[pct-l] one person's lame, another person's... (+ more topics!)

[jeff.singewald at comcast.net]

I read both Roni's and Meadow Ed's comments on the Yahoo List and would suggest if they are looking for a description of lame, they should both look in the mirror.  I find it pathetic that Roni would suggest that social interaction is factor in defining "lame".  For some of us, social interaction was not a primary factor in choosing to hike and to suggest that those of us that preferred a more solitary hike is ridiculous.

Additionally, Meadow Ed and others have on several occasions taken the actions of a small number of 2006 hikers and sterotyped this behavior to the class of 2006 hikers.  Again, this is ridiculous.  While I was near the front of the pack and did not encounter any of this behavior I suspect that with the year-by-year increase in hiker counts this isolated behavior is going to continue to proliferate.

I like the idea that this topic be one of discussion at ADZ, but again, I would guess that less than 50% of the thru-hikers for a given year choose to attend ADZ.  In 2006, I was surprised to meet a number of hikers along the trail that had no clue about ADZ or the PCT-L or Trail Journals for that matter.

Just my opinion.  This is not a personal flame against Roni or ME, just an opinion that differs significantly.

Elevator pct2006

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: mark v <allemande6 at yahoo.com> 

> 
> ...dang. I could have sworn i had that 
> aphorism/metaphor thought out to a conclusion. 
> 
> I gotta laugh at the notion that couples on the trail 
> are more lame because they don't socialize with 
> someone as much. Does that make an introverted, shy, 
> reclusive single hiker lame too? Puh-leeze. 
> 
> Also kinda funny that having more money to spend makes 
> a hiker inherently more lame. It sounds more to me 
> like some people like to have lots of others like 
> themselves to be around on the hike, and a different 
> style of hiker makes them less happy, thus leading the 
> other style of hiker to get branded "lame." 
> 
> Anyway, i only met about 15 '07ers trail angelling a 
> couple of days, and lucky for me they were uniformly 
> gracious and interesting. But armed with this new 
> knowledge, i'll keep a suspicious eye out for any rich 
> and entitled couples out there in '08. 
> 
> Funny post a couple days back by Alison, thanks! 
> Thanks again to Len for the ride...hope things are 
> well at home. 
> 
> Has anyone thru-hiked with a down quilt instead of a 
> bag? 
> 
> Also, has anyone found a tooth powder with flouride? 
> 
> Also also, has anyone ever gotten a tarptent to really 
> stay up in storm conditions? For more thorough 
> questions (so that you can no doubt provide me 
> thorough answers (after all, i'm entitled to them)), 
> check out my trailjournal on trailjournals. 1/17/08 i 
> talk about // ask about gear. It's under the name 
> markv and is new, so you might have to do a search to 
> find it. 
> 
> Thanks for the continued wisdom of the list! 
> 
> 
> 
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