An European who comes to US to hike appalachian trail has similar administrative obstacles. Visa (explaining that I will be hiking for 4 months, not working), all sort of insurances, camping permits...
Wait, how is this remotely the same?
The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
21–30 of 43 posts
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
I hiked the Camino de Santiago about ten years ago, taking ~6 weeks to do 600 miles. Exhaustion really isn't the issue, you reach a steady state. The bigger risk is repetitive stress injury - I came back with a numb spot on my hip that took a few years to go away. I also came back married, but that one hasn't gone away.
> I also came back married That's indeed a sore spot that doesn't go away :)
Why do people still make jokes like this about marriage? It seems very outdated.
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#23And here I thought the goal of hiking a long trail was pride of achievement when you get when you finish it. Silly me.
Well there are a lot of things people enjoy about hiking. Trying to follow a tradition stretching back 90 years of collecting stamps in a little book does sound quite appealing, like taking daily pictures with a soft toy, or keeping a journal with pics or sketches, or developing fun little in-jokes with the people you’re with. There’s a lot more you can enjoy on top of completing the walk itself
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#24An European who comes to US to hike appalachian trail has similar administrative obstacles. Visa (explaining that I will be hiking for 4 months, not working), all sort of insurances, camping permits...
Wait, how is this remotely the same?
Bureaucracy is white noise no matter what language is used.
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I also came back married That's indeed a sore spot that doesn't go away :)
Why do people still make jokes like this about marriage? It seems very outdated.
because we haven't learned yet how to prepare for and maintain a good relationship to have a happy marriage.
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#26As someone who actually hiked that trail: I think the author is just missing the point: yes the whole system could be improved, that´s correct, but that´s not IMPORTANT! Collecting the stamps is just to motivate people, give them a feeling of accomplishment. You can opt for not getting a single stamp, but collecting them is just part of a tradition, which has it´s roots way back before the socialist era. Also note: t…
I agree, I really don't get why they're being so negative about something that's just meant to be a nice thing while you do your hike.
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Stamp rallies" in Japan are so common that they invented their own pseudo-English word for them. The OG is the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, which requires you to collect stamps from 88 different temples, preferably by walking 1200 km: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikoku_Pilgrimage Although there's no prize or verifying authority for completion.
> Although there's no prize or verifying authority for completion There’s only one way to restore your honor if you cheat on a stamp rally!
committing sudoku?
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#28As someone who actually hiked that trail: I think the author is just missing the point: yes the whole system could be improved, that´s correct, but that´s not IMPORTANT! Collecting the stamps is just to motivate people, give them a feeling of accomplishment. You can opt for not getting a single stamp, but collecting them is just part of a tradition, which has it´s roots way back before the socialist era. Also note: t…
I agree, I really don't get why they're being so negative about something that's just meant to be a nice thing while you do your hike.
> I really don't get why they're being so negative
Complaining is a national sport in Hungary, it's in our DNA.
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#29I get the impression that this is a system wherein honest mistakes and failure to adhere to strict rules are punished, while outright cheating is allowed simply because it's difficult or impossible to catch. Meanwhile, the strict rules exist in part in order to try to make cheating harder, but don't actually seem to make it harder to cheat, they just make it harder to complete the trail in an honest fashion. As such,…
In this case it doesn't seem so bad, as long as the cheats aren't massively damaging the reputation or enjoyment of the trail. Let them have their petty triumphs.
It reminds me a bit of the current popularity of Escape Rooms. A lot of the ones in the UK will rank your time and keep track of monthly or overall records. Of course, it's easy to get the record just by doing it twice, or first listening to how your friends did it. But who would bother?
Re: The bureaucracy of hiking Hungary's Blue Trail
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I also came back married That's indeed a sore spot that doesn't go away :)
Why do people still make jokes like this about marriage? It seems very outdated.
Because people like to joke about things that are common causes of little problems (and sometimes big ones) to so many of us in life. What exactly is so outdated about it? or the real fact that marriage is a marathon sometimes?