[pct-l] 9-11 thoughts

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

I spent the anniversary with Eric Jensen between White Pass and Pear Lake
south of Glacier Peak.    We met a number of through hikers who at that
point had to be considered successful; pictures and a final revised rogues
gallery for 2002 will be posted in a few days.

We were buzzed a couple of times during the trip by very low flying fighter
aircraft.    I was somewhat worried that something bad had happened but I
guess it was just business as usual for the top guns, breaking the wilderness
altitude rules as usual to stay in practice.

How fortunate we are that in our mountains we can afford to worry about
low and noisy aircraft, pesky wilderness rangers enforcing bear can rules,
or suicidal black flies.  There are similar
very beautiful alpine areas all around the world such as those in
the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, etc., where one has
REAL worries like low noisy aircraft that shoot real bullets, pesky invisible
land mines everywhere, and suicidal/homicidal gangs of highly armed young males
full of hot testosterone and hot lead, battling over turf and ideology with
little regard to who's in their way.