[pct-l] JMT Query from AT Forum

[Steve McAllister]

I think that is one one of the big problems with the AT. There are too
many Californians hiking it and wearing it down, causing the deep
rutted trail:-)

On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 5:31 AM, Ellen Shopes <igellen at comcast.net> wrote:
> Ya know, I feel the same way about the 'invasion' of my pristine desert by
> Californians...:-)
> Ed Abby said it better: in speaking about the wilds of the desert, he was
> appalled that anyone would go out there where 'there's nothing but nothing'.
> And more than one unpleasant way to die...
> Elderly Ellen
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
> To: "tom aterno" <nitnoid1 at yahoo.com>; "PCT List"
> <pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 12:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] JMT Query from AT Forum
>
>
>> Thanks. I knew I'd forgotten a few things.
>>
>> Not trying to make fun of east coast hikers; just trying to reduce the
>> size of the JMT herds. Sorry if any took offense at the humor.
>>
>>
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: tom aterno
>>  To: PCT List ; Bob Bankhead
>>  Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 10:22 AM
>>  Subject: Re: [pct-l] JMT Query from AT Forum
>>
>>
>>        Bob,
>>
>>        You forgot to mention the JMT also has evil Trail Pirates.
>>
>>        Tom
>>
>>        --- On Wed, 12/2/09, Bob Bankhead <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>          From: Bob Bankhead <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
>>          Subject: [pct-l] JMT Query from AT Forum
>>          To: "PCT List" <pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net>
>>          Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 9:43 AM
>>
>>
>>          Someone on the AT forum wanted to know where the JMT was and how
>> long it was.
>> http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=927639#post927639
>>
>>          After reading the glowing replies and picturing a possible
>> gold-rush coming our way, I felt they needed to hear "the truth". Here's
>> what I wrote, minus the emoticons:
>>
>>
>>
>>          The JMT is a mosquito-ridden dust-slog up incredibly steep slopes
>> covered with little ball bearings disguised as pebbles. If you do survive
>> to reach the pass, all you can see is more rock. Savage bears, sneaky
>> marmots, and silent rattlesnakes lurk nearby, just waiting for your first,
>> inevitable stupid move. The abundant deer (see "hunters" below) and grouse
>> are their scouts, sent to locate potential prey.
>>
>>          Most water crossings are readily and preferrably swimmable;
>> packrafts are optional. Escape routes are almost as bad and take at least
>> 2 days, being their own mini-versions of the JMT tread. Did I mention the
>> rampant hunters that stalk the woods, desperately seeking something at
>> which to fire their new rifles?
>>
>>          Resupply options are almost non-existant since the outrageously
>> overpriced horsepacking outfits have bought up and closed most local
>> roads - of which there are pitifully few - and towns, which they use to
>> shelter the stuff they rake out of their horse barns.
>>
>>          Yosemite? It's a tourista trap - lots of loud kids and rude
>> parents in shorts and Hawaiian shirts packing 20 pounds of camera gear
>> they have no idea how to use. Concessionaire price shock is the #2 cause
>> of sudden death in the Valley, second only to being run over by shuttle
>> buses driven by under-paid, legally blind, former NASCAR drivers.
>>
>>          Mt Whitney? Yes, it is the highest point in the lower 48 states -
>> that part is true. What they don't tell you is that Sir Edmund Hillary
>> decided Everest was an easier and safer climb. The only rangers that go
>> there are the ones being punished by their superiors for morality reasons.
>> Forget the ice axe and crampons; bring oxygen tanks - lots of them.....and
>> be sure your life insurance premiums are paid in full.
>>
>>          Decades ago, the western states decided that it's cheaper to just
>> drop their convicted psychopaths and serial killers in the middle of the
>> wilderness and let nature take its course. If they're innocent, they will
>> survive, if not............ Unfortunately, a few have proven stronger than
>> the local wildlife and even the Grizzlies and rattlesnakes turn and run.
>>
>>          Be smart - stay away. Better yet, stay east of the Rocky
>> Mountains. This is the REAL wilderness out here.
>>
>>
>>          The rest of you posters, STOP pontificating; let's keep our
>> secret to ourselves. We don't need no stinking east-coast hikers.
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>>
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