[pct-l] Scott Williamson update
mkwart at gci.net
mkwart at gci.net
Sat Oct 15 21:25:57 CDT 2011
Another thru hiker named Scott Williamson? I guess it is a pretty
common name. That's the name that Crash Test Dummy gave me as his true
name.
--Fireweed
On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM , pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
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------------------------------
Today's Topics:
1. Re: Backpack items - Now "Gear System" (Jeffrey Olson)
2. Re: Backpack items (Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes)
3. Fw: Where do you put it? (Edward Anderson)
4. Shameless plug for PCT video (myles murphy)
5. Cut and Paste Digest Replys (James A. Streeter)
6. Scott is back (Reinhold Metzger)
7. Scott Williamson update (Reinhold Metzger)
8. Hiker sets speed record on Pacific Crest Trail -
SignOnSanDiego.com (reinholdmetzger at cox.net)
<mailto:(reinholdmetzger at cox.net)> <mailto:(reinholdmetzger at cox.net)>
9. Re: Long Distance Hikers and $ (Heather Darnell)
10. Re: Long Distance Hikers and $ (Grayce Palmer)
11. Re: Long Distance Hikers and $ (Charles Doersch)
12. Re: Scott Williamson update (Lee Staley)
------------------------------
From: "Jeffrey Olson" <jolson at olc.edu>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Fri Oct 14 16:57:29 AKDT 2011
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Backpack items - Now "Gear System"
I like these threads because it reminds me that I have a "system" made
up of various components. I started with a Camptrails aluminum frame
with 5000 cu inch sack, a 4 lb down bag, cotton long underwear, a
Frostline down coat my mom made, jeans and Vasque Whitney boots. My
base weight in the early 70s was probably 35 to 40 pounds. I remember
my dad carrying family gear in the 50s with an army surplus knapsack
that must have been 7000 cubic inchs. No frame, and the "belt" held
none of the pack's weight. The kids carried their clothes, open celled
foam pad and sleeping bag.
I don't have that camptrails pack anymore, but I have the next seven
I've used. I remember throwing the Whitneys away after having them
resoled by a shoemaker who should have told me the boots were shot.
They were "torture racks."
I still have that first down bag only because my Mom claimed it - she
wanted to use the down for a quilt she never made. It's in a garbage
bag in the basement.
Somewhere on the web you can find a picture of Monte Dodge up in the
northwest in front of shelves of old stoves. I'm sure there are lots of
us with old gear.
After thousands of dollars spent in usually impulse buys I read Ray
Jardine's PCT Hikers Handbook in 1994. What a revelation! Where before
I didn't think of myself as a beast of burden, after reading his book I
saw that's exactly what I was. I wore heavy boots because that was what
you did when backpacking. I carried a voluminous pack and lots of gear
because I wanted to be prepared for what nature could throw at me. In
1994 my girlfriend and I headed out with two full sets of fleece - pants
and tops, both made on our sewing machine. One was 100 weight and the
other 300 weight Malden Mills fleece. I just shake my head now.
The revelation? Each piece of backpacking gear is part of a larger
system. It has a place in the scheme of things. Until you know what
your own personal and unique "system" is, you'll be making choices about
pieces within it that in some degree are irrational.
The reasons to purchase one piece of gear versus another are usually
based on "aspects" of the gear - weight, size, material, color, etc.
How many hours have you spent comparing one piece of gear against
another as part of the path to purchase? This is what I mean by
"irrational." The criteria by which a piece of gear is judged comes
from Western, materialist understandings of reality that tell us weight,
size, material, color, etc., are the primary criteria we sift to make
purchasing choices. This is so bogus.
It is only modern Western culture that says it is the relation of parts
that defines reality. All other cultures assume there is a whole within
which the parts find their meaning. The modern West says it is
relations of parts that define the whole. Medieval Western culture and
all indigenous cultures assume there is a whole that defines the parts.
To head out on a thru-hike or long section hike involves an act of
faith. In our modern world "faith" is suspect - we connect it with some
sort of stereotypical fundamentalist orientation. Yet, when we step
onto the trail in that first step, we are so engaging in an act of faith
that we will take the next step, and the millionth. (40,000 steps a day
x 25 days is a million steps. 40,000 steps is about 18 miles give or
take a couple depending on stride).
When a person begins a long hike, s/he leaves modernity behind (if not
sil-nylon and freeze-dried food and ?). We don't "go back" to
pre-historical roots. We cast off the trappings of modernity and enter
a world in which our own perception of the wilderness in large measure
determines what is actually there.
