[pct-l] Hiking Solitude

[Dennis Phelan]

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Dennis
On Aug 11, 2012 11:16 AM, "Ken Powers" <ken at gottawalk.com> wrote:

> Don't think that the PCT is the only long distance hike around, especially
> if you are looking for solitude.
>
> The CDT sounds as if it still has its solitude. And an order of magnitude
> less hikers than the PCT.
>
> The Arizona Trail is now complete and has few through hikers. It also has
> heat and water problems, and has a growing number of water caches and trail
> angels. But it is not yet a crowd scene.
>
> The Idaho Centennial Trail has a handful of through hikers total. It has
> gorgeous mountain scenery and a stretch of waterless desert.  It also
> passes
> through 4 very small towns in approx 800 miles making resupply interesting.
>
> Utah has some beautiful red rock trails to hike.
>
> If you are looking for solitude the west has some great trails for you.
>
> Ken
> www.GottaWalk.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ken Murray" <kmurray at pol.net>
> To: "." <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 10:27 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] Recruiting New Water Cachers!
>
>
> Friends,
>
> The issue of trail support has weighed on me this year.  With the
> destruction of my ankle, I'll probably never complete the trail, so my
> perspective is soley as a support person.  I spend most of my summers
> working on the trail in the Sierra, and run into many hikers on their
> journey.  I was involved in cutting the trees at Red's Meadow this year.
>
> I was very bothered by the volume of people this year.  The impact of about
> a thousand people is significant.
>
> Even in the ten years that I've been doing support, there has been a huge
> increase, and not just this year.
>
> When I was doing a project at Lake Edison this summer, I asked several
> hikers what most surprised them, and they were unanimous in saying "the
> social aspect".
>
> My observation:  This increase is occuring because the trail is becoming
> easier to hike. All of the resupply options, all the water support, the
> support books of various sorts, maps, descriptions of how to do it, the
> places to stay as a group that has a HUGE impact on the psychological
> component....they all have an impact.
>
> The KO has filled up every year.  There are not significantly more people
> this year at the KO, than there were 5 years ago.  What HAS happened is
> that
> it fills up quicker and quicker each year...Used to take a month, now less
> than a week.  The pool of potential hikers has hugely expanded, but they
> are
> not being accommodated at the KO.
>
> Donna has had to set daily limits.  The volume of water at caches used is
> sometimes unbelievable....and will go up.
>
> I don't have an answer to all this, but the future is predictable.  You
> used
> to have to be able to manage snow, manage water, manage permits, manage
> your
> mental state, manage resupplies.  It is getting so you don't even NEED a
> formal resupply. How best to get cell phone coverage? Spot? Sat phone?
>
> Do people even get lonely?
>
> This is not the trail that Eric Ryback hiked, nor Teddie, nor Strider, nor
> Kelty Kid.
>
> In the forest service, they say that wilderness management is a misnomer.
> We don't need to manage the wilderness, it has done fine for itself for
> millenia.  It is about managing PEOPLE, and it's true.
>
> How to manage the people will be the biggest challenge for the trail, I
> think.  But as is true for many things, more people does not make the
> problem better.
>
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