[pct-l] On "noobs"

[Timothy Nye]

I received a reply off list to my previous post on this that let me know I must not have expressed myself very well.  My point is that I believe that the hikers  for the last few years are pretty much the same overall as far as the variety of their experience levels, fitness, previous climates from which they've just come from, etc. are concerned.

The trail, however, Is not static. It usually changes each year in significant ways and that, in my opinion, is what makes a very real difference in the experiences of each particular years hikers.  The biggest factor, of course, is rainfall, both off season and in season, and that affects both the flora and the fauna both in variety and prevalence.  After that, it's the temperatures as well as the temperatures effects, or lack thereof, on any remaining snow at elevation.

Thus, the problems experienced by new hikers, except perhaps blisters, really are controlled largely by chance. 

I'd note that Speshul spent his time at Kick Off exploding packs, far more than i did and I did about ten, which is a valuable corrective to those new hikers and, again in my opinion, is the single most useful thing that can be done so as to increase both their chances of finishing the trail and having a more comfortable experience.

Also, Rhino posted on another portion of this thread about his lack of experience and ultimate success in 2011, an extremely bad snow year. I, unlike Rhino and Dirtmonger with whom he partnered up, skipped ahead so I had a chance to not only meet them both in SoCal, but also futher up the trail. A great couple of guys they were crushing the miles. They caught up with me just shy of the Oregon border and we spent a couple of hours talking while I cooked my dinner ( they were carrying a bottle of Tapatio, which they dug into their packs to share).  The story Rhino told of a Sierra stream crossing was chilling to me in both senses of the word. He tried to make his way around a large boulder and wound up with the torrent of snow melt breaking over his back. If he hadn't been able to reach back with, and Dirtmonger grab, a trekking pole the outcome could have been dire. Determination, fitness, growing skill and a willingness to test his limits in my opinion led to his success. 

For hikers, it seems the most versatile are those most likely to be successful under the greatest range of conditions likely to be encountered, since they can surmount more obstacles. Yet, under the right, that is,favorable, circumstances even those initially with minimal skills may also ultimately succeed. After awhile the differences between them become so slight as to more closely equalize the probability of success.

IMHO.


Sent from my iPad

On Apr 30, 2013, at 11:08 AM, surferskir at aol.com wrote:

> 
> and I bet you learned a lot from that experience.  Just taking enough water on the first leg was a good lesson learned.
> Congratulations.  Hope to see you out there to finish some year.
> 
> --Dennis--
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Scott Bryce <sbryce at scottbryce.com>
> To: pct-l <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Tue, Apr 30, 2013 9:01 am
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] On "noobs"
> 
> 
> On 4/30/2013 12:37 AM, Junaid Dawud wrote:
>> It's pretty easy to sit behind a computer and talk about "the noobs".
>> How they are under or unprepared, viewing it romantically, biting off
>> more than they can chew, etc, etc. And sure, there's some of that at
>> work every year.
> 
> I was one of those noobs. I didn't make it past highway 74. But I had
> enough sense to leave Campo with enough water to get me to Lake Morena.
> 
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