[pct-l] Protecting the PCT - WAS applications for Virtual Hiking

[cmkudija at earthlink.net]

This is something of a shameless plug for the PCTA - but even a simple
membership helps the PCTA preserve and protect the trail.  For what we are
doing to protect the trail - both physically by coordinating volunteer trail
maintenance efforts and fiscally by raising both public and private money,
go to http://www.pcta.org/ and review the information available there.   To
see where you can help with trail maintenance projects, go to
http://www.trailprojects.com/pct.html .  To see the PCTA's current strategic
plan for preserving, protecting and promoting the PCT, go here:
http://www.pcta.org/about_pcta/strategicplan.pdf .    Also, again this
February, eight individuals - PCTA staff and volunteers (who pay their own
way, btw) will travel to Washington D.C. to meet with Congressional members
& staff about the PCT, participating in the American Hiking Society's "Hike
the Hill" advocacy week.

I understand that some of us are not "joiners" and that the PCTA is not
universally loved by the PCT-L community.  But in the larger picture, it's
the primary organization that focuses all its energies on the PCT, not on
other environmental issues.   I'd encourage everyone on this list to join,
if you haven't already, or to send an end-of-year tax deductible donation -
you can always specify that your donation be used only for a specific
purpose, like trail maintenance.

There was also some comment about corporation support of the PCT - does the
$25,000 grant we received from REI count?  Do the profits from Gossamer Gear
count?  Does Henry Shires (of Tarptent fame) participation in the Board of
Directors count? I think so.  Feel free to disagree with me - but for
heaven's sake, there truly is substantial concrete work being done to
protect the PCT.  Much more work's needed - and will never end, as long as
there's a trail to protect.

A global thank-you to all those who have donated their time, talents and
treasure to the PCT (not only the PCTA!!!) this year, and may 2007 be the
best trail year yet.

Christine "Ceanothus" Kudija
PCT partially '94

www.pcta.org
Join Now!

Ceanothus (see-ah-no-thus) or California lilac:  Shrubs or small trees,
often with divaricate, sometimes spiny, twigs...[flowers] small but showy,
white to blue or purplish, sometimes lavender or pinkish, borne in terminal
or lateral panicles or umbellike cymes.
                                                               Philip A.
Munz
                                                               A California
Flora, U.C. Press, 1973


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]On
Behalf Of Adam Bradley
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 10:48 AM
To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] RE applications for Virtual Hiking

Hello All,

  I could really use a job this summer and if that
company Virtual Hikers is hiring I wonder if anyone
knows where to get a app?

  On another note folks claim for their love of the
trail, but I don't see anything concrete being done to
protect it.  Want to protect the trail from
powerlines?
Make a movie about trail threats instead of the wad.
Give 1% of profits from the movie to trail threats.

  Care mucho about the trail, give 1% of profits from
workshops to the trail you love.

  Workshops?  Reminds me of guide school.  A up and
coming boater to be pays some raft company 700$ and
after a week of helping them pull off a commercial
trip, blam you are a guide.  Of course this works
great for the company as you are paying them to use
their equipment in off season, then they pick the
guides who look like they have promise to work for
them.  I am glad I never attended one of these as I
was better off not as I could mentor with folks whom I
looked up to to get the same or in my opinion better
skills.  I have seen many of the folks who come out of
these classes who think they have it all figured out.
We call it the 2nd year guide syndrome.  I have had
these folks telling me all about their experience and
then you go downstream and they are wrapped bigger
than shit on a rock.  I think to run rivers as much as
you can in as many environments as you can you will
come out more experienced than a 3 day seminar.  As
well as there are so many ways to run rivers much like
there are many ways to hike a trail.  One persons idea
of how to hike a trail will not match up to anothers.

  If a person does attend a seminar take all gear
references with a grain of salt.  I remember SMD being
highly touted at a slide show I attended before my
thru hike.  The slide show was awesome and I highly
recommend it to thru hikers past present and future
and non hikers as well.  Awesome photos, trail history
etc.  But when a product is touted by someone you look
up to and it fails in a big way, what a
dissapointment.  These folks get free gear given to
them by the manufacturer so they will tout it without
really believing in its durability etc.

  And a challange to manufacturers.  Start giving 1%
of profits to the trails whom you end up doing a lot
of business with its hikers.  Or maybe global warming
is a issue with you, or how people in tibet are
treated.  I am bummed out I cannot put together a gear
list of light weight equipment without purchasing
products assembled in China.  I don't see anyone
taking on the challenge of using equipment that has
been assembled in a socially responsible manner.  I
watched several excellent documentaries on this
subject this winter.  The Corporation, Inconvinient
Truth and Why We Fight.  Ending war would be a huge
boost to the environment we all so dearly care about.

my thoughts listo

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