[pct-l] thrus behaving badly

[David Plotnikoff]

Hello from a longtime list lurker.

I respectfully disagree with the person who said the thread on the 
Hikertown contretemps should cease immediately.

With the Class of 2008 massing in Campo, the timing could not be 
better for a broad community airing of the issue. I hope that can be 
accomplished without ad hominem attacks on one individual, though.

As I've said before, in this forum and other places (including Yogi's 
book), every PCT hiker's town karma is interconnected. The decisions 
you make in town and your interactions with trail angels and 
merchants have wide ripples of impact far beyond yourself.

I've watched for maybe five years now as the growing sense of 
"entitlement" has taken root in some members of each year's class. 
(OK, now I'm getting up and approaching the soapbox....) You should 
expect *nothing* from the world beyond the trail. Every gift, every 
small act of kindness you receive is a *blessing*. And it behooves 
you to treat it as such -- with humility and gratitude. Any sense of 
"entitlement" is grossly misplaced. You do not have a "right" to 
demand to stay in someone's house, eat their food, use them as a taxi 
service, etc.

As for dealings with merchants and lodging staff in town, it makes me 
want to go chew rocks every time I hear of a bad scene -- many of 
which have been well-documented over the years from Cascade Locks to 
Idyllwild. The idea that a handful of arrogant or thoughtless people 
could poison the well for the entire community should make YOU very 
angry as well.

It is a tremendous frustration that the PCT community has not evolved 
a way to police the bad actors in our own midst. This weekend at Lake 
Morena, I hope there will be a strong and spirited discussion that 
really hammers the message home: If you act like a thoughtless jerk, 
there will be a severe social sanction to pay.

The last time I checked, the back of the thru-hike permit is blank. 
In coming years maybe we have to print some guidelines for proper 
behavior on the back.

Oh, and one last thing: Would it kill you to send some thank-you 
postcards from up the trail to the people who showed you love? It's a 
small gesture, but an important one.

Oh, and tipping. Yes. 20 percent, minimum. You're one of the most 
lucky, most free human beings on the planet. And someone -- who's 
probably working for minimum wage in a depressed small town -- has to 
do the dishes and clean the bathroom.

And gas money. Every hitch.

That lady from Kansas got it: "You KNOW it's the right thing to do."

(climbing off soapbox now, grumbling...)

David Plotnikoff