[pct-l] Northeast trekking versus west trekking: An observation

[kdpo@xxxxxxxxxxx (Ken Powers)]

Oops! Now I found out that we did it all wrong. Well, not all. At least we
had  lightweight ice axes.
Ken (58 and not feeling 24)
----- Original Message -----
From: <Bighummel@aol.com>
To: <johnsmallberries@hvc.rr.com>; <pct-l@backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Northeast trekking versus west trekking: An observatio=
n


Yea for Marco the Mad!  I thought that the Voice of Reason had long ago bee=
n
drowned out by all of the young, senseless, "I am Superman and cannot be
harmed", ultra-light, egotists!

Don't get me wrong, this is not an attact on anyone's man or womanhood and
should not be deemed as bait for a flame war.  This man speaks the truth.

He writes:

"Wearing lightweight running. Xtraining sneaks to do any form of hiking is
irresponsible. . . . So, get the freekin=B9 best boots you can for
what you want to do."

I would be interested to see how many people who wore full support hiking
boots had there feet increase in size during a long distance hike versus
those that wore light weight trail running shoes or similar.

and

"Get a damn good pack to carry all this gear. Get a sleeping bag
w/polarguard
delta or 3d, forget hv and down. Get a tough 3 season tent or a solid 4
season one"

and

"An ice ax3e is handy, but get a freekin=B9 light one. Learn how to use all
this stuff b4 you go out. You don=B9t need a gps, but have the best maps
available and learn how to use your compass."

and

"Blow of all that ultralight crap. It will kill people. . . . It seems to m=
e
that a lot of folks on the west coast yak like you are 24 and are in the
best
shape of your lives, and the PCT is sooooo easy you can flop around in
sandals."

Of course, some of the people who do hike the PCT ARE in their 20's, ARE in
the best shape of their lives (or soon get there on the trail) and happen t=
o
hike the trail in a mild weather year and thus find the PCT to be "sooooo
easy".

It is all worth repeating, over and over again.  Ultra-light is not for
everyone and, arguably, not for most.

Strider


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