[pct-l] Point of this List

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

Hey Jim, thanks for your excellent post. I have thought recently about 
signing off because of the points you mentioned. I like issue oriented posts. 
I like recipe posts. I find info only posts rather boring because they don't 
pertain to me personally. What do I care about the snowpack in the Sierra 
unless I plan to hike there? I already have my pack of choice and boots of 
choice. Posts on these subjects are useless to me. But I can see where many 
people would find them useful. I just delete the posts that don't interest 
me. I just hang around for that occasional post from people like you that 
make me think. 
   Your post has emboldened me to speak out on something that bugs me. 
Someone posted that surely we all support what's his name that's trying to 
hike all three long distance trails in one year. WELL, I DON'T GIVE A HOOT 
WHETHER HE MAKES IT OR NOT. There - how's that for being negative? The way I 
see it, the dude is just doing it to feed his ego and has the attitude of 
LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, SEE WHAT I CAN DO, I'M THE VERY VERY BEST. (and yes, 
Karen that is being very assumptive on my part because after all, ALL 
impressions are assumptive.) He's taking to the wilderness the very thing 
that wilderness was "created" to be protected from.  A sense of 
accomplishment and competition, two of the lynchpins of the Rat Race. The 
real reason as I see it and (dare I say it) others SHOULD see it for visiting 
the wilderness is to foster a sense of humility and spiritual personal 
growth, and to see and feel and hear a world unconcerned with human concerns. 
NOT to see who is the fastest, strongest, firstest and machoist muther on the 
friggin planet. So hike on macho dudes and dudettes. The faster, sooner, and 
further you hike away from me the better so I can get a sense of serenity 
back into MY effort. The very last thing I want to do is share my wilderness 
experiences with the likes of you. Your presence destroys the wilderness 
spiritually for me just as much as a bulldozer run amuck does physically. My 
one hundred dollars worth. And go ahead and harass all you want. I'm utterly 
immune to it because I KNOW I'm right. Just ask Mr. Muir, Mr. Abbey, and Mr. 
Thoreau. Either your hike is a pilgrammage or it ain't.
 P.S. The Mariners and Ichiro rock!! (A time and place for everything 
INCLUDING competition)