[pct-l] For the noob

[Scott Williams]

Thanks Barrel Roll, and back at ya.  Your info, insight and tact make for
great reading too.  It's part of what keeps me on the list.  I just keep
learning from you and so many more.  And hell, I'm still a Noob at heart.
It's part of the excitement of heading off on any new trail.  The adventure
begins, what's gonna happen next.  Could be anything and some of the best
stuff we ever experience in our packaged and processed life styles.

Shroomer


On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 9:59 AM, Shian Sung <shian.sung at gmail.com> wrote:

> Shroomer,
>
> Thanks for the great post (as always). You are one of the many people that
> make wading through the bad posts on the PCT-L so worth it due to your
> writing and the way you impart opinions and knowledge.
>
> I hiked the AT in 2005 as a "noob" - grew up in the city and didn't have
> too many opportunities to get into the outdoors. Spent a lot of time
> reading everything I could get my hands on and bought all the "right" gear
> but only did a few overnights to practice. Learned very quickly that
> reading only gets you so far, and that learning some things like how your
> tent sags and collapses in the rain if you don't set it up correctly or
> exactly how cold you sleep or just how to walk in the woods without
> tripping over everything are all things that can be fixed through
> experience. And I learned very quickly that my boots were too small and
> foot pain accompanied me the entire rest of my thru-hike.
>
> It surprised me how much people who had more experience than I on the
> trail assumed I knew the things I didn't know. Embarassing story - when my
> water filter stopped working and I thought it was defective, someone asked
> sarcastically if I had cleaned off the filter yet. I didn't even know I
> needed to do that - should have read the instructions. There were a million
> things to learn. Maybe if I had waited until I knew everything about my
> gear and my body I would have never started. I got to learn from a lot of
> mistakes. Sometimes you learn things the hard way. That's OK.
>
> Ernie mentions willpower. I think willpower and the wisdom to listen to
> others more experienced than you is all you REALLY need to do the PCT. It's
> not the wild country. It's a National Scenic Trail and was designed to be
> fairly easy to walk. Since the AT i've been a backpacking guide and a
> mountain search and rescue team member and have seen a lot of people in
> very bad shape staffing medical tents for ultramarathons all over SoCal.
> I'm a huge proponent of knowing how to use a map & compass and being smart
> in the outdoors. Common sense is what is lacking and that has no
> discrimination across what years you did the PCT or what generation or if
> you're a noob or not. I've seen very experienced backpackers get in very
> bad trouble due to the lack of it.
>
> -Barrel Roll
>