[pct-l] Section hiker vs. thru

[Michael Chamoun]

Your assessments and feelings may be justified and right for you.  However,
there is no denying that thru-hiking in one season is a different beast.
It's not just about hiking, it's a complete lifestyle change and one that
takes weeks to get comfortable with (to a certain extent).  You also have to
assess that the length of time spent out there, with practically no
interruption (usually), does a whole lot of change, usually for good, to the
psyche of a person.  Obviously section hiking and thru-hiking are NOT the
same even on the same trail, but one way is not "better" than another as
they are available options to different types of people; so it really
depends on what the trail represents for YOU and what your priorities are.


On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 9:49 PM, Amanda L Silvestri <aslive at sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> I am one of those people who can't just take off for months at a time and
> go hiking.  That used to brother me a bit as I didn't feel like I was a real
> member of the community.  That has changed over time.  Instead of hiking day
> after day, week after week, month after month, I hike on the weekends and on
> my vacations.  This keeps the experience fresh for me.  This past year I
> changed my work schedule so that I get off every other Friday.  With almost
> a three day weekend a month, I was able to take the three days off between
> my Fridays and the holiday Mondays and get a week off each month for six
> months!  I was able to leave my day hikes behind and backpack into the
> Sierras.  I will do more of that this year also.  I am looking forward
> to completing the JMT.
>
> During my hikes, as I wasn't chained to a schedule, I discovered some
> wonderful places.  In the San Bernardino Mountains I found wonderful
> communities that were only 1 1/2 hours from Los Angeles, where I live and
> work.  I can't afford to buy a house in L.A. but I found a great deal in the
> mountain town of Crestline for half what a smiler house would have cost me
> in L.A.  Fixing up the house and enjoying it and exploring the whole
> mountain cut down on my PCT day hikes but it was a good exchange.  I soon
> picked up on my PCT hikes again and now I have a wonderful retirement home
> and weekend get-away, a gift from the PCT.
>
> A little more hiking (I was heading south bound) brought me to Mt. San
> Jacinto, perhaps the most beautiful area in Southern California.  I gave up
> a summer to volunteer there as a Wilderness Ranger.  It was a bit of a drive
> every weekend, but a wonderful experience that I shall never forget.
>
> Eventually I made it to the border.    Then from L.A. I started heading
> north.  I have been hiking along the PCT for several years now (along with a
> lot other hikes that weren't on the PCT).  I itch to see more of the trail
> and often envy those who can through hike, but know that at my age and with
> my job and responsibilities, a through hike just isn't going to happen.  But
> the trail is always there for me.  I have to travel further to get to it
> each time and finding a way back to the car is always a challenge (I have
> done a lot of out-and-back hiking) but it never gets old, even as I do.
>
> Through hike, section hike or day hike, the trail is a treasure and I for
> one am thankful to be able to share in it.
>
> See ya out there!
>
> Amanda (Shepherd)
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-l mailing list
> Pct-l at backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>