[pct-l] altimeters, necessary?

Wed Mar 4 11:54:26 CST 2009

Phil & company,

This is what I promote, the adventure, the leisure, the camp life, the challenge, the sensations, the way of life altogether. I enter the mountains with an embrace and a "Hello." For me it is an opportunity to absorb and learn from an ancient rhythm that cries to get out from my very soul. I go slow so I can pay attention to the Teacher, both around and in me. The camp life is one of relaxation, reflection, laughter, and stories from the trail told around dinner and a glowing sunset. On rainy or snowy days, we stay in-tent and play cards or read a good book.

My advise for all mountain travelers, take the time to ponder, wonder, and be amazed at all before you, whether you're on a peak or in the valley, in a misty forest fog or beside glimmering, snow-laden pines in the open sunshine after a storm with the world at your feet. Know why you're there. Remember who you are!

We choose to leave society for the trail for various individual reasons. 

Mtnned
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Phil Newhouse 
  To: ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com 
  Cc: Postholer ; pct-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 9:29 AM
  Subject: Re: [pct-l] altimeters, necessary?

  Mtnned,

  NICE picture...

  phil

  On Wed, Mar 4, 2009 at 9:22 AM, <ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com> wrote:

    I'm going to agree with Postholer and elaborate.

    During the craze, I bought a Suunto unit. I am always interested in how much
    I've climbed-it's encouragement, really. But I can get that from my map or
    guide book. I find I have to mess with it often if I want it to be accurate.
    I develop a relationship with my watch as I walk through pristine
    Wilderness. If that's what you want to do in the mountains, then enjoy. It's
    just not for me.

    On days where the weather is changing, when the storm is either coming or
    going, the pressure is changing so often that I might as well forget what it
    says the altitude is or I'll be standing beside the trail every hour
    adjusting the thing. What for? To know what the altitude is? For all
    practical purposes, what does this $200 dollar investment do for my trail
    day besides give me another electronic toy that I have to fuss with, get
    pissed off at, or watch grow dark as the batteries fail in the cold?

    Counterpoint-when I am climbing in the backcountry, the relationship I want
    is with the environment I've gone there to learn from. I want to enjoy how
    the view changes as I climb, not the decreasing numbers on my watch. I want
    to be thinking about natural rhythms rather than technological ones (when
    and how often I'm going to have to recalibrate the thing).

    Sure, when you first get out there, the info and novelty is fun. After a
    while it is irrelevant. I'd rather let my mind run with the sounds of the
    forest, the smell of the dew or frost, or watch that bear over there in the
    meadow (175m away) paralleling me and he doesn't even know I'm here (2 or 3
    days out of KM)!

    At the end of my day, I crawl into my bag and start my stove beside me for
    another great mountain dinner. I open my journal, dig for my pen and hope it
    will work this time, pull out the topos for the day, and relish/remember all
    the things I saw and experienced that day. I like to know my elevation gains
    and losses; like I said, it's encouraging. I put them in my head and in so
    doing get to know the challenges of the route I'm following. The stove wakes
    me up with its boiling, I add my dinner and begin simmering and smelling the
    sweet smell of cooking, and begin looking forward to tomorrow's adventures
    along the trail, the creek crossings, the muddy path, the elusive climbs and
    long switchback descents, the prominent peaks, and bends in the streams.
    These all go in my head in detail. I can almost see tomorrow's route. I eat
    dinner as the sun sets, me warm in my bag, my food warm in my stomach,
    another day full of challenge and adventure ahead. Sure, I did 'x' number of
    feet of elevation change, but that isn't as important to me as the life I
    get to live and learn from while walking in this Garden we call Wildness.

    Mtnned
    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Postholer" <public at postholer.com>
    To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
    Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 8:15 AM
    Subject: [pct-l] altimeters

    > The main use I got out of an altimeter was the accumulated change that
    > showed in the log feature.
    >
    > At the end of every day I could see how much climbing and descending I did
    > and kept track of it in my journal. For instance, my biggest altitude
    > change
    > day on the PCT was between Fire Creek Pass and South of High Bridge where
    > I
    > did 6,410 feet of climbing and 8,410 feet of descending over 30.1 miles.
    >
    > Years later I find that an exciting footnote in my journal.
    >
    > -postholer
    > ------------------------------------
    > Trails : http://Postholer.Com
    > Journals : http://Postholer.Com/journal
    > Mobile : http://Postholer.Com/mobi
    >
    > _______________________________________________
    > Pct-l mailing list
    > Pct-l at backcountry.net
    > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
    >
    > __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus
    > signature database 3907 (20090304) __________
    >
    > The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
    >
    > http://www.eset.com
    >
    >
    >

    _______________________________________________
    Pct-l mailing list
    Pct-l at backcountry.net
    http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l