[pct-l] Best and Worst and Weathercarrot

[David Hough on pct-l]

The discussion about best and worst parts of the trail got me to
thinking:  the worst parts of the trail were when I was hurrying and
missing things, usually due to "I have to get to X by sunset" or "I
have to get back to work in N days".    Usually at the end of a day
when I was tired and my feet hurt and I couldn't think straight.

Those thoughts reminded me of the tremendous sadness I felt when I took
a look at Weathercarrot's best photos.    I was sad because I knew I'd
walked past many of the same or similar scenes and not seen what was
there.   I've met Weathercarrot and he is not an immortal god, not a
Nobel prize winner, not even ten feet tall.     But he is a talented
guy with the discipline to cultivate his talent.

I was just another hiker in a hurry.  But being in a hurry is part of
the deal.    For through hikers, the penalty for dawdling is death...
death of their through-hike dreams if not worse.  Cold wet windy
weather in the North Cascades is no fun.

I was only a section hiker over 12 years, but I had a full-time job so
the penalty for dawdling was taking even more vacation time and perhaps
never finishing the trail.

Finishing over 12 years is something, finishing in one year is
impressive, but even more impressive is to be fully present in one's
natural and human surroundings with no regrets for the past or fears
for the future... so you can see your surroundings as they are, in
their fullness, rather than through the one-dimensional lens of "where
will I camp tonight" or "when will I get back to the car".     Yet if
you never think about where you are and where you need to be, you may
never get to where you need to be and you might put your rescuers to a
lot of trouble.    So you need to be mindfully fully present rather
than mindlessly.    This is getting complicated.

Figuring out what's important is one of the potential benefits of a
long hike.  What turns out to be important is often the journey rather
than the destination.    First one to Canada... loses.

Supposedly the gods envy mortals because our decisions have real
consequences to ourselves and others and often can't be undone.
However you decide to hike or not hike the trail next year, you
foreclose some other options that you may never even think you
had.      Eventually you become too old and decrepit for long-distance
hiking, and the consequences of your previous decisions have caught up
with you and can't be undone.