Swanson Aesthetic Sojourners and Encounters

November 5, 2018


Interpreting Contemporary Pilgrimage as Spiritual Journey or Aesthetic Tourism Along the Appalachian Trail




[Aesthetic Sojourners and Encounters][Topic of Choice]

On the Appalachian Trail people both experience and encounter nature, finding it aesthetically pleasing and witnessing harmony among the living environment. As said by Buber, those who experience do not actively participate among nature, they merely enjoy the spectacles of life. This experience can be attributed to hikers being aesthetic tourists who make the journey to see the wonders of nature but do not enter nature. On the other hand, Aesthetic sojourners come along for the experience but also encounter nature, entering its captivity, and being one of its harmonious guests.

These sojourners most likely engage in the long distance hiking of the trail, mapping out their day to day interactions with the world, listening to the needs and sounds of the wilderness while feeling it's flow. In his essay, Dr. Redick discusses a liminality of sorts that becomes present to long distance hikers who encounter nature in its pure form. This liminality deepens the interaction with nature, that allows for the transformation of the hiker away from his known self, allowing him to see the world stripped of his identity, without actually losing it. 

So the Aesthetic Sojourner becomes a pilgrim of sorts having his own distinct journey, whether religious or not, that allows him to transcend his previous state of being. Experiencing the sublime allows the pilgrim to feel natural fear and understand the presence of the wilderness, which to the one experiencing and not encountering, is not so apparent. 

Is it greater for one to be a guest in nature, frequenting it once in a while on these pilgrimages, or to be a inhabitant of nature, experiencing the liminality and flow of the wilderness indefinitely?

Why might one chose to experience some places and encounter others?

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