IN 1997 just south of Deception Lakes I remember lying in my tent and
hearing the snuffling of a bear rooting in a log for grubs. I was so
intensely "present" I found myself staring at him from up the hill. He
was between me and my tent. I saw myself rigid with "bear-fear" in my
tent, and how he'd roll the log, push it, glance down the hill to my
tent 50' away, and go back to eating. I watched him and my tent for a
couple minutes before relaxing and hearing him from within my tent.
I lay there realizing he and I were part of something larger, that he
wasn't after the food serving as my pillow, that he wasn't plotting how
to overcome his natural fear of humans and "get me." That was a
"pivotal experience" for me. When I hike now I feel part of something
larger and I, my friends and everything else I perceive expresses this
whole, are vehicles of it. Be it weather or bears or an eerie sense
there are spirits just outside my five-sensed perception - I am a part
in balance and harmony with the rest of my immediate world.
Those of us who have started numerous trips anticipated our first long
hike with almost obsessive, definitely neurotic concern for making sure
our gear was perfect, that our plan was really clear. We spent
countless hours contemplating the best way to set the stage so our trip
would be both comfortable and successful. Facing the impending unknown
we tried to control what we could.
As the start date for the second, third, fourth and ? trips comes
closer, concern for planning no longer dominates the months prior to
starting a hike. My first long section hike took three months to plan.
This involved purchasing gear, boxing possessions and moving them to
storage, making seemingly infinite baggies of food and putting them in
boxes my folks would mail, looking at maps, and wonderfully, imagining
what it would be like.
The planning for my last section hike took a week. I still plan/imagine
and hype myself up by looking at maps and pictures from your websites.
But actual "getting ready" doesn't involve that much energy or time.
I think that the product of numerous section hikes for me is that I
actually have my own "system" of gear that works for me. Like feeling
part of the whole, the "system" is a part that at any given point in any
day on the trail I am able to meet what the wilderness gives me.
I'm curious what systems experienced thru- and section-hikers have
developed when it comes to gear. I know Warner Springs Monty had a
system that attempted to be as light as possible - 5 pounds was it? He
had to have had experience hiking day after day to come up with a system
that kept him from dying when conditions got extreme.
What's your system? How have you balanced size of pack, sleeping gear,
clothing, etc., so that you move through each day in calm confidence
that you can take what you are given as you hike the trail and still
carry the least amount of weight? This might include sleeping low under
trees on duff so you can carry a 14 oz homemade quilt. What's your
system.
I think this is a question danced around and sometimes through fairly
quickly, but never really considered in any depth here on the listserv.
My guess is there will be no more than three or four "systems" of gear
we use to support our hiking. Let's see if this is so!
Jeffrey Olson
Martin, SD, where warm fall is descending into cold fall...
------------------------------
From: "Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes"
<diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Fri Oct 14 17:05:38 AKDT 2011
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Backpack items
In my opinion, REI is good for clothing, hats, shoes, socks. But for
gear, I go with ULA, Gossamer Gear, Tarptent, 6 Moons designs, Western
Mountaineering, Go-lite etc. But that's just me.
The Osprey packs are very nice, though. I'd try get one on the small
side rather than the big side. Something below 4lbs if at all possible.
The Osprey pack you list below weighs over 6lbs! The tent is over 3lbs!
The bag almost 3lbs. That's more than 13 lbs before you put in anything
else! Yikes! All my gear weighed less than that.
Diane
On Oct 14, 2011, at 5:37 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net
<mailto:pct-l-request at backcountry.net>
<mailto:pct-l-request at backcountry.net> wrote:
> Although I wasn't ready to buy anything yet, REI is having a 20% sale
> until
> Sunday for new members. I was curious what the list had to say about
> any of
> the items below (pros/cons).
>
> Tent: NEMO Obi 2P (I'm 6'3" and weigh in at 260)
> Backpack: Osprey Argon 85 or Gregory Palisade 80
> Bag: North Face, Cat's Meow
>
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
>
> Joel Hawk
------------------------------
From: "Edward Anderson" <mendoridered at yahoo.com>
To: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>,"timpnye at gmail.com"
<timpnye at gmail.com>
Date: Fri Oct 14 18:30:27 AKDT 2011
Subject: [pct-l] Fw: Where do you put it?
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com
<mailto:mendoridered at yahoo.com> <mailto:mendoridered at yahoo.com> >
To: Timothy Nye <timpnye at gmail.com <mailto:timpnye at gmail.com>
<mailto:timpnye at gmail.com> >
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 6:51 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Where do you put it?
