[pct-l] foot ware and Spring run-off

[Gary Schenk]

Well said. This post should go on the FAQ.

On 10/18/2010 6:53 PM, CHUCK CHELIN wrote:
> Good evening, all,
>
>
>
> I, for one, am very grateful for Ned’s posts.  That may seem strange because
> I’m a long-time, committed, and unrepentant ultra-lite hiker, while Ned
> represents the opposite, more extensively-equipped, end of the spectrum.  He
> will never convince me to go heavy and I will never try to convince him to
> go lite.  We’re sort of bookends in this business.
>
>
>
> The reason bookends are good is because new hikers and inexperienced PCT
> hikers subscribe to this List to learn by gaining both perspective and
> information.  Few of the posted questions can be answered with a fact:  If a
> subscriber wants to know if stove “A” is heavier than stove “B” they will
> generally look for the facts on the manufacturer’s website.  More often the
> question is, “Which stove is better for PCT hiking?”
>
>
>
> The answer to that -- and most other questions -- falls into the realm of
> opinion, and we all know what opinions are like:  “Everybody has one; no-one
> cares much about anybody else’s; they all stink.”   When reading PCT-L a new
> hiker may begin to believe the gold-standard is a sub-10 lb. base weight,
> and they may feel their 20-pound base is ridiculously high at 200% of “the
> norm”.  Reading posts by the Neds of the world with 70 pound packs and
> 6-pound boots will clearly illustrate that their 20 pounds is certainly in
> the ballpark, a weight that can be dialed-in – with more or less gear -- as
> they gain experience.
>
>
>
> So whose opinions should one believe?  It’s very human for us to believe
> what we want to believe; to find an “expert” who will validate whatever we
> want to do anyway.  My frame of reference when replying to posted questions
> is that of a single, experienced, self-reliant long-distance, three-season
> PCT hiker.  I don’t extend comments to include alpine mountaineering, winter
> expeditions, SAR activity, group leadership for kids or adults, equipage for
> wilderness trail maintenance, big game hunting, pack-animal usage, primitive
> living-off-the-land, or field operations of an infantry platoon – all
> activities in which I’ve participated, but which are not germane to
> long-distance PCT hiking.
>
>
>
> This List  would be very boring if the only approved answer to every
> question was, “Dude, just hike your own hike.”