[pct-l] Contributing to Common Ground

[Charles Doersch]

Yippeeeee, indeed! My mother -- 86 and a veteran of WWII and of Korea --
wishes she could hike it with us in 2012. She watched the PCT DVDs and
loved them, and loved the type of people who do such things and admires the
folks who fashion such things (as the DVDs). The stories she tells -- the
losses she's endured -- but she doesn't compare apples to pumpkins. The
experience of the PCT, she's convinced, would be unique and challenging and
oh- so- marvelous in her life of griefs and wonders. Including Inchon,
Pusan, Seoul, and deep into what is now N. Korea.

We begin 4/20 by flying into San D. See some of you at ADZPCTKO, and others
on the trail, and others along the way as angels & hosts. And Mom will be
following by the blog.

Blessings,

~Charles & the guys

On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 6:06 PM, Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com> wrote:

> As for cold, the area north of Inchon, where I was stationed in 1973 (I'm
> old, but not old enough to have been in that war) hit minus 80 wind
> chills.  I've never been so cold in my life.  Ten layers, Mickey Mouse
> boots and fur lining did nothing for us riding around in open jeeps at
> those temps.  But I still froze my ass off on the desert section of the
> PCT, bring your coats everyone.
>
> Yah, we could be subjects for all kinds of studies.  How did Hummingbird
> run 45 to 55 miles per day for months?  She hit her first 60 mile day while
> passing us, including the climb out of Saied Valley, to Callahan's, the day
> before we went into Ashland with her.  How did her body do that?  How did I
> get used to walking over 30's for months in my late 50's?  And how does a
> guy like Scott Williamson do it year after year, and love it?  I'd say
> we're on to a bit of bliss that most of our species has forgotten is part
> of the legacy of humanity, because it really makes most of us so darn
> happy.
>
> I'd love to take part in a study while hiking.  Having something like that
> to contribute, might make me feel less guilty for being so content out
> there.
>
> Happy Hiking folks, the season is just beginning.  Yippppeeeee!!!!!!
>
> Shroomer
>
> On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 4:43 PM, Barry Teschlog <tokencivilian at yahoo.com
> >wrote:
>
> > I'm not trying to slam the writer of:
> >
> > The PCT is also an interesting place to study human physiology and even
> > psychology. Where else are people engaged in cardiovascular exercise,
> under
> > a variety of weather conditions and altitudes while carrying a load, in
> > unfamiliar terrain, for several months continuously?
> > Just to educate.
> >
> >
> > The answer is an infantryman in combat - they also get the stress of
> being
> > shot at.  I hear those guys in the First Infantry Division who landed at
> > Omaha on the coast of France had to hump all the way to central Germany
> > (with a few spots where they had to retrace their steps when the Krauts
> got
> > a little uppity).  A few years later, I recall something about the
> Marines
> > marching from Inchon to near the NK border with China and back a ways to
> a
> > boat to move them further south, then marching back north again from way
> in
> > the south, then having to march back south, then north a bit again as
> well
> > - I don't remember all the details.  Perhaps some one ought to look it
> up.
> > I hear the weather at Bastogne or the Chosin Reservoir in winter time is
> a
> > bit more chilly that what one encounters on the PCT.  I also hear they
> were
> > all heavy truckers back then - no sil nylon, and their hats were all made
> > of hardened steel as well.
> >
> >
> > The nutrition needs of a soldier is probably a good place to start for
> > what a thru hiker needs.  That's what I did pre-hike.  There's plenty out
> > there on what the Army feeds the infantry in combat zones.  It does the
> > Army no good to have a soldier fall ill or breakdown due to malnutrition
> -
> > they're just as useless as if they'd been wounded in combat.
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