Hi Timothy,
I think that you have been lucky so far - sleeping that close to your
food. If you are in bear country there is risk of a visit I would only
consider doing that if the food was in a OpSak. There were a few times,
when it was rainy, when did just that.- cooked breakfast with my Jetboil
canister stove inside the vestibule of my tent. But the food was always
stored in an OpSak. My first real problem with rodents was when they
got into my food cache about one-half mile north of Beldon Town. I had
driven ahead and cached under about a foot of leaves in a gully more
than a week before. When I arrived I discovered that ALL 30+ pounds of
processed horse feed was gone. It had been stored in Food Saver bags. I
had stored my resupply food in OpSaks right next to the horse feed. My
food was still there, including two cans of V8 juice. The Ranger there
that I talked to said that it was the work of rodents. After that lesson
I also stored the horse
feed in OpSaks and had no problems - all the way to Monument 78.
You mentioned Swiss Miss. My favorite hot drink on the PCT was a two
packets of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Sensation with lots of Nido powdered
whole milk added. That drink is over 350 calories.
MendoRider
From: Timothy Nye <timpnye at gmail.com <mailto:timpnye at gmail.com>
<mailto:timpnye at gmail.com> >
To: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com
<mailto:mendoridered at yahoo.com> <mailto:mendoridered at yahoo.com> >
Cc: "jape1 at cox.net <mailto:jape1 at cox.net> <mailto:jape1 at cox.net> "
<jape1 at cox.net <mailto:jape1 at cox.net> <mailto:jape1 at cox.net> >;
"pct-l at backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>
<mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net> " <pct-l at backcountry.net
<mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net> <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net> >
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 5:30 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Where do you put it?
I place my food bag just outside my tent, either under the vestibule or
by the mosquito netting and about 4" of space. Half the time I have my
coffee rig set up independent of the bag; this consists of a liter
bottle of water, 2 servings of Swiss Miss, 1 cups worth of instant milk
and either 2-3 packets of Starbuck's instant coffee or a small mesh
bag full of Peet's coffee. This allows me to roll over and get coffee
going without getting out of my bag. I can then follow that with 2
packets of oatmeal. Newly energized I can then break camp and hit the
trail.
The worse thing that happened to me was in 2009, when a mouse hit the
food bag in the boulder field just before Chihuahua Valley road in the
only flat spot for about 5 miles. The mouse clearly had his
opportunites dialed in.
When cowboy camping (condensation issues and bad weather chances
minimal) the pack goes under your feet, assuming that you have a short
sleeping pad. My NeoAir was punctured by an overlooked pinecone in
SoCal this year and my wife was upsold a 6 1/2' one at REI, 7 more
ounces than the 10 for the short one, but once I slept on it I was a
convert. The pack went to one side.
I should point out, however, that my base pack weight went from 10 1/2
pounds to 14 1/2 pounds by the time I settled on my ideal rig.
------------------------------
From: "myles murphy" <mymurphy at sbcglobal.net>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Fri Oct 14 18:40:52 AKDT 2011
Subject: [pct-l] Shameless plug for PCT video
Very old PCT Documentary 'Walking the West" can be streamed at this
link.
Higher Res than the youtube version and will be offline soon...
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/6158/Walking-the-West--Hiking-2600-Miles-From-Mexico-to-Canada
<http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/6158/Walking-the-West--Hiking-2600-Miles-From-Mexico-to-Canada>
<http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/festival/play/6158/Walking-the-West--Hiking-2600-Miles-From-Mexico-to-Canada>
------------------------------
From: "James A. Streeter" <james8313 at sti.net>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Fri Oct 14 21:05:36 AKDT 2011
Subject: [pct-l] Cut and Paste Digest Replys
Just a reminder to everyone that received the PCT messages in
Digest version.
Please cut and paste any message that you wish to reply to into
a NEW email and add the same subject line in the header.
This will make it easier for everyone to follow the discussions
and not get lost in the clutter when complete digests are reposted
by just replying.
YosemiteJames
------------------------------
From: "Reinhold Metzger" <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>
To: "linsey" <mowoggirl at yahoo.com>,"PCT" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Date: Fri Oct 14 22:02:58 AKDT 2011
Subject: [pct-l] Scott is back
linsey,
Thank you for your kind words and yes,....Scott is...."So Elite"....such
"Trail Royalty".
