[pct-l] lameness of pct2007 and law budget hiking

[Andrea Dinsmore]

We, too, noticed the difference in attitude and courtesy in '06. That was a
rough year between some hikers and some trail angels and some businesses. I
don't speak for all trail angels or businesses but as the hikers headed
north the word of their actions got here before they did. A possible help
for this might be a "*class*" at Kick Off to educate on hiker conduct on the
trail. This should let the hikers know that even though trail angels open
their homes and endure many costs for the whole season of hosting many
hikers for many days.....we should not be considered a free motel. Motels
don't allow 15 hikers to crash in one room. (or 50 a day as at the
Saufley's) They don't offer anything but a room to sleep. We had hikers
coming to stay in our home that felt we should be hugely impressed that they
had hiked 2400 miles and expected to be waited on hand and foot (stinky feet
at that). If the trail hosts or even a small business spend their time doing
for you.....do something for them. If they have a donation can.....put some
money in it. If you have no money ....help them around their place. If they
ask for a donation.....it's only to help defer the costs of the whole season
that they are already spending on you all. If you don't feel you want to
help out in whatever way......or don't like what they do for the
hikers.....GO GET A MOTEL. Don't be rude, discourteous or abusive to those
who, out of the kindness of their hearts, spend July through October here
for you.

We trail angels, trail hosts, motel and store owners love dealing with the
PCT hikers. I don't know if the amount of money the hikers have to spend
makes a difference.....I don't know why the big change in attitude. 2005 was
a busy but super year.

Roni........we love you and we would save your silly butt anytime. Hugs to
you.

Now........there's a ton of super hikers that have stayed at our home here
in Skykomish over the past 5 years. They are hard working, respectful,
helpful people that we loved having around. A lot of hikers come back to
visit, send cards and some even send fudge and cookies. Christmas cards are
abundant. We even had a few come back and help Jerry with the new garage and
hiker loft. All my ranting doesn't include the majority of hikers. You out
there that have become our extended family know who you are. We love you
dearly.

PCT MOM


On 1/17/08, roni h <roni.h10000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Seems like again, due to my confrontational and a highly abnoxious
> personality, I a have to write what many people think but are too nice
> to say. (At least what I think many think)
> This is what I wrote in the pct2007 group, which I consider to be on
> average the most lame group of thruhikers I've ever met:
>
>
>
>
> "
> The fact that both medow-ed and I, who have an opposide perspective about
> most stuff, actualy agree about this subject, shows there must be
> something to it.
> what ed is saying in his nice, none confrontational way, I will repeat
> in my rude Israeli style. It looks like hikers in the last year or
> two are becoming increasingly lame, and are strongly loosing the sense
> of titenited community that used to be found amongst thruhikers in
> previous years.
> I don't know the pct group of 2006 but I there are 3 reasons I see of
> the apperent lameness of the 2007 group:
>
> 1) There was an unusal amount of couples hiking the pct this year.
> I'm not saying all couples are lame, but couples, especialy but not
> exclosively young couples, tend to be much more closed to interaction
> with other hikers. For them its more a couple experience than a social
> experience. Again, I can show many exceptions for this rule, but as
> an average, I find thruhiker couples to be much more lame than single
> hikers
>
>
> 2) Almost all thruhikers I've seen this year were hiking an a much
> higher budget than I've seen in previous years, especialy 2003. More
> accuratly, the low to very low budget segment of hikers seemed to be
> completly missing. Tony and I were virtualy the only people I met who
> persistently stealth camped in towns. I think there might have been a
> few others but far less than I I've seen in normal years.
> One reason for that is possibly Yogi's hand book. Its a good book but
> its definetly geared towards the higher budget hikers who actualy buy
> the book. Of what I've seen in it there is almost no mention of
> stealth camping sites in towns, which makes most people think there
> are none.
>
> You might think stealth camping and low budget hiking has nothing to
> do with lameness, but the truth is that if you think about a group of
> hikers, they will always be bounded much tighter together, if they end
> up having to stealth camp or sleep 6 in a motel room than if every
> single one of them ends up getting a motel room for himself.
> For me and Tony one of the most interesting chalenges in hiking is
> finding a good stealth site in a town.
> I'm know that there were this year many hikers who should have been on
> a lower budget than mine (I actualy have money, I just try to spread
> it over more hiking seasons) but they weren't very succeful in keeping
> to their budget, partly because everyone around them was on a higher
> budget.
> Stealth camping and low budjet hiking are aquired skills. without
> having anyone to show and teach you how you can easily thruhike on
> less than 10$ a day, and still enjoy it, You might never try.
>
> 3) As I mentioned in the past, I saw an unusaly high sense of
> entitlment from hikers towards trail angels. Not from everyone, but
> from more than I've ever seen before.
> Its probebly partly due to the abundence of trail magic but also has
> something to do with the almost complete lack of low budget hikers
> this year. Bluntly speaking, for a high budget hiker who stays in
> every motel, a trail angels house is basicaly just a free motel room.
> For me, who didn't stay in a single motel room on the whole pct this
> year, a trail angels house is so much more, (inc' what might be the
> first real hot shower I had in a month or more)...
> I know this is a gross generalization, but its natural for people to
> appreciate more what they dont have normaly, than what they have.
> And so,generaly speaking, a low budget hiker tends to have a smaller
> sense of entitlement than a high budget one.
>
>
> I'm not sure what the solution for this situation is. Definetly
> having pct 2007 hikers try to keep in contact with each other would
> help, but its probebly too late for that. People got used to not
> writing, finding excuses why not to write insted of why to write.
>
> I do think that someone might want to give at the next kickoff a talk
> about low budget thruhiking on the pct (not me, because I'm probebly
> not going to be around there this year). Thats an aquired skill that
> seems to have all but disapperd from the pct, which is a real shame.
>
>
> Roni (in Israel)
>
>
> --- In PCT2007 at yahoogroups.com, "edfaubert" <edfaubert at ...> wrote:
> >
> > Roni is on to something, note i did not say Roni in ON something.
> > Many of the class of 07 were first time hikers on the PCT and had a
> > great time enjoying all the miles and the people you meet alone the
> > way. For many LDHs its the people you meet that makes a diference in
> > having an enjoyable time.
> > Having been envolved for over a decade with you folks i will say
> > there is a difference in the hikers of 07 and say 2000 or as Roni
> > said the 03 group. We still see at the KO folks who hiked years ago
> > still together as a group and keeping in touch. For whatever reason
> > and i have not heard a good explanation for this, times change and
> > the yearly folks hiking the trail change as well. Take the class of
> > 06 for example, after 02 we saw a class gift from them to the class
> > of 03, same for the next few years too. giving something back to the
> > next group of hikers coming behind you. When it was 06s turn to give
> > something back there was no takers offering some form of thank you
> > from the group. I think its only those of us who have been involved
> > with the hikers on the PCT for years and years that really see a
> > difference in the collective group of thru hikers.
> > Am i saying this is bad, well no,not at all. Roni had pointed out
> > something last summer about hikers in 07 (expecting) rides back to
> > the trail etc etc where when he hiked befor no one would have even
> > asked for a ride back to the trail.
> > That was then i know and now is now but still it beggs the question,
> > why have hikers changed in the past few years. Those of us older
> > folks who are into mangement positions talk a lot about the upcoming
> > generation of folks who just don't care about responibility
> > anymore... Is this same kernal of thought affecting the hiking world
> > too? And if it is, is it a bad thing or just something us older folks
> > have to readjust too.
> > Just some food for thought here....................and this is not to
> > say Roni is in anyway correct about anything, either.................
> >
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