[pct-l] Being away from civilized life

[Edward Anderson]

Hey Dianne,

Your hike to the PCT from Santa Barbara must have been awesome - certainly 
wilder than much of the PCT. I wonder if that route might possibly be passable 
to ride on a horse. Almost all of it is on National Forest Land. How much of the 
route do you remember?  I grew up in Southern California and have made many 
backpacking/fishing trips into the Sespe region and have been lucky to have 
been able to observe the wild condors there. 


Regarding visiting towns:  You mention "I still looked forward to town for the 
chance to rest, the shower, the laundry, and mostly the food. It was indeed a 
necessary evil".  During my 0 days on the trail I usually tried to camp well off 
the trail whenever possible and in places where there was no sign that anyone 
had ever camped there before - and tried to leave that spot as I found it, 
thoroughly scattering the horse manure.  I rested, showered, did laundry 
(without soap) and cooked tasty and nutritious meals on my Jetboil stove. Didn't 
need the "evil" of a town for any of those.  But I did sometimes brush with 
civilization. I went through the drive-thru with my fully-packed horse at 
McDonalds, Cahon Pass. That was fun. (Then I retrieved my resupply cache from 
beneath a bed of leaves near the PCT, went through the tunnel, and made camp 
along the stream about 200' beyond it - at a spot that I doubt anyone had used 
before)  I did enjoy the Kickoff Party in April. I did ride into Green Valley to 
visit trail angels, the Anderson's - Joe made me a fine pancake breakfast.  
Since I now live in Agua Dulce I rode through town. Then I drove to visit the 
Saufleys and went to a party that a neighbor of theirs put on for the hikers. At 
Old Station I rode into the Heitmans and visited Firefly, Firewalker, and the 
many hikers who were also there. Cascade Locks was the last town I visited on 
the way to the Canadian border. Yes, I did my laundry there and visited the 
museum and the library (to use the computer). So, I admit that I did enjoy these 
few contacts with people and the civilized world - but mostly I was seeking to 
have, as much as possible, a wilderness experience.

MendoRider



________________________________
From: Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Wed, October 6, 2010 6:43:05 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Being away from civilized life

I probably talked about town as much as anybody else, including the  
venerable Billy Goat who I talked about what we were going to do in  
town plus what we did in the previous towns for half an hour. We  
talked about the beauty of the trail for five minutes. And what was  
our activity in town? Eating.

I and the people I talked to were hungry. It wasn't that we didn't  
bring enough food, it's that the food we brought wasn't refrigerated,  
fresh, ample or abundantly available. It didn't have bubbles or ice  
or 5% butterfat. Walk 20 or more miles a day and these things may  
become important to you, too.

We also talked about town because of the people we met along the way.  
Town became where I caught up with people I met and met new people to  
remember. Town becomes a part of the trail in that respect, part of  
the trail community.

I only spent perhaps 5 days of the entire 6 months I spent hiking the  
PCT hiking deliberately (as opposed to leap-frogging) with another  
person. I hiked the trail in two sections, 2008 and 2009, with a  
little additional section in the Sierra this year. I forged my own  
route from Santa Barbara to Hiker Town via trails in the very lonely  
and very remote mountains behind Ventura/Ojai/Filmore. I saw no  
footprints on that portion of my journey except for those of bears. I  
had a very solitary, wilderness experience throughout my entire journey.

I feel that I lived outside of civilization for 6 months. I came to  
dislike walls and ceilings, dislike pillows and padding, dislike  
paying to sleep, dislike cars and noise and the way civilized people  
shout when they talk. I still looked forward to town for the chance  
to rest, the shower, the laundry and mostly the food. It was indeed a  
necessary evil. We are not rugged individualists living off the land.  
We are just backpackers and we're dependent on modern technology to  
accomplish this incredible journey. Not a single person on the trail  
could have done it without the help of the internal combustion engine  
and cheap oil at the very least.

Town also marked my progress in a concrete way.

You can take zero days on the trail, but you still have all these  
tasks to complete when you get to town. It becomes more efficient of  
your time to take zero days in town so you can complete your tasks  
and return to the trail. No need to stop at every town. No need to  
party with frat boys if you aren't interested. No need to visit some  
of the famous trail angels if you don't like crowds. It's not a total  
either/or thing.

My point is you can enjoy town, look forward to it and talk about it  
and it doesn't take away from having a wilderness experience.


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