Yet, however, he is so down to earth and modest....almost to a
fault....never bombastic or bragging about his accomplishments....to the
contrary he is always downplaying his accomplishments.
People that don't know him are really surprised by his modesty .
I guess what I am trying to say is that Scott is an extremely nice and
likable person.
JMT Reinhold
-----------------------------------------------------
On 10/11/2011 10:42 PM, linsey wrote:
> This news is elating...Scott is on a higher plane than mere mortals.
> So Elite! Such Trail Royalty! Thank you Dear Reinhold for being
> there and keeping us included.
------------------------------
From: "Reinhold Metzger" <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Fri Oct 14 22:25:07 AKDT 2011
Subject: [pct-l] Scott Williamson update
Fireweed,
I wish you could have been there also.
HOWEVER, You never would have recognized Scott.
Why???....because Scott is clean cut.
He does not have a beard and neither does he go by the trail name "Crash
Test Dummy".
Sorry Fireweed,.....you had the wrong Scott.
You would have liked this one better though.
JMT Reinhold
-------------------------------------
Fireweed wrote:
I wish I could be there to meet him at the border. I met him,
unknowingly, in late September 2006. I was section hiking from Seiad
Valley to Ashland and met him just outside of Grouse Gap. The quote from
my journal: "Met Scott Williamson on the way back (from retrieving my
camera I mistakenly left at a rest break). He is a thru hiker on his way
to Mexico--big beard. Trail name "Crash Test Dummy". Kind of late to be
heading to Mexico."
Little did I know--I guess he was doing his first yo-yo.
--Fireweed
------------------------------
From: reinholdmetzger at cox.net
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Sat Oct 15 03:22:11 AKDT 2011
Subject: [pct-l] Hiker sets speed record on Pacific Crest Trail -
SignOnSanDiego.com
*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.
Scott, the "King of the PCT"
at his throne after his record breaking "thru-hike"
October 11, 2011.
JMT Reinhold
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------------------------------
From: "Heather Darnell" <mom_and_alex at yahoo.com>
To: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Date: Sat Oct 15 07:25:50 AKDT 2011
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Long Distance Hikers and $
Charles [may I call you "Cheers"?! It seems so fitting having read many
of your posts ;) ]
Your response to Sue really reached me. I am 50, and won't be starting
my thru-hike for another 5 years. "Married wife, single mom" - as our
youngest deserves having a present parent. He will graduate from high
school in June of 2016 - a bit late for me to start a thru hike, so I
won't go until 2017. And I do hope various family members will jon me
for at least parts of it.
This sentence of yours really made an impression:
Papa thought his refusing to join Mother would keep her at home.
I bet my husband believes the same! Not gonna happen! I do what I can
now to prepare, working out, taking short hikes. I am blessed to only
work part time, and don't expect money to be a problem as I squirrel
away resources bit by bit ;)
I hope my husband will come to the same conclusion your dad apprently
reached, and be honored to serve as the "home team" most of the time.
THANKS so much for sharing the inspiring story of your scuba diving mom
:)
Blessings,
Heather Darnell
Message: 14
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2011 08:16:36 -0600
From: Charles Doersch <charles.doersch at gmail.com
<mailto:charles.doersch at gmail.com> <mailto:charles.doersch at gmail.com>
>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Long distance hikers and $
To: Sue Kettles <sue.kettles at comcast.net
<mailto:sue.kettles at comcast.net> <mailto:sue.kettles at comcast.net> >
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>
<mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID:
<CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com
<mailto:CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com>
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>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Sister Sue, I encourage you! And I do understand.
Maybe other married wives in their 40s and 50s can speak to this
challenge
you faced with even greater insight. I know my sister-peers who are
married
found by strange and circuitous means that they had grown into a
different
place than had their husbands by the time they reached their 40s ...
(some
earlier, some later). Their needs were different. That meant life had to
change. [The old bon-mot by Oscar Wilde comes to mind: "Women marry men
hoping they'll change. Men marry women, hoping they won't. Both are
disappointed."]
My mother at 63 decided she wanted to take up scuba diving (since her
knees
were injured and she couldn't hike well any longer), and my father was
not
interested. He had done it much years before, and after having had a
sharply
adventurous life, his taste for adventure had been waning. Mother's
however,
had grown over time -- or deepened. She, too, had been an adventuress
but
babies & hubby side-tracked her for years (though she infused our
upbringing
with adventures, no doubt about it).
