But some people never reach this realization. I live surrounded by very accomplished retirees, and some, on first meeting, give me a rundown of the highlights of their illustrious career.
But I think this opinion does get thrown around a lot anytime someone pushes an aspect of hiking. Ultralight backpackers, fastpackers, even ultra runners are all familiar with the trite refrain of "just stop and smell the roses!". I mean sure, but I'll bet any money that someone committed enough to do the triple crown in a single year isn't lacking for gratitude, awe, respect or just simple love for nature. Heck, just by being out there for as long as they were, they increase the sheer number of hours of appreciation. Experience isn't orthogonal to achievement. I'd argue it goes hand in hand.
I'm actually quite a lumberer myself; I like running on trails, but my primary metric is time-in-woods, not speed.