Image and Pilgrimage #2

Turner & Turner in Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture wrap up their studies by noting that "when a religious system becomes tightly structured and organized, ... its pilgrimages tend to revert from the liminoid to the liminal or 'pseudo-liminal'; that is, they 'regress' from voluntaristic processes to become pseudo-tribal, initiatory institutions, stressing relics, ritualistic acts, and the 'miraculous' properties of wells, trees, places where saints stood or rested, and other concrete objects associated with holy individuals" (232). To me this is an excellent example of Lane's caution that when one attempts to study and find the root of a myth, it ceases to have meaning. In this way pilgrimages that were once meaningful for people in a specific way are forced to take on the same meaning for future pilgrims, and becomes an "on-rails" experience that one might have in a theme park ride. I believe that the Appalachian Trail viewed as a pilgrimage is a good way to look at how this caution can be put into use.

Hikers on the Appalachian Trail often take the mantra "hike your own hike" to heart. This is a secular embodiment of Turner & Turner's observation because it is designed to avoid the creation of an experience on the trail. Hike your own hike means that you should encounter and move along the trail at your own pace and however you prefer to do so, provided that it respects the environment. Some hikers are comfortable with taking side trails or separate means of transportation to cover the distance, and some wish to walk every step of the way along the marked path. This idea accepts both of these means of travel and more, because it inherently understands that two different people will have very different hiking experiences even along the same trail. While there is a marked path, it remains merely a suggestion and hikers are allowed and even encouraged to deviate when they see fit. This flexibility allows hikers to have their own experiences and attach their own meaning to their journey, instead of being forced to encounter the trail in the same way that the very first thru-hikers did, which might be meaningful for some but not for others.