[pct-l] The ADZ, then and now.

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

Tom Reynolds wrote:

> My view about thruhiking, then and now, is that a thruhike is a social event, 
> not a wilderness event for many people. Reading the journals and reviewing the 
> posted photographs of thruhikers both before and after the first ADZ, it 
> appeared to me that a thruhike is a “sprint from town to town where all could 
> gather for an all-you-can-eat food fest that desirably pissed off the 
> proprietor.”


This may be true for some thru-hikers but definitely not all.  For a number of us on the trail in 2006, our goal was to leave the society behind and enjoy the solitude that is the wilderness.  For me, I sought out solitude in order to have time to contemplate life after Monument 78.  This was much easier to do on my own.  I have no regrets that my number one goal last summer was to complete a continuous northbound thru-hike.  I chose to limit my town-stops to the minimum as this was not  the experience I sought.  I found that I became anxious while in town and found peace easiest while alone on trail.  I'm not an introvert.  It is interesting, the majority of folks near the front of the pack that finished in early September were for the most part solo hikers, but I would guess that the majority of these individuals made this choice and reveled in the opportunity to make every choice their own.  Make no mistake, I stopped and talked with nearly every day-hiker, weekend hiker, touris
t and sobo thru-hiker that I encountered along the route and enjoyed these encounters.  Some folks use the term Hike Your Own Hike.  I prefer the term Hike My Own Hike.

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