackr wrote:Ugh, party noise. That is much more annoying than traffic noise, in my opinion. Especially the boom boom boom of bass speakers. Ugh.

Why does everyone listen to hip hop, anyway? I just don't understand it at all...

The worst Tucson noise for me is when they do late night engine burns at the AFB. They're loud enough to wake me up in Juniper Basin.

big_load wrote:The worst Tucson noise for me is when they do late night engine burns at the AFB. They're loud enough to wake me up in Juniper Basin.

I can understand why that would be annoying; I've always loved that sound. It meant air support was on it's way...

be happy they're not flyin' F-111's

Yea, that's for sure

Jeff MacE wrote:

azbackpackr wrote:Ugh, party noise. That is much more annoying than traffic noise, in my opinion. Especially the boom boom boom of bass speakers. Ugh.

Why does everyone listen to hip hop, anyway? I just don't understand it at all...

I love hip-hop. Not necessarily mainstream hip-hop, but the genre is really good if you find the right stuff.

azpride wrote:

Jeff MacE wrote:

azbackpackr wrote:Ugh, party noise. That is much more annoying than traffic noise, in my opinion. Especially the boom boom boom of bass speakers. Ugh.

Why does everyone listen to hip hop, anyway? I just don't understand it at all...

I love hip-hop. Not necessarily mainstream hip-hop, but the genre is really good if you find the right stuff.

I'm not casting aspersions, I just don't understand it at all.

Jeff MacE wrote:I'm not casting aspersions, I just don't understand it at all.

I'll say the same about country. :yuck:

Jeff MacE wrote:

big_load wrote:The worst Tucson noise for me is when they do late night engine burns at the AFB. They're loud enough to wake me up in Juniper Basin.

I can understand why that would be annoying; I've always loved that sound. It meant air support was on it's way...

As I kid I used to be comforted by the sounds of the city, but I guess something changed. That particular sound really made me think about it. I was in the Rincons four days and didn't see anyone more than a mile from the TH. As I heard the sounds of the city below, I thought about how close it was, yet how far. Any mishap that befell me up there would probably run its natural course before anyone in the noisy world could help.

chumley wrote:

Jeff MacE wrote:I'm not casting aspersions, I just don't understand it at all.

I'll say the same about country. :yuck:

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