Re: [pct-l] The Devil's Own

["Brett Tucker" <blisterfree@hotmail.com>]

>From: "William M. Stenzel" <manjovin@jps.net>

>I feel the need to represent all the sides of a long distance PCT >hike to 
>those interested in embarking such an adventure.

Have you done a long distance PCT hike? Forgive me if you have, but the gist 
of your note paints a rather detached picture of you and the trail.

>I don't think people should bash me when I say, "This trail can be 
> >extremely boring!" A woman who has lived near Donner pass for several 
>years told me, >"The PCT hikers are strange. You'd think that they'd want 
>to talk to >someone after so much time in the woods, but they seem bent on 
> >getting right back on the trail." They've got to make 24 miles that >day. 
>No time for social interaction or sightseeing!

Before I head back into lurking mode for another long hiatus, let me just 
say that the A#1 reason why this mailing list does not serve to help 
prospective thru-hikers is because it has been sabotaged by non-thru-hiking 
types who feel the need to reside in the bully pulpit. Speaking in general, 
of what use is the above type of information to those listers that come 
seeking help with their long distance hiking plans? How does any of this 
encourage or instruct? It is trash talk, hardly uplifting, and hardly 
necessary. And while the novice hiker might suck it all in, miscontruing it 
for useful information, those who have completed extended wilderness 
journeys sit back with pained expressions. Most of the successful 
thru-hikers and distance hikers I know have been greatly moved by their 
experiences, and would only seek to encourage those thinking of following in 
their proverbial footsteps. This list lacks that encouragement because it 
lacks a distance hiker presence. Quite frankly, it lacks inspiration. What 
it needs is a small group of veteran distance hikers willing to speak from 
experience in a positive way, and who are not caught up in trying to argue 
everything in a logical way. A thru-hike is not a logical act, it is an act 
of emotion and self-expression, of self discovery. It is a labor of love. 
When we throw away all the logic and justifications and quantifying and 
analyzing - something we are all guilty of when typing in the closet - we 
end up with something people can truly use: vision. Vision from those who 
have seen.

So what if we were to start a new mailing list?

- Blisterfree


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