[pct-l] slowest hike?

[abiegen at cox.net]

Hi Steeleye,

Well, you certainly have accumulated a vast pool of experience and knowledge about the trail and gladly share it with all of us. I doubt that there has been a serious discussion on the list that you have not added good advice and links to your real world experience. I wish that I could say that my past 45 years on this orb had been so well spent.

It was a pleasure meeting you at Piper's Mom's place for one of your penultimate sections in August 2011. Good times.

So what's the plan for the next 45 years?  ;-}

TrailHacker
--
"When my feet hurt, I can't think straight"
Abraham Lincoln


---- CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote: 

=============
Good morning, TrailHacker,

I’m reluctant to admit any stature in a measure of the “slowest hike”.  I
read the original post as “thru-hike” which to me means a completed PCT
hike in one year, however if the question concerns not a single-year hike
but total  time to complete the PCT, I may qualify as at least one of the
slowest.

The summer of 1965 I worked for the USFS in Central Oregon, and one weekend
I drove to Diamond Lake, parked my truck, and then took the trail east to
climb Mt. Thielsen. That trail crossed the Oregon Skyline Trail (OST) which
later became a charter portion of the PCT.  The next weekend I had someone
drop me at the PCT crossing of Hwy-138 between Crater Lake and Thielsen,
and I hiked about 20 miles to Miller Lake where I got another ride.  Based
upon that experienced I decided to hike all of the OST.

Then in ’68, before I finished the OST, I experienced “scope creep” when in
PCT was officially designated by Congress.  Learning that, I simply
extended my objective to include all of the three-state distance of the
then-brand-new PCT.

45 years later, in 2010, I completed the last inch of the trail when I
hiked between Etna and the Cal/Or border.  In the meantime, I had hiked
many thousands of duplicate PCT miles, but 2010 was the official finish for
me.

Viewed in total the results are not impressive:  45 years for 2,663 miles
equals about 60 miles per year, or 860 feet per day.  That is very humbling
compared to my 25 miles per day average on major portions in certain years.

On the other hand, I’ve had well over 45 year’s-worth of enjoyment compared
to some hikers who decide at the last minute to “do” the PCT, then 140 days
later they finish and move on to whatever is next.

For me, life is about the journey rather than the destination.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


On Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 10:34 AM, <abiegen at cox.net> wrote:

> If you are talking about the longest time to complete the trail but no
> necessarily in a single go, I think that would have to be Steeleye who has
> been hiking the trail since before it was the PCT. His decades of wisdom
> are often shared on the list here. I believe he finally completed every
> inch of the trail in 2011. Hey Steeleye, check in on this one.
>
> TrailHacker
> --
> "When my feet hurt, I can't think straight"
> Abraham Lincoln
>
> _______________________________________________