[pct-l] zero days (nights) on the trail instead of in town?

[Phil Newhouse]

Very NICE thread...

Thanks all

phil (irvine,ca)

On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 7:34 AM, <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com> wrote:

> Good morning, Patti!
>
> I applaud you for desiring to take the method less traveled, so to speak.
> Some want to run away into the woods. Some just can't take people anymore
> and need a break. Most, it seems, simply want a change of scenery but not
> habit and go into the mountains to hang with new friends and take on a new
> challenge, hiking 25-35 mpd (forget even reaching Canada) in gorgeous
> scenery with camaraderie parties along the way. Most of them become
> disillusioned with the trail, too, since that experience was little
> different than what they knew prior, and drop out never knowing what they
> missed.
>
> Case in point:
>    Occasionally I teach skill clinics right on the trail to the herd as
> they pass by a particular area. In '06 I had the opportunity to hike with
> the herd out of Kennedy Meadows to Chicken Spring Lake in order to teach
> them, during a high snow year, how to cross swollen creeks and self-arrest
> techniques. I met and hiked with many of this swarm, great folks, indeed,
> however, one guy stood out for this reason:
>    He said that from the moment he started his hike, those he met
> encouraged him to hike fast and get the miles in daily. He was a strong
> fellow and had no problem with that, but the ethic required allowed no time
> for fun and enjoyment of the wilderness he was flying through. By the time I
> reached him, the herd had just received their snow-related gear, was
> encumbered and complaining about all the useless weight of snowshoes and the
> like, and had slowed down, now climbing up into the Sierras. This suddenly
> allowed for lunchtime naps and 10-15 mile days.
> At one lunch he mused with me that one of his pleasures in life was to
> climb trees and enjoy the views. Up to then there had been no time for even
> that.
>    I asked him why he was out there; what was his purpose in hiking from
> Mexico to Canada. He admitted that he had adopted the standards of everyone
> else from even before the trip started (ultralight, high mileage, no
> on-trail zeros, multiple trips off trail, frequent resupplies, etc.) and was
> thinking of quitting and going home. I told him there were other ways to
> enjoy the journey and he began to realize that he could change his new
> habits and begin to enjoy the trail more while still maintaining his
> required pace. He immediately climbed a suitable tree nearby!
>    Although he did leave the trail burned out and disillusioned, I heard he
> had a new outlook on things and was going back to school. I have not talked
> with him since and do not remember his trail name.
>
> So, like Thoreau, know why you want to live deliberately in the woods and
> if you're content with what you wish to do and how you wish to accomplish
> it, even if apart from the ways of the herd, it is your own adventure and
> plan accordingly.
>
> Mtnned
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: patti kulesz
>  To: ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com
>  Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 12:35 AM
>  Subject: Re: [pct-l] zero days (nights) on the trail instead of in town?
>
>
>        I haven't hiked the entire PCT yet but will in 2009. I totally agree
> with you. I was planning on resupplying every ten days or so and I've had
> soooo many people tell me no do it more often. I want to saty on the trail
> as much as possible and explore, etc like you said. I love the wilderness
> and I want to be there the entire time not in the towns mingling, ect. Even
> here in LA people who have lived here all their lives tell me, b/c I have
> only been here a few years, that I know of trails they have never heard
> of...it's b/c I would rather be out there than here in the city and I stare
> at maps all day and say I want to be there and I go and explore. There are
> places right on the trail to shower at campgrounds and hot springs....you
> just have to look for them, which is what I do...that's what maps are for I
> guess...hehe
>
>
>        patti
>
>
>        --- On Thu, 12/11/08, ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com <
> ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com> wrote:
>
>          From: ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com <
> ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com>
>          Subject: Re: [pct-l] zero days (nights) on the trail instead of in
> town?
>          To: "Julian Plamann" <julian at amity.be>, "pct-l" <
> pct-l at backcountry.net>
>          Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008, 10:37 PM
>
>
> For Julian and aspiring class of 2009,On both of my pct and cdt treks, I
> rarely left the trail. Nearly all of my "zero days" were on-trail and I
> loved them that way.I was out there to live deliberately the trail life and
> to stay out of the towns (it took too much trouble and energy to get to
>  them, anyway!). So it can be done - if you want to.I was fortunate in that
> most of my resupply boxes were personally delivered to me at highway
> crossings, campgrounds, ranger stations, and the like on or near the trail,
> so I didn't have to hitch to towns, which were a shocking affair, anyway. I
> wanted to spend as much time in the wilderness as possible.Showers were
> sponge-baths, relished and invigorating!Clothes were "washed" as needed in
> my cook pot with Dr. Bronner'sCastille Soap.Regarding food: I didn't care
> about weight-even carried miscellaneous booksto read for fun-so I carried a
> lot of food to pig-out with on "daysoff."I left early on my trips, so there
> was no one else out there to be social with, which might have caused me to
> go into town once in a while.To me, it seems like a tremendous waste of
> energy to be going off trail so often, as many do these days.
>  Plan your trip for how you want to experience it. That means you've got to
> know what you want. Unfortunately, for many, that takes time and a level of
> self-awareness that goes deep. In our busy world, there is little time for
> serious, or even introspective, thought, so many just count on other's
> experiences and lessons to guide them, though often finding, once they hit
> the trail, that what worked for anotherdoesn't work for them.Zeros on trail
> allowed me, also, to explore other things like that peak over there, go
> swimming and lay out in the sun despite the ants and bugs, climb a tree or
> two, catch up in my journal while listening to the creek, eat some more,
> take the time to try to cook a BIG meal, hike a loop trail in the area, hang
> out with some newly-acquired friends, go fishing, re-organize my pack, dry
> out wet clothes, tent, bag, etc..Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail does not
> always
>  have to be about getting from A to B, putting the miles in, etc.. Most
> likely you will not do it again. This, for many, is a once-in-a-lifetime
> adventure. How do you want to experience it?Mtnned----- Original Message
> ----- From: "Julian Plamann" <julian at amity.be>To: "pct-l" <
> pct-l at backcountry.net>Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 6:57 PMSubject:
> [pct-l] zero days (nights) on the trail instead of in town?> The subject of
> thru-hike cost that has been floating around on the list > for> the past
> week or so has got me curious about something.> Are there any former
> thru-hikers that managed to spend the majority of > their> zero days+nights
> on the trail itself? I'm talking somewhere in therange > of> 5 or less
> nights spent at hotels or in hostels. I may be wrong, but I > think> I
> remember reading somewhere that Billy Goat spent
>  every night sleeping> under the stars on at least one of his thru-hikes. I
> also recall reading a> few comments in Yogi's handbook of hikers saying they
> wished they had > taken> more on-trail zero days.>> I say this in
> anticipation of my upcoming thru -- not as a plan by which I> can save
> money, but rather because I've always been more comfortable> sleeping under
> the stars than in an enclosed room. That said, I also know> well the feeling
> of occasionally needing to get the type of clean that can> only come from a
> hot shower and freshly laundered sheets.>> -Julian>
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