[pct-l] A Hiker's Standards (long)

[tom-rogers@home.com (Tom Rogers)]

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role of a personal set of
standards in the execution of a long hike. First, I stress the word
"personal".  "Hike your own hike" is the overarching concept here; there
is no intent to discredit any other hiker's choices along the trail.  A
long hike involves a monumental personal effort.  It defines the life of
the hiker while he or she is on the trail and long after.  So when I
commit myself to such a great ambition, I don't just want to do it, I
want to do it well.

To me doing it well means hiking my own hike according to a set of
standards that I've developed for myself.  Standards are my personal
rules for the conduct of the hike.  When I'm confronted with a situation
that may require me to relax a standard, its existence is the starting
point for my decision making process.  I can thoughtfully evaluate how
the standard applies, and then decide how to proceed.  During the hike,
some standards may prove to be off the mark.  They aren't cast in
granite, they're mine to modify as I see fit.

I won't share my standards here; they're personal.  Rather I think it is
useful to list some areas and situations where a hiker considering his
or her own set of standards might begin.  I've met purists with very
rigidly defined standards for their hikes and I've met hikers with no
notion of personal standards at all.  I consider myself somewhere in
between.  The point is not what one's standards are, but the value in
having some.

The following is a list of situations where standards may apply.  It's
intended to stimulate thought.  This is not a test; there is no set of
correct answers (my examples are from the PCT, only because that is my
primary experience):

1. Will I hike every step of the trail, or skip segments?  This is a big
question that encompasses several situations.

a. Town stops.  When I leave the trail to hit a town, will I resume
hiking at the point I left the trail or further up the trail (this
standard is tested early at Warner Springs and Idyllwild)? 
b. Side trips.  When I leave the trail to take a side trip, will I
resume hiking the trail at the point I left or further up the trail (ala
Mount Whitney)?
c. Alternate routes.  Will I take alternate routes or remain faithful to
the official trail (this is one I changed along the way; I came to
understand that in many places the trail designers purposely selected
the route to bypass pristine lakes, meadows, or other beautiful places
in order to protect them from potential overuse; alternate routes
parallel the official route but may be more scenic or provide access to
other attractions)?
d. Delays.  If I'm delayed due to injury or equipment problems, will I
skip ahead to stay on schedule, to stay with the people I was hiking
with, etc?
e. Bypassing segments.  Will I skip segments that are too boring, too
hot, too dry, etc?
f. Bypassing switchbacks or unnecessary trail segments.  Will I cut long
unnecessary switchbacks, or circuitous trail segments whose only
function is to avoid private property?
g. Losing the trail.  If I realize I have inadvertently lost the trail,
will I continue on in an effort to intersect the trail somewhere ahead,
or will I backtrack to rejoin the trail where I left it? 

2. Will I carry my pack and gear every step of the trail or accept
slack-packing opportunities (several trail angels often offer to drop
hikers at a trailhead in the morning and shuttle their packs forward to
the next trailhead)?

3. Will I hike the trail in one direction, or flip-flop to avoid large
climbs (at least one trail angel offers to pick up hikers at Cajon Pass,
drive them up to the trailhead near Wrightwood, where they can hike the
segment back to Cajon Pass downhill, then meet them and drive them to
Wrightwood)?

4. Will I carry all the water I need in dry segments, or rely on water
cached by trail angels (this one is a practical as well as an ethical
matter; last summer I relied on a water cache in the San Felipe Hills
and found it dry when I arrived)?

5. If I road walk for some reason (e.g. trail impassable and bypassed by
a road route) will I walk the bypass route, or accept a ride which
advances me up the trail.

For what it's worth, my answers range from "yes always", to "no never",
to "depends on the circumstances".

During the months before a long hike we plan our gear, our food, and our
schedule.  In all my reading, I have seen very few discussions of
planning our standards.  Give it a little thought.

Hobbit