[pct-l] Re: pct-l-digest V1 #1014

["William M. Stenzel" <manjovin@jps.net>]

I haven't checked my email in a week or so and didn't realize the yearly onslaught of sanctimonious "hiker attitude" posts had begun.
    I find it odd that a long-distance PCT hike is defined as a "success" if a hiker starts at the arbitrary border line at Mexico and ends at
an equally arbitrary line at Canada, and is a "failure" if for some reason, the hiker in question does not hike this enormous distance. Hey,
the pacific crest runs from Chile to Alaska -- maybe everyone is a failure because they've only hiked a tiny portion of the total distance.

Last year, I "quit" my thru-hike for various reasons. One of the big reasons was that I was bored with the routine: wake up, eat, stretch,
hike, eat, hike, eat, hike, set up camp, read, write, sleep. I wanted to stay for awhile in one place. I wanted to tour Newfoundland with my
girlfriend and explore the eastern Sierra (my favorite) before I had to go back to work.

I agree. A thru-hike is totally mental. You have to close your mind to a universe of possibilities and slog up this line through the woods.
Remember: no one hands you a little gold medal when you reach Manning (although finishing the whole trail gives you a great deal of bragging
rights in some circles.)

A few things I found out last year:
1. Many, many hikers who claim to have hiked the whole trail did not indeed hike the whole trail. Rumor has it this includes a famous guidebook
writer.

2. Many hikers who finish the whole trail are miserable through Oregon and Washington, especially Oregon.

3. The PCT trail doesn't even traverse much, or most, of the crest itself. It bypasses the San Bernadino's, for example. It's a totally
arbitrary measurement whereby some people decide who's a tough-guy hiker.

I'm late for work. See you on the trail

will

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