Music while Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Is music necessary while hiking the trail?  It depends on your reason for hiking the Trail. People hike the trail for many reasons.  Some hike to discover themselves, others for spiritual reasons yet there are those who would hike to set a speed record. Then there are those who just want to get away from all of the “stuff” and the hustle and bustle. Oh yea, did I mention solitude and nature lovers. Music while hiking the trail might be useful for some to help them keep pace of the distance they are walking. I’ve heard that others use this time to catch up on tunes they haven’t heard from their favorite artist.  Yet again others just can’t exist without some type of noise.

We now live in a society where our senses need to be stimulated at all times.  This of course is not true for all people but for many.  For some,  music while hiking or, texting or talking on a cell phone is a must.  The sound of nature is not enough.  I’m not quite sure where I fit in the aforementioned. Ok, I enjoy music to help lull me to sleep.  I will carry a button sized Ipod shuffle.  It will play up to 15 hours of music and weighs maybe an ounce if that.

Pro’s and Cons of personal music device  on the Trail

Battery use….needs a charger to charge music device. It will utilize one of the four portals on my Anker 10000 portable charger. Some MP3 players use alkaline batteries.

Very lightweight …This IPod shuffle is very light. If it weighs an ounce I’d be surprised. Many devices may be as heavy as a cell phone.

Cannot use without a headset on the trail while walking.

Of course there are other brands. My focus is on the IPod shuffle becauseof its weight affordability and battery life.

I will be listening to music on the trail while hiking.