[pct-l] What do you wish you'd done more of before your thru?

[Hillary Schwirtlich]

Chris,

There are tooonnnnnsss of things on the PCT that you either never read
about or no matter how much you read about them, you won't be prepared. I
thought my trip last summer was the most adventurous things I've ever done.
Some of that had to do with the ridiculous amount of snow or the detours,
but a lot of that was just because there are a lot of remote, dangerous and
beautiful places on the PCT. As soon as you feel like you've got the trail
down, all of a sudden the PCT throws something at you that makes you think
"That?! We have to do that?!" There are new challenges year to year and
hiker to hiker. You'll never walk the same walk as someone else.

Also, there are plenty of places where the information doesn't cover the
trail completely. I was happy for the information when I had it, and I
don't think it reduced the adventure of the trail, but rather the possible
stress.

And then there are the people. Some great, some crazy, some both. :)

And it's up to you whether you want to go walk up a canyon or not. I can
say that if you walk up every canyon you see, you'll never get to Canada in
one year. Whether or not that's a bad thing or an awesome thing is also up
to you. I definitely had a hard time walking past all the awesome boulders.
But I just decided that another perk of the PCT is that it helps you
discover places that you want to spend more time in later.

I think the only thing I'd suggest about your time before the trail is be
present and enjoy it! I know I got sick of waiting and waiting and waiting
and sometimes couldn't appreciate life because I was so impatient to hike.
:)

Seahorse

On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 5:12 PM, Eric Lee <saintgimp at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Chris wrote:
> >
> While on your thru-hike, did you feel that following a predetermined path
> removed the sense of adventure? What significant elements of the unknown
> remain on the PCT?
> When hiking, I like to explore places off the beaten path, e.g. "That gorge
> looks interesting, I'll spend the afternoon walking up it". I've found some
> amazing spots just by following my curiosity.
> >
>
> I haven't thru-hiked yet myself but I've been section-hiking for fair
> number
> of years now and I'll offer my perspective.
>
> The PCT is certainly getting pretty dialed-in if you want to take advantage
> of all the materials that are out there.  If you don't want that kind of
> experience, you can either switch to a different trail like the CDT that
> isn't quite so meticulously documented or you could hike the PCT and just
> not take any documentation with you.  Well, I'd encourage you to take some
> kind of maps for safety reasons, but you don't have to carry everything
> that's available to you.  You can choose your own level of adventure.
>
> Also keep in mind that while there is a lot of documentation available for
> the PCT, each day on any given stretch of trail is an experience all its
> own.  One day it's blazing hot, the next day it's trying to snow, the day
> after that there's a forest fire nearby, etc., etc.  I guarantee you'll
> have
> your own unique adventures no matter how much preparation and study you do
> ahead of time.  That's just the nature of the trail.
>
> Based on my observation of thru-hikers over the years, I don't think many
> of
> them do a lot of exploring off the beaten path.  There are a couple of
> popular side-trips like summiting Mt. Whitney but those tend to be the
> exception rather than the rule.  The time pressure to get to Canada before
> the snow flies is just too great.  I say this a lot but each person needs
> to
> decide what their hike is really all about.  If you want your hike to be
> about exploring off the beaten path, there's nothing wrong with that.  Go
> for it!  Wander all you want to.  Just be aware that that approach is
> somewhat incompatible with finishing a one-season thru-hike. Getting to
> Canada is a pretty all-consuming goal and it doesn't leave a lot of room
> for
> other kinds of pursuits (i.e. hiking with small children, hiking with dogs,
> foraging for wild food, exploring off the beaten path, earning money in
> towns, <insert your favorite diversion here>).
>
> On the other hand, even if you decide that your primary goal is a
> one-season
> thru-hike, you still have to take care of your mental health.  It's a good
> idea to take "vacations" from hiking every once in a while, whether that be
> a lazy afternoon of fishing or a trip to a music festival or just wandering
> up an interesting-looking gorge.  Just plan on that being an occasional
> thing, not an all-the-time thing.
>
> Eric
>
>
>
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