[pct-l] Shawna's Post

["David B. Stockton" <davstock@tiac.net>]

>>>>>>>>>>
Based on what I've been reading and my own personal
situation, I probably am looking at a 2001 PCT
Odyssey, but I am very open to going this year. Is
this possible? If not a thruhike, then I will
definitely explore parts of the trail to prepare me
for a thruhike next year. I'm in Bend, OR very close
to a PCT section.
I'm not sure how to even begin planning for a
>>>>>>>>>>>

The way I see it, Shawna, you have at least two possibilities.

1. If you can find a partner fairly nearby that is willing, if you have 
enough money saved, if you have some backpacking experience, if you have 
plenty of time in the next three months to prepare, and if you are the 
impetuous type, you could copy your partner(s)' planning, schedule, and 
gear, start training and working with them now, and make the summer with a 
good chance of a full thru-hike.  The main things are: ensure that you 
have/get good solid self-arrest training with an ice axe, and realize that 
your partner(s) may not work out and you may be on your own or with others 
for the summer.  While this is true every year, if you are a bit "along for 
the ride" the impact on you may be greater if your partner(s) drop out or 
if there are personality conflicts.  You also would have to have some faith 
in your partner(s)' judgement gear-wise, but that is not as much a factor 
as it would be under more extreme conditions.  There is a lot of room on 
the PCT for adjustments.  But remember, for your partner's sake, that it is 
YOU that has to walk 2700 miles.

This option could turn out to be fantastic, or not, depending on the 
various factors.  If it didn't work out, you still would have learned an 
awful lot about how to thruhike the PCT and could use that knowledge to 
plan another attempt.  The PCT isn't a one-time shot; I know because I hope 
that this summer will be my second attempt.

If you can't find a "Xeroxable" person, then there probably isn't enough 
time for you to come up with your own full thruhike; there is too much to 
do.

2. You are PERFECTLY positioned for a 2001 thruhike using "conventional 
preparation".  That is, take the next three months to acquire references, 
read them, make up your own mind about all kinds of things, buy some gear 
and food, get self-arrest training in the mountains, and start a 
training/walking base.  Then plan out and execute a three-week trip on the 
PCT this summer to prove out some of your techniques on the actual PCT, 
including resupply.  You will be amazed at how much there is to do and 
think about, how much things cost.  Then you'll have several months to 
continue training, refine your gear, develop recipes, dehydrate food, plan 
resupply stops, read the guide books, develop "butterflies", search for 
partners, and contribute to this list.

The primary advantages here that I see are:  1. you participate more fully 
in the decision-making process, 2. you are more independent of others and 
might (!) be more adaptable to changes in the persons around you on the 
trail, 3. you have more time to handle your home, animals, etc., in a solid 
way, 4. you have time to test your gear, etc., before you go full-out.

But either way there are no guarantees.

Perhaps someone would argue that Option 1 is less "safe" because you are 
partly placing your welfare in the hands of someone else's judgement. 
 Although I can see that point, the main thing is your sense of self.  You 
can make judgements as you go and keep your sense of self-responsibility 
and adaptability in both options.  Until you hike the trail yourself (only 
partly possible in Option 2) you are basing everything on your own previous 
experience and the opinions of others, whether from this list or from a 
book.  Option 1 is most reasonable if you have already have some solid 
experience in a) snow and ice, or b) long backpacking trips.  If you are 
new to backpacking, Option 1 is not an option.

In either case, you probably will find the Wilderness Press Guidebooks and 
Ray Jardine's "The PCT Hikers Handbook" invaluable.  I'd buy those right 
away (I bought mine from amazon.com) and start reading them immediately. 
 There are other references, too, that others have mentioned, but that I 
haven't read.

Probably everyone that attempts the trail has felt that deep pull, and 
responded.  I hope you will too.

-- Dave

David B. Stockton
davstock@tiac.net


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