[pct-l] Dangerous hikes
Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com
diane at santabarbarahikes.com
Sun Sep 14 09:51:21 CDT 2008
On Sep 13, 2008, at 10:16 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> The ten most dangerous trails, listed in order (1 being most
> dangerous) are:
> 1. The Maze, Utah
> 2. Bright Angel Trail, AZ
> 3. Barr Trail, Pikes Peak, CO
> 4. Mt. Washington, NH
> 5. Muir Snowfield, Mt. Rainier, WA
> 6. Huckleberry Mt, Apgar Range, MT
> 7. Kalalau Trail, Kauai, HI
> 8. Buckskin Gulch, UT
> 9. Abrams Falls, Great Smoky Mts, TN
> 10. Mist Trail, Half Dome, Yosemite, CA
I am not familiar with most of these, but I suspect the reason these
are so dangerous is because there are so many civilians on these trails.
I think the most dangerous trail of all is the PCT. Why? Because it
has the potential to ruin you. It haunts your dreams before and
after, you wrack your brains for all your life to try to figure out
how to make your life around it (rather than make a living). Before
you go you spend way too much money. After you come back you swear
off consumerism and stop contributing to the economy. During you
become unshaven, unclean, and despicable. When you return, you
secretly wish to stay that way. The magazines like Backpacker start
to look like corporate shills, empty of meaningful content and full
of commercials, full of ridiculous scare tactics meant to keep you
safe in your city life, earning and spending and dreaming of little
weekend trips you will probably never take while you do silly
exercises at your desk. This is the way you used to be before the PCT
turned you into a casual laborer with no health insurance and no
ambition, except to tackle other long trails.
Ok, maybe not everyone ends up like this. Only the lucky few.
More information about the Pct-L
mailing list