[pct-l] Disrespect on the PCT

[Wayne Smith]

I thought I would clarify a bit of what I wrote a few days ago.  Many
people agreed with what I said while some thought I'm just another grumpy
old man who doesn't like to see things change.  That's actually partly
true, I'll admit that, although I'm only 38.  I don't want to see things
change if they seem to be changing for the worse.  The thing about us "old
timers" is that we have something to compare the way things are today
with.  When I hear people complain about the growing number of
irresponsible, entitled hikers on the trail, I can't help but wonder if any
of the changes that have occurred over the years might be contributing to
this problem, even if just partially.

The question I posed was, is it time for there to be less help for PCT
hikers?  The biggest change I've noticed over the years is with the amount
of help that is available, both before and during their hikes.  The help is
all good intentioned, but could too much be having an overall negative
effect?  Just to help make my point, I'll present an extreme example.
Imagine sometime in the future, there are so many people wanting to help
out hikers that every road crossing has a trail angel waiting to provide
snacks, drinks and rides into town.  Every few miles has a water cache so
that hikers never need plan ahead or carry more than a single bottle of
water.  Imagine how that would change the experience of the PCT.  Imagine
how that would affect the ratios of people wanting to hike the trail.  You
would see a decrease in the numbers of self reliant people seeking a
wilderness challenge and an increase in the numbers of irresponsible,
dependant people just looking for a fun and easy way to spend the summer
with like minded people on a low budget.  Ok, we are far from that sort of
scenario and it likely would never go that far, but the point is, the
easier we make it to hike the trail, the more we change the experience of
hiking the PCT and therefore also alter the ratios of who is attracted to
hiking the PCT.

As I said before, trail angels are awesome people, but I wonder if
collectively the increasing numbers of them and the amount of help and
services being offered to hikers is changing the dynamic of the PCT
experience to the point where it is attracting more and more of the types
of hikers we've been hearing complaints about.

In the old days, before the widespread use of the Internet, just planning a
PCT thru hike was a daunting task that would have weeded out many of the
types of people who prefer to have others do everything for them.  Multiple
trips to the library, writing letters to various groups and agencies to get
maps, guidebooks and whatever little info there was about the trail.  Doing
your own gear research, figuring out through trial and error what works and
what doesn't.  These days if you can't be bothered to do that yourself,
there are any number of people online, eager to do most of the planning for
you and tell you exactly what to take and how to hike.  It's just not a
barrier anymore so we will continue to see the numbers of people attempting
to hike the trail increase.

Then, once out on the trail the barriers that used to weed out the numbers
even further are not as many.  In the old days you were pretty much on your
own.  If you weren't prepared to carry heavy loads of water for long
distances, never really knowing if the next water source would be there,
because there were no water reports, then that could be the test that
convinces you to give up and go home.  Maybe you would find the odd water
cache that you weren't expecting, or meet a person who spontaneously
decides to provide some trail magic and that would be a great treat.  In
1997 I don't remember meeting a single established trail angel until
Kennedy Meadows where I met Meadow Ed.  I didn't meet another one until
Castella.  There were certainly no expectations amongst the hikers that we
deserved special treatment and every trail angel was a pleasant surprise.
Fast forward to today and trail angels are pretty much expected by most
hikers on the trail.  They've all read about them online or heard about
them at the KO and show up already with expectations.  And for the few who
make up the worst, if they don't get what they expected they will be
disappointed and feel like they aren't getting what they deserve.  People
who need a free place to stay in town and a free shower because they didn't
budget enough cash for their hike or would rather spend it on beer, learn
to depend on trail angels.  Freeloaders are able to last much longer on the
trail than in the past because their are so many more people to take
advantage of.

I'm certainly not advocating for there to be no help for thru hikers.  I
just wonder if there is too much and if it is part of the problem of hikers
acting more entitled and disrespectful.  With my "old timer's" hat on I
wonder if things were a little more difficult like they were in the old
days when hikers didn't receive as much help and special treatment, would
we see fewer problems with these types of people on the trail?