Now, after years, she had grown increasingly restless of being expected
to
be her husband's nest. Her children and husband had felt entitled to her
attending on their needs for so many years. Where was the adventuring
girl
she had known herself to be long years before -- the one not expected to
fuss & coddle, tend & mend, water & weed, wipe & tuck in? And she was
certainly finished with asking her husband's consent for her to do what
she
wanted to do.
Papa thought his refusing to join Mother would keep her at home. But no,
Mom
took up scuba diving (with me as her co-conspirator) -- and invited him
to
come along, always. And he always refused. So she grinned and said,
"I'll
send you a post card." And she did.
She joined me & my clan scuba diving in Australia and Fiji and Papua New
Guinea and in the Caribbean. She was gone for months at a time. And she
sent postcards. Of course, Papa (a retired Air Force officer) had in
earlier
decades flown off to assignments for months at a time in far-away and
glamorous lands while Mom changed diapers and held down the fort of an
entire household. He sent her postcards. She was a military wife then --
and
knew this was normal. She did not complain.
Now she turned to Papa when he tried to complain that what mother was
doing
was selfish or unreasonable. (and, of course, our culture does
guilt-trip
"mothers" for having their own adventures -- so Mom had to contend with
the
whispering voices inside her, as well). She told Papa that he was a big
boy
now. He could cook for himself. He had friends to play cards with. He
had
movies to go to. He had libraries to read in. And no, she was not being
selfish to get out and enjoy life while her health lasted. He had seen
the
world while she raised children alone -- and the country & neighbors
called
that noble, and called that good. She was a big girl, she had been able
to
handle it.
However, she also knew that self-denial for years creates reservoirs of
resentment -- something many mothers of a certain age recognize. She
knew
that reservoir would only threaten her days with my father as the years
went
by if it continued to fill. So rather than feed that reservoir -- she
began
draining it, by taking up her own life in her own hands -- still loving
&
caring about Papa & the rest of us -- but not being constrained by any
unwarranted neediness.
They stayed married. And Mom had adventures. And eventually, Papa
rediscovered his own atrophied taste for pizzazz. When Mom was out
meeting
us in far & strange places, Papa would fly out or drive out to
rendezvous
points & bring celebratory libations & festive food. We'd party with
him,
then off & away Mom and the rest of us would go, and Papa would drive
off
with a wave to meet us elsewhere. He became the support system guy
("logistical support" he called it) -- and loved the role.
Mom, at 84, completed her most recent shark dive in Barbados a couple
years
ago.
Cheers,
Charles Doersch
------------------------------
From: "Grayce Palmer" <graypalm at gmail.com>
To: "Heather Darnell" <mom_and_alex at yahoo.com>
Cc: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Date: Sat Oct 15 07:33:30 AKDT 2011
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Long Distance Hikers and $
Charles, that is SO awesome! Thanks for sharing!
-Graycie
On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 10:25 AM, Heather Darnell
<mom_and_alex at yahoo.com <mailto:mom_and_alex at yahoo.com>
<mailto:mom_and_alex at yahoo.com> >wrote:
> Charles [may I call you "Cheers"?! It seems so fitting having read
> many of
> your posts ;) ]
>
> Your response to Sue really reached me. I am 50, and won't be starting
> my
> thru-hike for another 5 years. "Married wife, single mom" - as our
> youngest
> deserves having a present parent. He will graduate from high school in
> June
> of 2016 - a bit late for me to start a thru hike, so I won't go until
> 2017.
> And I do hope various family members will jon me for at least parts of
> it.
>
> This sentence of yours really made an impression:
> Papa thought his refusing to join Mother would keep her at home.
> I bet my husband believes the same! Not gonna happen! I do what I
> can now
> to prepare, working out, taking short hikes. I am blessed to only work
> part
> time, and don't expect money to be a problem as I squirrel away
> resources
> bit by bit ;)
>
> I hope my husband will come to the same conclusion your dad apprently
> reached, and be honored to serve as the "home team" most of the time.
>
> THANKS so much for sharing the inspiring story of your scuba diving
> mom :)
>
> Blessings,
> Heather Darnell
>
> Message: 14
> Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2011 08:16:36 -0600
> From: Charles Doersch <charles.doersch at gmail.com
> <mailto:charles.doersch at gmail.com>
> <mailto:charles.doersch at gmail.com> >
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Long distance hikers and $
> To: Sue Kettles <sue.kettles at comcast.net
> <mailto:sue.kettles at comcast.net> <mailto:sue.kettles at comcast.net> >
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>
> <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net> Message-ID:
>
> <CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com
> <mailto:CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com>
>
> <mailto:CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com>
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Sister Sue, I encourage you! And I do understand.
