[pct-l] Kick-Off/The Herd/& associated angst

[Gary Wright]

> On Nov 23, 2009, at 10:40 AM, <gwschenk at socal.rr.com> wrote:
> 
>> ---- Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com <diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote: 
>>> 
>>> Also, you can do the hike without staying at trail angel houses. Not  
>>> all of them provide as much relaxation as you would hope for and some  
>>> are downright stressful.
>> 
>> Self-reliance? What a concept!

It makes sense to talk about self-reliance on the trail, but once a hiker gets to town it seems less meaningful.

If you are going to count trail angel visits as a strike against self-reliance, make sure you add demerits for post office visits, shopping at a grocery store, renting a hotel room, purchases at outfitters, phone calls to family and friends, email at the library, showers at a campground, and so on.

The only reason it is possible to engage in a thru-hike is by relying on the vast infrastructure of technology and services that exist in our modern world.



Gary Wright (Radar)