[pct-l] Ray Jardine's New Book

[SWS]

I thoroughly enjoyed his books....at the time they were very enlightening...but that whole "corn 
pasta" thing should have told us he didn't know everything...talk about leaving a bad taste in 
your mouth!

"Snuffy"


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill" <BillBatch at cox.net>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ray Jardine's New Book


So happy to see this post.   I will pick up the new book too.   I have his
first and second (PCT Handbook and Beyond Backpacking).

It appeared to me that the second book, Beyond Backpacking, was mostly a
genericizing (new word, feel free to use it) of the first book.   I think he
intended to reach a broader audience than PCT enthusiasts with the second.
So, most of the PCT direct references were removed, the PCT schedules, etc.


I would think anyone that thought Ray was abrasive in his early work would
be overstating a bit.   Ray is just "highly opinionated".   This personality
trait is almost a requirement of people who are always re-engineering,
re-thinking, or validating/invalidating current culture or methodology.

I read somewhere a comment about Ray that said something like, "Yes, he is
opinionated.  However, I like an author that is at least controversial
enough to be interesting."   I think that is a very fair evaluation.

As an example one of my favorite Ray lines, and I paraphrase here, is when
offering the idea of forgoing fancy water carriers and instead using plastic
soda bottles.   They are cheap, durable, super light, and easily
replaceable.  Then he lays out this line, " . . . in town you simply buy a
new soda bottle, pour out the poisonous contents, rinse and your ready to
go."    Bust a gut funny - that is Ray.  The best part though is while I
personally like to drink the poison, the idea is STILL a great one.

Chipper yo and happy holidays

Pink Gumby


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Sean Nordeen
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 12:19 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Ray Jardine's New Book

After several years of being out of print, Ray Jardine has updated his
Beyond Backpacking and is calling it Trail Life.  Currently, it is only
available on his website ( http://www.rayjardine.com ) as Amazon doesn't
seem to list it.  I ordered one and should have it sometime this week.  I'll
read it over the Christmas break and see how it is.  Currently, I think
"Lightweight Backpacking and Camping" by Ryan Jordan (of
backpackinglight.com fame) is the best UL backpacking manual out there,  so
I'm curious if Ray Jardine can recapture that crown.  Hopefully he has come
up with something new yet again that will lighten my backpack and it isn't
just a rehash of things previously said.

Not long ago, I picked up a copy of Ray's original PCT Hiker's Handbook (the
1992 edition) at a used bookstore in Venice.  I had been curious about the
creation of Ray Day and was looking for his reasoning which isn't talked
about in Beyond Backpacking (as I intend to violate the whole must wait til
June thing).  I had heard that the early edition of his book was abrasive
(Ray's Way or the highway) but I'm not seeing that.  Then again, I'm not
someone who has 20+ years of carrying 60lb backpacks and whose way of hiking
feels threatened.  Perhaps it was the '96 edition that was more abrassive,
as the Ray Way doesn't seem to be clearly defined in the '92 edition as some
of his ideas haven't been completed.  Still an interesting read even though
most the techniques have been talked about since then for years.

-Sean



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