[pct-l] Pct-L Digest, Vol 131, Issue 1

[Kit Ravensong]

Thank you Marmot for posting this article which is a reality check for wherever we may wander discrimination is there with fellow hikers and in local trail towns.

On a different note I encountered people trying to stop me from hiking alone as a mother on the PCT with my young children. One time at the first pass south of Yosemite men were trying to convince me I shouldn’t do the John Muir trail with my daughter and I would have no idea what I was doing. This condescending remark was after I told them I’d through hiked the PCT solo in ‘76 and in the ‘80’s and 90’s hiked Washington 4 times by myself with my kids ages 5-8. 
My daughter was 9 when we were hiking Yosemite to Mt. Whitney.  Nurses on my floor  at the University of Washington Medical Center made every effort for me to get my 2 weeks vacation each summer for me to hike on the PCT with my kids. But fellow hikers and park service tried to convince me that I couldn’t and shouldn’t hike long distance solo with a young daughter. They inferred I wasn’t smart enough or strong enough. 
Even PCTA has inferred by their articles that there was no way I through hiked the PCT solo when I was 20, in 1976. How could such a young woman do it back then? (Even though she was a mountaineer and solo winter trekker).

What I am trying to say is that discrimination against women, particularly young women, occurs not only in the city, but on the PCT, or any trail or mountain she might climb.  Does this sound similar to what the Lightest Tread experiences?  There is strong bias in our country when we cross the conventional lines...even in the wilderness.

Then there is ageism. Last summer coming back from trekking through Norway I nearly didn’t make the plane out of Iceland due to being taken to a separate room to be ‘closely’ searched. An older woman with a well used  backpack...what is she up to?

Ravensong


> On Jun 24, 2020, at 10:00 AM, "pct-l-request at backcountry.net" <pct-l-request at backcountry.net> wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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>   1. Diversity is not a hashtag: an open letter to the outdoor
>      community. - The Lightest Tread (marmot marmot)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2020 06:27:22 +0000
> From: marmot marmot <marmotwestvanc at hotmail.com>
> To: PCT <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Subject: [pct-l] Diversity is not a hashtag: an open letter to the
>    outdoor community. - The Lightest Tread
> Message-ID:
>    <DM6PR04MB59459472473B563C870E8CFCC8950 at DM6PR04MB5945.namprd04.prod.outlook.com>
>    
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
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> 
> https://yoursole.com/blog/ca/diversity-is-not-a-hashtag
> For those who still do not understand what is being talked about. 
> This is a clear voice 
> Remember that this is a time to listen and learn. 
> I miss the trail so much and will be out there hiking again when doing so will not put others at risk. 
> All the best
> Marmot
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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> End of Pct-L Digest, Vol 131, Issue 1
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