[pct-l] Sorta OT - Reaction to Abby Sunderland's Rescue

[G L]

Well it's simple.  You're right, and he's wrong.

As Abby herself said quite rightly, her age had nothing to do with the storm and or the wave that broke her mast.

Whenever I have conversations with non-hikers about some of my trips, the reaction I usually get is shock. "Don't you take a gun?"  "Aren't you worried about crazy people out there?"  I'm sure you've all heard the comments.

And when I point out there are quite a few women who hike the PCT solo too, some of them just shake their heads in disbelief.  So for you guys who think Abby shouldn't be doing what she was doing, let me ask a question:  should we ban women from the PCT too, because it's not safe for them?

The real question we should ask is whether she was prepared and experienced enough to undertake the task responsibly.  She was,  and that should be the end of it.  

By the way, her 17 year old brother did the same thing last year, didn't he?  How come nobody is freaking over that?  Sixteen year old Australian Jessica Watson just finished sailing around the world last month, and nobody threw a hissy fit over what she did.  The only difference between Jessica and Abby is that Jessica had the good fortune of not having her mast broken by a wave.

Tell "him" to quit being such a girly man.  Life is about adventure.



________________________________

 In my household we disagree about this event. I say more power to her  
and he says kids that age have no business doing something like that.

Does our upbringing have something to do with that? He had a nurse  
mother who told him stories of kids coming in to the hospital  
suffering all kinds of horrible diseases and accidents. My mom was a  
70s feminist who dragged her daughters around the country with a tent  
trailer which at that time was a brave thing for a woman to do  
without a man present.

Anyway, that girl who sailed looks to me like someone who can handle  
it. I wouldn't have even thought up something that adventurous at  
that age. All I wanted then was a dark tan.

On Jun 13, 2010, at 9:16 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> So by now moist everyone knows about Sutherland's rescue. There was  
> an article in the LA times about her reaction to people  
> condemnation of her age and the season she made the attempt.  
> Nothing really surprising until I started reading peoples comments.
>
> Take a look for yourselves at the LA Times Article:
> http://tinyurl.com/33mkznb
>
> My company is working on a project that has made me look at how  
> generation X and (even more so) the millennial generation are  
> abandoning experiencing nature. One of the more disturbing factors  
> is what I have come to call "The Fear" that people permeate in  
> discussions regarding experiences that occur out in natural. Also,  
> having just finished reading "Last Child in the Woods" as part of  
> my research for this project it was especially poignant for me to  
> read the comments from people about Abby's failed attempt.
>
> All of my context for my research has been related to why young  
> people are not hiking, camping, fishing, hunting or just playing in  
> the local woods anymore. But the response in the comments of this  
> article are also blatantly ripe with "The Fear" that parents are  
> now passing on to their kids.
>
> Our daughter was 15 when she spent her first summer working a pack  
> station in the central Sierras. My wife and I were not naive to the  
> unique dangers she would be exposed to working with large animals  
> over treacherous terrain but we were also certain it would be a  
> rewarding experience for her that would help shape her in a way  
> that High School could never do. I won't bother to go into all the  
> details but she is 21 now and by far the most grounded person I  
> have ever met in her age group.
>
> So were Abby's parents reckless in supporting her quest to  
> circumnavigate the world? You can guess my opinion, but I would  
> like to hear from a group of people of whom most are not influenced  
> by "the Fear".
>
> BigToe

Books I've written:
~ Piper's Flight
~ Adventure and Magic
~ Santa Barbara Hikes
http://stores.lulu.com/dianesoini

We're not here for a long time, but we are here for a good time

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