[pct-l] What the PCT is really like?

[Cat Nelson]

"The trail is about the people that are hiking it as much as it is about
the terrain which it traverses." Tim Nye

In a nut shell, that is why I Trail Angel and hike. Thx Tim.

Cat Nelson McPeek (SageGirl)

On Aug 16, 2013 9:37 AM, "Timothy Nye" <timpnye at gmail.com> wrote:

> OK, maybe I'm different or something, but I never disliked or hated any
> part of the experience except when I was literally forced to get off the
> trail. That part I hated, to the extent that the 'listen to your body'
> advice i received was defenestrated right from the start. If I could keep
> going, I would keep going; not from any goal oriented obsessive compulsive
> BS, but because I loved everything about the trail experience.
>
> For awhile I hiked with a guy that came up short when I was rhapsodizing
> about the sweet smell of new fallen rain; according to him I saw the
> positive in everything. To me, he saw negatives. I'd just as soon hike by
> myself. The lesson there is that the trail is about the people that are
> hiking it as it is about the terrain which it traverses. It is that part of
> trail over which you have the most control. Find people that match your
> mind set. Some want to race through the experience, some want to party,
> some want introspection...you get the idea.
>
> To those of us of a certain age it reflects the lost freedoms of youth.
> One where you weren't expected home until the street lights came on and
> here they never did. Where the natural worlds seamless change substituted
> for the artificial dampness of contemporary society and its architecture.
> We are allowed an opportunity to unleash the emotional evolutionary makeup
> that governs us all through a gradual process of self discovery.
>
> Go ahead and borrow ideas from others as to gear and preparation.
> Implement what you consider useful. The real advantage of such research is
> becoming aware of the actual options available to you when you encounter
> shortcomings in the field.
>
> Look within yourself and you'll find the answers which you seek.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Aug 14, 2013, at 8:34 PM, Jeffrey Olson <jjolson60 at centurylink.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Just imagine you hate what you're doing.  You hurt physically, either a
> > pain that floats through all parts of the body or a heavy lassitude that
> > makes you feel like you're walking through mud.  You hurt spiritually
> > because you realize what you're doing is empty and nothing more than
> > putting one foot in front of the other for a reason that no longer
> > exists. And you hurt emotionally.  You are alone and the moment
> > stretches forwards and backwards and the minutes flow so slowly.  The
> > stark realityis the infinite, empty present.  And you're just hurting-
> > heart aching, tears flowing as you walk, or angry and confused - missing
> > friends and familyand the couch and beer and sports and your womanor
> > man.  You feel the waves of suffering just washthrough you.  You want
> > nothing more than to get off the god damn trail and get back to living.
> >
> > Believe it or not, some version of this happens to almost everyonewho
> > walks for six weeks or more.
> >
> > Jeffrey Olson
> > Rapid City, SD
> >
> >
> > On 8/14/2013 11:41 AM, Josh Breslow wrote:
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I am planning for my first thru-hike in 2014 so I have been reading
> trail
> >> journals and watching lots of videos on the matter; Class videos,
> Wizards
> >> of the PCT, Tell it on the Mountain, Cactus Eaters, Four Boots One
> Journey,
> >> Yogi's Handbook, etc...
> >>
> >> I feel like everything I have read/watched seems to show the good side
> of
> >> the PCT, the polished version. I want to see what the PCT is really like
> >> (preferably a movie vs trail journal or book but either is fine), the
> >> trials and tribulations of doing such an adventure. Is there something
> out
> >> there that will show me this stuff? Show me the difficulties of having
> to
> >> poop in the woods for 6 months, the achy blistered feet, the moments
> where
> >> you don't want to take another step. The difficult times, not just the
> good
> >> times.
> >>
> >> Can anybody recommend something that will show me these things?
> >>
> >> Thank you,
> >> Josh
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Pct-L mailing list
> >> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> >> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> >> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> >>
> >> List Archives:
> >> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> >> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> >> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Pct-L mailing list
> > Pct-L at backcountry.net
> > To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> >
> > List Archives:
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> > All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> > Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubscribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>