>
> Maybe other married wives in their 40s and 50s can speak to this
> challenge
> you faced with even greater insight. I know my sister-peers who are
> married
> found by strange and circuitous means that they had grown into a
> different
> place than had their husbands by the time they reached their 40s ...
> (some
> earlier, some later). Their needs were different. That meant life had
> to
> change. [The old bon-mot by Oscar Wilde comes to mind: "Women marry
> men
> hoping they'll change. Men marry women, hoping they won't. Both are
> disappointed."]
>
> My mother at 63 decided she wanted to take up scuba diving (since her
> knees
> were injured and she couldn't hike well any longer), and my father was
> not
> interested. He had done it much years before, and after having had a
> sharply
> adventurous life, his taste for adventure had been waning. Mother's
> however,
> had grown over time -- or deepened. She, too, had been an adventuress
> but
> babies & hubby side-tracked her for years (though she infused our
> upbringing
> with adventures, no doubt about it).
>
> Now, after years, she had grown increasingly restless of being
> expected to
> be her husband's nest. Her children and husband had felt entitled to
> her
> attending on their needs for so many years. Where was the adventuring
> girl
> she had known herself to be long years before -- the one not expected
> to
> fuss & coddle, tend & mend, water & weed, wipe & tuck in? And she was
> certainly finished with asking her husband's consent for her to do
> what she
> wanted to do.
>
> Papa thought his refusing to join Mother would keep her at home. But
> no,
> Mom
> took up scuba diving (with me as her co-conspirator) -- and invited
> him to
> come along, always. And he always refused. So she grinned and said,
> "I'll
> send you a post card." And she did.
>
> She joined me & my clan scuba diving in Australia and Fiji and Papua
> New
> Guinea and in the Caribbean. She was gone for months at a time. And
> she
> sent postcards. Of course, Papa (a retired Air Force officer) had in
> earlier
> decades flown off to assignments for months at a time in far-away and
> glamorous lands while Mom changed diapers and held down the fort of an
> entire household. He sent her postcards. She was a military wife then
> --
> and
> knew this was normal. She did not complain.
>
> Now she turned to Papa when he tried to complain that what mother was
> doing
> was selfish or unreasonable. (and, of course, our culture does
> guilt-trip
> "mothers" for having their own adventures -- so Mom had to contend
> with the
> whispering voices inside her, as well). She told Papa that he was a
> big boy
> now. He could cook for himself. He had friends to play cards with. He
> had
> movies to go to. He had libraries to read in. And no, she was not
> being
> selfish to get out and enjoy life while her health lasted. He had seen
> the
> world while she raised children alone -- and the country & neighbors
> called
> that noble, and called that good. She was a big girl, she had been
> able to
> handle it.
>
> However, she also knew that self-denial for years creates reservoirs
> of
> resentment -- something many mothers of a certain age recognize. She
> knew
> that reservoir would only threaten her days with my father as the
> years
> went
> by if it continued to fill. So rather than feed that reservoir -- she
> began
> draining it, by taking up her own life in her own hands -- still
> loving &
> caring about Papa & the rest of us -- but not being constrained by any
> unwarranted neediness.
>
> They stayed married. And Mom had adventures. And eventually, Papa
> rediscovered his own atrophied taste for pizzazz. When Mom was out
> meeting
> us in far & strange places, Papa would fly out or drive out to
> rendezvous
> points & bring celebratory libations & festive food. We'd party with
> him,
> then off & away Mom and the rest of us would go, and Papa would drive
> off
> with a wave to meet us elsewhere. He became the support system guy
> ("logistical support" he called it) -- and loved the role.
>
> Mom, at 84, completed her most recent shark dive in Barbados a couple
> years
> ago.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Charles Doersch
> _______________________________________________
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> copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is is prohibited without express permission.
>
------------------------------
From: "Charles Doersch" <charles.doersch at gmail.com>
To: "Grayce Palmer" <graypalm at gmail.com>
Cc: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>,"Heather Darnell"
<mom_and_alex at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat Oct 15 08:06:14 AKDT 2011
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Long Distance Hikers and $
Thanks, Heather, and thanks, Graycie. (Uh-oh, Heather ~ did you just
give me
my trail name ahead of time? I've wondered what it would end up being).
