[pct-l] Is WILD good for the PCT?

[Sasha Leidman]

Hi,
I just received my copy of the PCT communicator in the mail today (thank
you PCTA) and started reading one of the articles. It was about how "Wild",
the book by Cheryl Strayed, has drastically increased the number of people
applying for permits. As a PCT hiker myself, I was excited at first by all
the new people interested in long distance backpacking. That was until I
read the line "Are they inexperienced? I can't tell" and I became horrified
by the possible reality that the book has brought. I hiked the trail from
Tuolomne Meadows to Manning Park in 2011, the year that redefined what
"higher than average snow levels" actually meant. I grew up hiking. As a
toddler we'd go camping every other weekend. I read Ray Jardine like the
bible and had (and still have) topo maps all over my walls. I didn't see
the trail for 200 continuous miles and despite all the practice I had with
map and compass navigation, I still got lost on a number of occasions. I
realize that the PCT is about adapting to that learning curve. My fear is
though that when hundreds of people start hiking the trail with minimal
experience, that learning curve becomes so steep, it becomes dangerous. I'm
the last person to say that long distance hiking is for "experts" only but
when I hear that trail angels are becoming overwhelmed, that the number of
people that don't complete the trail is rapidly increasing, and the number
of injuries to pct hikers is increasing, i begin to ask why. I don't think
it's one thing. Books like Barbara Savages "I Promise not to Suffer" fall
along the same lines. While hiking the trail, I met a lot of people that
had hiked the AT and told me of the culture that developed from Bill
Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods" in which people would decide one day to
buy a backpack and start hiking. While not as extreme, it seems as though
"Wild" is producing a similar effect. The story of a woman that decides to
hike the pct with a ridiculously heavy pack is inspiring and I understand
why the book became so popular. I'm curious though as to how seasoned
hikers like many of you have perceived the book and if any of you have
noticed an effect from these "Wild hikers".