[pct-l] Amount of water containers and a few random things.

[Carl Siechert]

Over the course of our '77 thru hike, we read lots of paperbacks, plus
weekly newsmagazines and an occasional newspaper. We would read at rest
breaks, at lunchtime, while we were cooking dinner, and sometimes when we'd
go to bed. (Couldn't afford to read after dark back then. Pre-LED
flashlights had battery life of a couple hours, at best.) A few times, on
boring sections of trail through miles of viewless Oregon forest, I even
read a paperback while I hiked.

We exchanged books with other hikers along the way, and we would discuss
books whenever we met. One guy that we leapfrogged with was reading *Gone
with the Wind*, and each time we encountered him he'd update us on the
latest drama in that book. Another book that was widely discussed was *The
High Adventure of Eric Ryback*. It was the book that had inspired most of us
at the time to undertake the hike (and, at the time, the only thru-hike
narrative), and we would compare our findings with what Eric had written.

In short, reading material was essential for us. One of the trip lowlights
was when we were stuck in a tent for several days waiting out a storm (by
this time, we were tired of hiking in the rain)--and we ran out of unread
books and magazines. We ended up reading the ingredient lists on all our
food packages.

Different era, of course. We weren't on a 25 mpd pace, where you hike until
you slide into your sleeping bag. We didn't have music players. (Heck, the
printing press had just been invented, so books were still a novelty.) But I
still tend to do much more reading on my section hikes and other summer
backpacks than I do at home, and I'd certainly bring plenty to read on a
thru hike. But that's just me. HYOH.

On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 9:10 PM, Sean Carey <seanpct75 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Anyone else bring extra reading material with them? I am going to bring a
> few books and just tear off all of the extra empty pages and cover. I
> figure
> there will be times when  a book will be welcome. I will bring a few
> "spiritual"/"learning" books and then maybe a novel or two. That is what I
>