[pct-l] Skipping, skipping and more skipping

Tue Dec 22 01:08:06 CST 2009

Hi Bigtoe

I'm throwing myself out here way too much today, but here's one more 'cause
this is a topic I've thought about a fair bit after my attempted thru-hike
in 07.

My experience has been that these things (doing the trail continuously, not
skipping, sense of accomplishment, etc) feel important when planning, but
for me personally they quickly seem progressively more inconsequential once
I'm out there.  My goal has been a 100% continuous hike with zero skipped
miles the two times I've tried and I still want to achieve that, but each
time the further I've gone the less important that's seemed, and in fact,
it's often contrary to the optimal experience.  I've been at many, many
crossroads on the trail (literally and figuratively) where the choice to
continue down the PCT in a continuous line has been at the cost of a much
more appealing and enriching alternative.  It's my perspective that pure
thru-hiking is one of the less enjoyable ways to experience the trail - the
sense of accomplishment or a competitive desire to achieve the goal is
really the only compelling reasons I can think of to finish.  Otherwise, it
would absolutely make for a more enjoyable summer to be more flexible, go
where the weather is most ideal, take side trips with friends along the way,
spend more time in the best towns and longer afternoons at the prettiest
lakes.

My two bits (for what they're worth, maybe 1.5 bits) is to not worry much
about the idea of accomplishment - it really isn't the true value of the
experience once it's done.

As for the pack, I think the value of meeting and socializing with all the
great characters out there, the camaraderie - it's been a huge part of my
experience.  There are some who might enjoy the trail more if they had it
all to themselves, but the "pack" is full of all sorts of great new friends,
great stories, great experiences.  Going south, missing out on that, for me
that would be a huge loss.  That pack thins and spreads out quite quickly
too, there's plenty of solitude to be had as the summer progresses.

Cheers!
P178

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of David Ellzey
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 10:49 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Skipping, skipping and more skipping

Of course I don't know how I will feel when doing it and even now it depends
which day you ask me. There is something to be said for starting at one of
the borders and heading to the other one unsupported. We don't really have
the option of doing it unsupported anyhow with the business still up and
being run by our employees all summer. It would be naïve to think they won't
need to consult with us from time to time.

I guess we can always do it again once we retire, that time unsupported and
in one continuous line...

Bigtoe

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 5:47 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Skipping, skipping and more skipping

On Dec 21, 2009, at 5:03 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> (1) Even though complete, it will not be a continuous line and for  
> some reason that feels like less of an accomplishment

Do you know for sure this is how you will feel?

I think your plan sounds great. Just being out there is wonderful no  
matter how straight your line of progress.

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of David Ellzey
Sent: Monday, December 21, 2009 3:26 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Skipping, skipping and more skipping

Well since I am on here I thought I would ask you previous thrus a few
questions regarding our 2011 thruhike plan.

First a little background:
This last summer my wife and I section hiked the PCT from Campo to Mill
Creek Summit (mile 420) then from Echo Lake down to Return Creek, exiting
out over Summit Pass to Virginia Lakes. I am hearing impaired and we hike
with my service animal, we have experienced  extreme heat this last year
with the dog and of course it really slows us down. This coming summer we
will not be able to do much more than a couple of weeks on the PCT, probably
in the Sierras since this is the summer the dog gets his service dog
certification. So a lot of work to do there off the trail.

So my idea for 2011 is to start on March 31 and hike to KM, which should
easily take less than 6 weeks, then skip north to Belen and continue for the
next 6 weeks to Cascade Locks. By now it is late June so we would skip back
to KM and fill in central California to Belden. Finally its back up to
Cascade Locks to hike the remainder to Manning Park by the end of August.
Since we will still have our business operating while we are hiking, we plan
to have a support person/business assistant shadow us.

As I see it the pros are:
(1) I get to start the hike on my 50th birthday
(2) It should be cooler through the SoCal and NoCal hot sections
(3) We will have more solitude away from the "pack"
(4) Less snow/easier creek crossings through the sierras
(5) Fewer mossies in Oregon?
(6) Less rain in Washington?

And the cons:
(1) Even though complete, it will not be a continuous line and for some
reason that feels like less of an accomplishment
(2) There will not be much trail angel/water cache support (but we do have
our own support)
(3) We will not have the social experience of traveling with the "pack"
(4) San Jacinto and Baden Powell will almost certainly be a serious snow
adventure, might even use snowshoes over San Jacinto
(5) More mossies in Yosemite?

I would love to hear comments, advice and opinions.

Bigtoe

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