[pct-l] re: Snow levels, Good for reservoirs, rough for Thru-hikers

[Brett Tucker" <blisterfree@earthlink.net (Brett Tucker)]

Monte writes:=20

>>North to South trips will be down this year on the PCT for sure,=20
without at least flip flopping. <<

There's little question in my mind that 2001 was THE year for a =
southbound thru-hike, yet who, if anyone, actually completed such a trip =
last year? Traveling north from Ashland to Canada starting in late July, =
I recall passing only two parties intent on hiking thru to Mexico: a =
solo hiker name of Armstrong, decked out in full Ray-way regalia and =
brimming with excitement over the journey ahead, and a pair of more =
traditional backpackers operating under the alias of "Assmunchers." =
Stories, interesting ones, surround the second party, but for now I =
digress and would simply wonder at why no word has to my knowledge =
trickled in with regard to these, or other, southbound completions. And =
either way, the question lingers as to why it wasn't an absolute banner =
year for southbound attempts at the PCT. My theories are, 1) because it =
wasn't a bad year for northbounding, either. Snow levels were uniformly =
on the low side; 2) Hikers like to prepare well enough in advance that =
their plans would not have reflected the ultimate reality of a free and =
clear early-season northern trail; 3) Snow or no, a southbound hike =
remains a lonely hike, and few folks wish to raise their hand and =
volunteer first; and 4) southbounding would still remain arguably the =
more difficult direction, regardless of snow levels; the PCT is =
difficult enough already, so why subject oneself to additional hardship =
unless, as along the AT for example, the solitude aesthetic of the =
northbound journey is sufficiently compromised.=20

Northbound, southbound, inbound or out, it's still incredible to me that =
the PCT, almost 6 years after my first steps along the AT among its 3000 =
other entrants, remains a place where hikers must work to keep a social =
network intact, a place where you can lag behind the group long enough =
to water a tree and then neither catch nor be caught by a soul for days. =
Its hikers, like the trail itself, remain an enigma. And for every day =
I'd walk along through dusty, undiversified, viewless woods knowing for =
sure why I walked alone, I'd spend a day among the unequalled alpine =
splendor wondering where could everyone be. For the southbounder, it =
might be all the more perplexing.

- blisterfree

"It may be true that my desk here is really 'nothing but' a transient =
eddy of electrons in the flux of universal process. Nevertheless, I find =
that it continues to support my feet, my revolver, and my cigars all day =
long. What happens when my back is turned I don't know. Or much care. =
That's no concern of mine."  - Edward Abbey


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