[pct-l] Starter Trails

[csiechert@hotmail.com (Carl Siechert)]

Hey Monte, you old geezer. When you talk about route finding difficulties, I
think you're talking about the circa-1977 PCT. Then, route finding was a
challenge! The trail was incomplete, the guidebooks and maps were weak, and
no one had heard of GPS. (I remember one place near Castella where the trail
ended abruptly, but surveyor's stakes continued in the direction we thought
we ought to go. We followed the stakes for about a mile, where we came to
one marked "End Project"--on a hillside out in the middle of some poison-oak
infested dense forest.) Also, the sections of temporary trail were often
steeper and much more direct than the carefully graded trails that replaced
them.

I think PCT 2001 is a different trail than the one you and I saw.

--

Carl Siechert
1977 Kelty Kid


----- Original Message -----
From: <Montedodge@aol.com>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 9:12 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Starter Trails


> I would say there is a reason more people hike the AT than the PCT. The AT
> may be steeper, but with 2 days between drops ( Over most the trail) and
low
> pack weights, big deal!! If the PCT was as much of a " Cake Walk" as some
AT
> folks would say, there would be 10 times the numbers doing the PCT
instead
> of the AT. Yes, in my humble opinion, the AT is a " Cute" little starter
> trail compared to the PCT. Hikers normally do the AT then the PCT. ( The
PCT
> sees only the cream of the Crop from the AT mobs)  On the PCT , route
finding
> ,snow travel, elevations, deserts all add to a bit more difficult trail.
The
> CDT is even more challenging. The most challenging  part of the AT may be
> having enough money or a high enough VISA limit  for your tri-weekly town
> pig-outs!!! Other than Maine, and parts of Penn., this social " Hike
between
> the Bars" trail offers far less in the ways of what Western Hikers would
call
> " Wilderness Experience". If the trail seems steep with 2 to 3 days of
food
> on your back and maybe a liter of water, it may be because of the 6-pack
of
> grog drank the night before!!!!!    Starter trails for 100.00 Wink. OK
What
> is the AT??  " That's Correct!!, Wink says. You are the winner of our
Daily
> Double!!
> _______________________________________________
> PCT-L mailing list
> PCT-L@mailman.backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>