[pct-l] Thru Numbers

[Jim Banks]

Barry, I absolutely agree with your post.  As a fellow trail maintenance volunteer I invite the people who want to help hikers to come out and do some trail work instead of providing goodies.  Now I have never turned down a cold beer or soda while hiking, but really people you can have a trail angel at every road crossing handing out water, beer, and treats, but if there is no trail what good would it do?  If the trail isn't constantly maintained it doesn't take long before it becomes impassable (or at least very difficult).  Log onto www.PCTA.org and click on Volunteering.  There is a list of all the trail maintenance projects planned for this year.  Some are one day long, some are multiple days.  It can be hard work, but don't let that scare anyone away.  You can work at your own pace and are never asked to do anything that you aren't qualified to do or feel uncomfortable doing (like working with chain saws, etc.).  It is a great way to give back to the trail that we all use and love.  See you out there.  I mean it!  Go to the website right now and make the commitment.

I-Beam

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Barry Teschlog
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9:49 AM
To: PCTL
Subject: [pct-l] Thru Numbers

With all this talk about thru numbers, some angels being overwhelmed, etc, I’d observe that it’s an inherently self limiting situation.

Angels will limit themselves to what they can do.  If they’re over burdened, they’ll stop or limit numbers, etc.  I recall several years ago L-Rod decided to limit numbers at Agua Dulce.  I think this was a wise move on the part of Jeff and Dona to avoid burn out.  


To tweak HYOH – Angel your own Angel – AYOA.  If all you can afford to put out is water, then only put out water.  If all you can afford to put out is one load of water, only put out one load of water (and be sure to go back and fetch the empties so they don’t end up as litter).   If all you have energy to do is put on one cooler load of goodies and to go pick up the empties the next day, then do just that.  No one says you have to help everyone.  Unless you have (enormous) resources, in time, in energy, in money, you simply can’t help everyone – so don’t try.  The hikers will get through just fine without one more cooler out there.


Myself, I’ve gone a different path from the (much appreciated when I hiked) sodas, beer, etc. and I'd suggest other folks consider it as well.  As the list already probably knows, I’ve chosen to help the hikers by doing volunteer trail crew with the PCTA.  I’d suggest to those watch cache / soda / cooler Angels feeling burn out with trying to pay for sodas, fruit, water, etc, or perceptions (or reality) of entitled behavior, to try this method of helping the hikers a few times and see how it goes.  Your only monetary costs are the gas to get to the work party site.  And the improvements you do will, on average (bummed for your experience Weathercarrot having the trail you helped brush burn up only a few days later), be there for many years, benefiting every hiker – day, weekend, section or thru, NOBO, SOBO, straight through or flip-flop-flippin.  

I'd suggest that all the water caches, sodas, and coolers of goodies, etc are for naught if the trail isn’t kept free of brush, clear of blow down and kept well graded and passable.  "Yay, I got a beer....after wading through 10 miles of chaparral choked trail."  "That soda sure was great after taking 3 hard hours to climb over, under and around those 40 blow downs these last 5 miles."  "Mmmmm....fresh fruit.  Hey, do you know what the heck happened to the trail back on that mountainside a couple miles south?  It kind of just disappeared there for a quarter mile - looks like it had slid away, I had a heck of a time finding it on the other side.  Kind of sketchy on that loose stuff."


I'd also suggest that all the sodas, water caches, brushing, tread work, blowdown clearing etc is for naught if the trail isn't protected from external threats as well - new power lines and windmills, housing and other development on privately owned tracts where the trail is but a narrow easement, bikes, both human a fuel powered destroying the peacefulness and tread, idiots and their human caused fires, to name but a few external threats to the trail.  Instead of spending money on sodas and beers that benefit but a few today, consider donating that money to the fund to buy up the private lands (for one example) - to permanently protect the trail for every single user in the future (Google "PCT Keene Creek Property" for an example of a success in this regards).

YMMV.  HYOY.  AYOA.  2 cents.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.
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