[pct-l] thrus behaving badly

[RobTrailmail]

I'm mostly lurking here but today I want to add
my 2 cents.


I totally agree with David and most of the other
postings here.

In my humble opinion hiking the PCT became kinda
like "mass hiking tourism" in the last few years.

New trail angels are popping up all along the way
each year.

Some thrus think that thru-hiking entitles them to
certain things and that it's the trail angel's job
to help out ("there are so many angels out there
anyway").

This attitude sometimes sneaks in without you
realizing it.

Some of the thrus I met in '04 - me included - were
showing attitude to some extent.

A thru-hike IS an accomplishment and a special
experience but because we are doing something special
we tend to think that we are entitled to something
special. We keep forgetting that there is no such
thing as entitlement in this case (as David said
before).

We are getting angry / annoyed ...

... when we don't get a ride right after arriving at
     the trailhead.

... if there's no beer left in the fridge of the trail
     angels.

... when there's no water left at a water cache.

... when the hotel owner charges you extra for extra
     people in the room.

... when the resort owner doesn't let you use the
     laundromat cuz he needs it.

... etc


I'm sure this was different, let's say, 10 years ago.
When almost nobody you met in towns actually heard of the
PCT and hikers really appreciated every bit of help they
got. (I wasn't around back then of course but that's my
impression)

I really will try to keep this in mind for my thru-hike
this year...

...and if I forget and start to show attitude again I
would politely ask you to remind me of my words from today.

Many of us are out there to actually find our way into
ourselves: the pilgrimage into the core.

So let's just not forget what drives us, why we are out
there, and maybe we need a little reminder from time to
time from fellow hikers, trail angels and / or the PCT-L.


Good luck to the class of 2008.

Hike on!


-Germanator-







--- David Plotnikoff <david at emeraldlake.com> wrote:

> 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