[pct-l] Don't plan, just do

[Roger Carpenter]

Good Times wrote: "I found people who lived by their mail drops and
schedules became
married to them. Give yourself freedom to go where the trail takes you. For
example, I wound up in Reno, Portland, and Chelan  and I never thought I
would. I just went with the flow. "

This is one of my favorite topics  Even with mail drops and extensive
planning I still had the freedom to go where I wanted and when I wanted.
Going the un-planned way increases the chances you will become dependant on
other hikers to supply you with gear or supplies.  And whether you plan or
not plan, spending 4 months on any trail results in being "married" to it
whether you want to or not.  On the PCT the ability to not use mail drops is
possible because the resources you need are usually near the trail: grocery
stores, telephones, post offices, highways, bus / rail lines.  It's simply a
matter of trading one set of resources (your planned mail drops, bounce box
with supplemental gear, maps, etc.) for the other resources (stores, extra
cash for purchases, highways, etc.).  With mail drops, you go to the P.O.
and for the most part you are done.  Without mail drops, you go to stores
with your cash or credit card.  Either approach is fine as long as you
understand the trade-offs.

When I thru-hiked in 1996 my goals included to not ride a Greyhound, spend
little time shopping for food in trail towns (stores seem crazy after being
on the trail for a long time), and arrive at the Canadian border by
September 12 (for weather and employment reasons, mostly).  I also was
determined to not fail, although conditions or events beyond our control can
take over.  This required some planning far in advance of starting my hike.
This also required me to pay for my food and gear in advance at the risk of
not using it in case of failing to complete the hike.  Additionally, I
dreaded the thought of spending too much time in towns / cities, so staying
close to the trail was a priority.  I still enjoyed spending extra days and
nights in South Lake Tahoe, Dunsmuir and Packwood.  Those deviations were
not affected by a planned vs. un-planned hike.  My plan still worked:  I
arrived in Canada on the exact day I had planned even with the unexpected
deviations.

For an un-planned hike, one still has to spend time buying food, figure out
how many days of food to buy at each stop, shop for gear along the way (it's
hard to avoid in any case because gear breaks, gets lost, becomes
undesirable, etc).  Further, an unplanned approach probably means you won't
have the things you need when you need them (bug repellant, extra food, for
example) and the hiker eventually becomes dependant on other hikers to
supply them.  On my thru hike I often and happily gave away or loaned stuff
to other hikers on the trail.  It was interesting to discover how much
demand for my extra bug repellant there was in the Sierras!  Food became a
barterable commodity up in Oregon and Washington where the town stops and
grocery stores become spaced farther apart.  For my own purposes, I wanted
to be as self-reliant as possible.  For that to happen I felt extensive
planning of my journey and the necessities needed along the way were
important.

Roger Carpenter


> -----Original Message-----
> From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net
> [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]On Behalf Of jordan2ynp at aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2008 11:59 PM
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] Don't plan, just do
>
>
> Future hikers,
>
> I understand the desire and lure to preparing extensively for the
> trail; however, all one needs to know are the basics. The only
> information a person needs is the water report and the bandanna
> that tells how far it is from town to town. I did no mail drops,
> used no maps, and went and did as I felt at the time. I had cold
> weather gear on me at all time just in case, and I bought
> additional gear as I needed it, such as at Lone Pine when I
> needed a bear box and ice axe.
>
> I found people who lived by their mail drops and schedules became
> married to them. Give yourself freedom to go where the trail
> takes you. For example, I wound up in Reno, Portland, and Chelan
> and I never thought I would. I just went with the flow.
>
> I should add that I did use map in the JMT section.
>
> Other than that, it is your hike, and you should do what you
> wish. Nobody hikes the correct way and knows what is best.
> However you hike is the correct way. Don't listen to people
> attempt to tell you how to hike because they are as full of "it"
> as anybody else. Just go out there and walk, that's it, just walk.
>
> Good Times
>
> Long live the Anti-Purest Brigade!!!!
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