Will high gas prices keep you from hitting the trail?
Sigh.
I filled up the tank on the way into work this morning. Another 10.2 gallons. Another $27.35 out the door.
$2.69 a gallon is painful, but is it keeping you from going hiking?
Let's see, this tank should last the rest of the work week. But it ain't getting me to where I'm going this weekend.
Which includes a day hike east of Bangor, another on a new section of the Georges Highland Path near Rockland, and maybe one more (it's a holiday weekend after all) somewhere else.
Gonna rack up some good miles for sure. And at $2.69 a gallon and rising fast by the week, some more bucks, too.
But, the odd thing is, complain all I want, it isn't stopping me from going hiking. And hasn't stopped me from logging all those trips to Sugarloaf all winter long.
Yet.
So, I wonder... at what point will it? $3? $3.50? $4? God forbid $5 a gallon?
I don't know.
And hence my question to you: What is the breaking point? When will the price of gas affect your recreational travel? Or has it begun to already? Are you cutting back, hiking closer to home? Or are you scrimping and saving in other ways, like I am (as an ex-AT thru-hiker, I can still live on PBJs and mac & cheese for weeks if I have to), to have enough cash to fill the tank for those coveted weekend get-a-ways?
And then, of course, there's the high price of beer. Which has been slowly creeping up and has me equally concerned...
This reminds me of the conversation I use to have with myself about quitting smoking. Back in the day, I told myself that as soon as the price of coffin nails reached 50 cents a pack, I 'd be done with them. I simply could not justify spending that much on cigarettes.
Yeah, right.
Unfortunately, as the price of butts grew and grew, so did my addiction. I continued to nobley decry the high cost and how it was driving me to quit but in the end, my actions spoke volumes over my words.
I suspect gas prices will suffer the same fate. A somewhat tainted reputation, but little impact on the majority. I heard a news report this morning that despite the high cost of gas, it is expected that travel destinations will continue to remain popular this summer.
Go figure.
Posted by
April 12, 2006 12:44 PM
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