[pct-l] motives for long distance hiking

[pcnst@oakapple.net (David hiking PCNST in bits)]

I am supposed to plan an El Camino pilgrimage to take place in June 2003.
The following is from a book description about El Camino de Santiago -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520217519/
I wonder how much of this applies to PCT aspirants as well:

 ...provides a colorful
 portrayal of the pilgrimage while revealing a spectrum of hopes,
 discontents, and desires among its participants, many of whom feel
 estranged from society. The Camino's physical and mental journey offers
 them closer community, greater personal knowledge, and links to the past
 and to nature. But what happens when pilgrims return home? Exploring
 this crucial question Frey finds that pilgrims often reflect deeply on their
 lives and some make significant changes: an artistic voice is discovered, a
 marriage is ended, meaningful work is found. Other pilgrims repeat the
 pilgrimage or join a pilgrims' association to keep their connection to the
 Camino alive. And some only remain pilgrims while on the road. In all,
 Pilgrim Stories is an exceptional prism through which to understand the
 desires and dissatisfactions of contemporary Western life at the end of the
 millennium. 
 "Feet are touched, discussed, massaged, [and] become signs of
 a journey well traveled: 'I did it all on foot!' . . . 
 Pilgrims give feet a power
 and importance not recognized in daily life, as a causeway and direct
 channel to the road, the past, meaningful relations, nature, and the self."