I don’t mean how you smell either. I tried to think of a better title for this but couldn’t. Anyway, when I’m in my house my nose is normally congested, I can’t smell that well (or breath out of it for that matter).
Does this improve for people while they’re hiking?
danny
danny
All of your senses come back because you are no longer bombarded with the overload the money society dumps on you constantly. You experience life the way our bodies were evolved to handle. If you stay out of town as much as possible you will be amazed at what you can smell, hear and see. The incessant chatter brought on by this overload inside your head even stops with out meditation.
Blue Jay
I’d say yes also.
In fact, being in the woods alone improves all of your senses even some you don’t know you have (such as that sense of being watched, that sense that someone or something is coming up the trail.)
In fact, we may have more than five senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste) and not know we have them. This because we have been civilized and living in civilization too long and those senses have become not used for so long that we don’t know they exist.
See you out there.:cheers
Maintain
I agree with Maintain, the only problem I have is from trail dust and dry air. Getting away from the city is the first step. Second, get away from the trail. Trails are often dusty and over used by stock that crap on everything. No one in a group of hikers likes to be in back because of all the dust and horse dung in the air. If you go alone or go cross country, than you might experience true nasal bliss. However, if you go up high, there is little one can do to avoid the dry air, which often causes me to get a slight soar throught at night.
But, who is complaining, all my senses are renewed out there!
Thinair
To clarify.YES,all of your senses SEEM to improve when your away from the overload of stimulous of civilazation.I remember being in the desert and (hearing?)seeing a mouse over a 100 feet away at sunset.Another time i could see navajo MT. 80 miles away on a moonless night outlined on the star field.While i believe my senses didnt improve but my mind allowed me to focus more on less stimulous.Think of it like this;if you were in a soundproof room how quiet a sound could you hear?Now step outside a try to distinguish that sound from all the others you hear(wind,birds,traffic,people,etc,etc).If you become acustomed to breathing freash air you can distinguish smoke,musk or perfume alot sooner when your mind is excited by a “new” stimulous.While in the woods try to develop your sense of barrometric pressure,this is fun and can alert you to incoming weather,all it takes is a little practice.Have fun
newb
I think you’ve got it right. We get so much sensory input coming at us in civilization that we have to filter what we allow to penetrate our consciousness in order to focus our minds on whatever we’re doing. Maybe that’s the sense of peace one gets from being out in the woods, just being able to turn off those filters. There are a lot of sounds, sights and smells in the woods too, but they’re not as demanding. (Not like this damned noise box behind me that my son is watching, or the screams I would have to listen to if I turned the damned thing off. sigh )
Ardsgaine
