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

Fri Dec 12 10:05:10 CST 2008

It's the journey, grasshopper.

"EVERYTHING is in walking distance,"
    ......Bamboo Bob
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com>
To: <peprmintpati88 at yahoo.com>; "Julian Plamann" <julian at amity.be>
Cc: "pct-l" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] zero days (nights) on the trail instead of in town?

> 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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