[pct-l] Oprah and low snow provide a record year?

[Wayne Smith]

I just wanted to agree with Dicentra that social media, and the Internet in
general, can take the largest blame for the increasing numbers of hikers
each year.

I'd like go off topic and reminisce for a moment...  When I hiked the PCT
back in 1997 the Internet was still relatively new.  This list existed, but
only had for a few months in it's current form and had relatively few
members.  There were a few online journals written by past hikers but I
don't remember getting very much useful information from them.  Back in
those days the vast majority of info about the PCT came from the Wilderness
Press Guide Books and the very useful Ray Jardine's PCT Hikers Handbook.
In those days it was still quite rare to meet anyone who had even heard of
the PCT so it was even more rare to meet someone who had taken the time and
gone through the effort to plan a thru-hike.  There was no real "Hiker
Community" away from the trail itself.  No place for past hikers or
aspiring hikers to get together and share information.
When I started the trail there was so much I knew nothing about and had to
learn along the way.  There were so many aspects of trail life that I had
never even heard of that seem to be already familiar to new hikers these
days because they have read all about it online.  Trail names for example.
I remember the first time I met someone with a trail name, I thought they
were a weirdo of some sort.  I later learned that trail names were a sort
of tradition on the trail and it was mostly former Appalachian Trail hikers
who had trail names.   I learned that trail names were something you earned
from other hikers while you were out on the trail.  Now I find it weird
when new hikers already have chosen a trail name for themselves before they
have even started the trail.
I also knew nothing of "Trail Magic".  The first time some campers came
over and gave us some of their leftover food I was so surprised and to be
honest a little suspicious.  I hesitated at first because I figured there
must be something wrong with the food.  I just wasn't used to this aspect
of trail life, meeting generous strangers.
Every water cache we came across was a pleasant surprise.  Even though some
water info was being posted on this list at the time, there were no smart
phones or any other convenient ways to check email once you were out on the
trail and had to wait until you were in a town and hope that someone from
home had the latest info to give you when you called them from a pay phone.
A lot of things have changed since then.  Finding information about the PCT
is relatively easy now with a few clicks of the mouse.  Read enough trail
journals and you almost don't have to hike the trail to know what it is
like.  There will always be some unexpected surprises, but I also think
there are a lot more expectations now as well.
The Internet has opened up the PCT to more people than libraries and old
articles in Backpacker Magazine or National Geographic ever did.  Planning
is so much easier now that far fewer people are discouraged by the task of
it.  I think it also makes a big difference that aspiring hikers know today
that there is a large community of other PCT hikers out there who they will
meet when out on the trail.  I had been told that I would "probably" meet
other hikers and have people to hike with but I couldn't be sure.  For a
long time that was what stopped me from hiking the PCT.  It wasn't until I
was prepared to take the risk of hiking alone that I was willing to go for
it.


Gretzky