[pct-l] Best Practices

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning,

It is easy to mislead people into believing incorrect or inappropriate
“facts”:  Most of us learned that aerodynamics “proves” that it is
impossible for a bumblebee to fly, but any child can easily see that they
most certainly can fly.  When I was in secondary school and interested in
cars it was widely accepted that competitive drag-racing would soon
disappear because due to a lack of traction it was impossible for a
wheel-powered vehicle to exceed about 150 mph in a quarter-mile given any
amount of power.  Dragsters now regularly exceed 300 mph.  Both of these
examples have threads of fact being applied incorrectly or inappropriately.

I see much the same approach being taken by advocates of heavy boots and
heavy packs.  I’ve begun to call those people the sumo-hikers.

Energy is required to move or lift an object; and more weight always
requires more energy is required regardless of any quasi-perpetual motion
pendulum theory.

To analyze best-practices in shoe and pack weight, I suggest some homework:
It’s easy, being almost as pleasant as conducting field experiments in
human sexuality.  Replay all 8 of the wonderful “PCT Class of…” video
presentations and look carefully at the gear being used by hikers;
particularly in the Sierra.  By that point the long-distance hikers will
have learned what is necessary and will have shed most of what is not.  Look
at what shoes are they wearing?  How big are their packs? Are they carrying
or wearing mountaineering crampons?  Are they carrying or using an ice axe?
Are they having to break-trail across huge, steep expanses of side-slope?

Hikers take photos of what is beautiful or interesting.  Difficult pieces
of trail are interesting, and are often seen in photos.  Do you think any
of those hikers are wishing that they had great, heavy boots or 80-pound
packs to help them through that difficulty?

These people are not fools who are punishing themselves or risking their
lives at every turn.  They are not soldiers who are required to carry lots
of heavy equipment. They are practical and experienced long-distance hikers
who have empirically determined what works.

Steel-Eye

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

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

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