Essay: The Three Types of Fun in hiking and the outdoors

Type I Fun – Fun to do, and fun to remember. Most climbs fall under this category, I think. These are the climbs during which you enjoy the trails, enjoy the summit, and enjoy the company.

Type II Fun – Not fun to do, but fun to remember. These are the climbs that are too hot, too cold, too wet, too steep, or simply too tough, or in bad company…but the rewards set in later on, and you realize eventually that it was a fun climb after all. Or, these are the climbs in which you cannot afford to take your camera while doing the trek — perhaps it is too dangerous, or you are too busy minding the trail to talk to anyone. And at the end of it, while looking back at the climb, and perhaps while looking at your pictures, you would say: “Ang ganda pala nung inakyat ko!” Since my definition of fun is very broad, and I enjoy even descents like those of Mt. Tapulao, and most of my Type II Fun mountains are those where I faced intense heat.

Type III Fun – Not fun to do, and not fun to remember. What mountains do think fall under this category? Personally, I can only think of very few: A dayhike in Mt. Balagbag at noontime, from 1000H-1400H, during which we were completely toasted by the scorching heat of the sun. This is one of the few climbs in 2011 that I have not even written down as a ‘Hiking matters’! Another Type III Fun was when I climbed the wrong mountain in the Malipunyo range, way back in 2008 (Hiking matters #3)! We endured hundreds of thorn scratches and heat, and there was no view at the summit, and the trails weren’t nice either! Funnily enough, a number of Christian churches in the United States found my story amusing, and some pastors decided to make it an anecdote in their sermons! See the following links: Sermon1 Sermon2 Sermon3

As an aside: It can be suggested (as my friend Jacob did) that there can also be a “Type IV Fun“: something that is fun to do, but not fun to remember – or something that you regret doing later on. I can think of some things that can fall under this, like eating a lot of calamansi on an empty stomach – for sour fruit addicts like me, or unprotected sex (pardon the choice of analogies), but I can’t think of any situation that relates to hiking.

This taxonomy of fun is fun, and is also very subjective, just as the experience of hiking is also very subjective. What may be fun for some may be horrible for others, inasmuch as what may be an easy mountain for some may be described as a “Difficulty 10/9” mountain by others.

As for me, all the mountains are fun to me because I love hiking! What about you? What mountains would you consider as under Type I, II, or III? What type of fun do you look for in your hiking?