:-D
Heather, I suspect you are going to surprise you soon -- and often. As
Bette
Davis said in that great film *All About Eve*, "Fasten your seat belts."
I know some folks raise their eyebrows when I say this (but I'll risk
it,
since I'm not shy): the middle-aged and well-aged women I've known
deeply
and well have taught me that women's trajectories in life really are
quite
often quite different than are men's trajectories -- and much
misunderstanding and strife comes when men & women don't embrace that,
when
they try and presume one's model fits the other.
You go, girl!
Cheers,
~Charles
On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 9:33 AM, Grayce Palmer <graypalm at gmail.com
<mailto:graypalm at gmail.com> <mailto:graypalm at gmail.com> > wrote:
> Charles, that is SO awesome! Thanks for sharing!
>
> -Graycie
>
> On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 10:25 AM, Heather Darnell
> <mom_and_alex at yahoo.com <mailto:mom_and_alex at yahoo.com>
> <mailto:mom_and_alex at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>
>> Charles [may I call you "Cheers"?! It seems so fitting having read
>> many
> of
>> your posts ;) ]
>>
>> Your response to Sue really reached me. I am 50, and won't be
>> starting my
>> thru-hike for another 5 years. "Married wife, single mom" - as our
> youngest
>> deserves having a present parent. He will graduate from high school
>> in
> June
>> of 2016 - a bit late for me to start a thru hike, so I won't go until
> 2017.
>> And I do hope various family members will jon me for at least parts
>> of
> it.
>>
>> This sentence of yours really made an impression:
>> Papa thought his refusing to join Mother would keep her at home.
>> I bet my husband believes the same! Not gonna happen! I do what I
>> can
> now
>> to prepare, working out, taking short hikes. I am blessed to only
>> work
> part
>> time, and don't expect money to be a problem as I squirrel away
>> resources
>> bit by bit ;)
>>
>> I hope my husband will come to the same conclusion your dad apprently
>> reached, and be honored to serve as the "home team" most of the time.
>>
>> THANKS so much for sharing the inspiring story of your scuba diving
>> mom
> :)
>>
>> Blessings,
>> Heather Darnell
>>
>> Message: 14
>> Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2011 08:16:36 -0600
>> From: Charles Doersch <charles.doersch at gmail.com
>> <mailto:charles.doersch at gmail.com>
>> <mailto:charles.doersch at gmail.com> >
>> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Long distance hikers and $
>> To: Sue Kettles <sue.kettles at comcast.net
>> <mailto:sue.kettles at comcast.net> <mailto:sue.kettles at comcast.net> >
>> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>
>> <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net> Message-ID:
>>
>> <CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com
>> <mailto:CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com>
>>
>> <mailto:CADH_B_iKqxp5_=MfNYi3iRBWybKFAo5JLOMsC7-PP3zr=ttQSQ at mail.gmail.com>
>> >
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>>
>> Sister Sue, I encourage you! And I do understand.
>>
>> Maybe other married wives in their 40s and 50s can speak to this
> challenge
>> you faced with even greater insight. I know my sister-peers who are
> married
>> found by strange and circuitous means that they had grown into a
> different
>> place than had their husbands by the time they reached their 40s ...
> (some
>> earlier, some later). Their needs were different. That meant life had
>> to
>> change. [The old bon-mot by Oscar Wilde comes to mind: "Women marry
>> men
>> hoping they'll change. Men marry women, hoping they won't. Both are
>> disappointed."]
>>
>> My mother at 63 decided she wanted to take up scuba diving (since her
> knees
>> were injured and she couldn't hike well any longer), and my father
>> was
> not
>> interested. He had done it much years before, and after having had a
>> sharply
>> adventurous life, his taste for adventure had been waning. Mother's
>> however,
>> had grown over time -- or deepened. She, too, had been an adventuress
>> but
>> babies & hubby side-tracked her for years (though she infused our
>> upbringing
>> with adventures, no doubt about it).
>>
>> Now, after years, she had grown increasingly restless of being
>> expected
> to
>> be her husband's nest. Her children and husband had felt entitled to
>> her
>> attending on their needs for so many years. Where was the adventuring
> girl
>> she had known herself to be long years before -- the one not expected
>> to
>> fuss & coddle, tend & mend, water & weed, wipe & tuck in? And she was
>> certainly finished with asking her husband's consent for her to do
>> what
> she
>> wanted to do.
>>
>> Papa thought his refusing to join Mother would keep her at home. But
>> no,
>> Mom
>> took up scuba diving (with me as her co-conspirator) -- and invited
>> him
> to
>> come along, always. And he always refused. So she grinned and said,
>> "I'll
>> send you a post card." And she did.
>>
>> She joined me & my clan scuba diving in Australia and Fiji and Papua
>> New
>> Guinea and in the Caribbean. She was gone for months at a time. And
>> she
>> sent postcards. Of course, Papa (a retired Air Force officer) had in
>> earlier
>> decades flown off to assignments for months at a time in far-away and
>> glamorous lands while Mom changed diapers and held down the fort of
>> an
>> entire household. He sent her postcards. She was a military wife then
>> --
>> and
>> knew this was normal. She did not complain.
>>
>> Now she turned to Papa when he tried to complain that what mother was
> doing
>> was selfish or unreasonable. (and, of course, our culture does
>> guilt-trip
>> "mothers" for having their own adventures -- so Mom had to contend
>> with
> the
>> whispering voices inside her, as well). She told Papa that he was a
>> big
> boy
>> now. He could cook for himself. He had friends to play cards with. He
>> had
>> movies to go to. He had libraries to read in. And no, she was not
>> being
>> selfish to get out and enjoy life while her health lasted. He had
>> seen
> the
>> world while she raised children alone -- and the country & neighbors
> called
>> that noble, and called that good. She was a big girl, she had been
>> able
> to
>> handle it.
>>
>> However, she also knew that self-denial for years creates reservoirs
>> of
>> resentment -- something many mothers of a certain age recognize. She
>> knew
>> that reservoir would only threaten her days with my father as the
>> years
>> went
>> by if it continued to fill. So rather than feed that reservoir -- she
> began
>> draining it, by taking up her own life in her own hands -- still
>> loving &
>> caring about Papa & the rest of us -- but not being constrained by
>> any
>> unwarranted neediness.
>>
>> They stayed married. And Mom had adventures. And eventually, Papa
>> rediscovered his own atrophied taste for pizzazz. When Mom was out
> meeting
>> us in far & strange places, Papa would fly out or drive out to
>> rendezvous
>> points & bring celebratory libations & festive food. We'd party with
>> him,
>> then off & away Mom and the rest of us would go, and Papa would drive
>> off
>> with a wave to meet us elsewhere. He became the support system guy
>> ("logistical support" he called it) -- and loved the role.
>>
>> Mom, at 84, completed her most recent shark dive in Barbados a couple
> years
>> ago.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Charles Doersch
>> _______________________________________________
>> Pct-L mailing list
>> Pct-L at backcountry.net <mailto:Pct-L at backcountry.net>
>> <mailto:Pct-L at backcountry.net> To unsubcribe, or change options
>> visit:
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>> <http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>
>> <http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l>
>> List Archives:
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
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>> <http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/> All content is
>> copyrighted by the respective authors.
>> Reproduction is is prohibited without express permission.
>>
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------------------------------
From: "Lee Staley" <leestcoast at gmail.com>
To: "pct-l at backcountry.net List" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Cc: "Reinhold Metzger" <reinholdmetzger at cox.net>
Date: Sat Oct 15 08:32:45 AKDT 2011
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Scott Williamson update
Right, of the 2006 thru's , Crash Test Dummy was I think the last to hit
to reach Mexico, maybe a month after Scott completed his yoyo. I think
he is from Tennessee. I remember seeing his name on the PCT Register at
the Warner Springs P.O. with an early January 2007 date. I'd guess that
he is also a super strong hiker, as he would have went through the
Sierra's in early winter conditions.
Cruz Control
On Oct 14, 2011, at 11:25 PM, Reinhold Metzger wrote:
> Fireweed,
> I wish you could have been there also.
> HOWEVER, You never would have recognized Scott.
> Why???....because Scott is clean cut.
> He does not have a beard and neither does he go by the trail name
> "Crash Test Dummy".
> Sorry Fireweed,.....you had the wrong Scott.
> You would have liked this one better though.
>
> JMT Reinhold
> -------------------------------------
> Fireweed wrote:
> I wish I could be there to meet him at the border. I met him,
> unknowingly, in late September 2006. I was section hiking from Seiad
> Valley to Ashland and met him just outside of Grouse Gap. The quote
> from
> my journal: "Met Scott Williamson on the way back (from retrieving my
> camera I mistakenly left at a rest break). He is a thru hiker on his
> way
> to Mexico--big beard. Trail name "Crash Test Dummy". Kind of late to
> be
> heading to Mexico."
>
------------------------------
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