[pct-l] Advice sought on lightway trek

[elee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Eric Lee (GAMES))]

Marc wrote:
>
Well, maybe someone should define the terms: strolling, walking, hiking,
backpacking, trekking, mountaineering, alpining, and climbing.
>

Good idea.  I'm not sure what specific definition you have in mind for
trekking - could you define that one?

Mountaineering, to me, means traveling off-trail in steep, hostile, icy
terrain which requires specialized equipment and the training to use it.
The duration of such trips are usually short, the daily mileage is
usually small, and the risk is very high.

The general focus of this list (though certainly not the only focus) is
on through-hiking the PCT, which means walking the roughly 2,650 miles
of the PCT in one season.  In order to accomplish that goal, you need to
be able to walk somewhere around 15 to 30 miles per day, day after day
after day, for three to six months straight (depending on your daily
mileage), on a well-maintained trail in relatively un-hostile
conditions.

That necessarily means that the primary emphasis of thru-hiking is on
doing everything possible to put in the daily mileage.  The biggest
enemy of daily mileage is weight.  Ergo, there's a big emphasis on
lightweight gear and techniques on this list.

Of course, safety is also a concern.  But risk is relative.  As I said
above, the conditions on the PCT are relatively mild.  The trail is
well-maintained, and the weather is usually cooperative.  Bail-out
points are usually close by.  I can't prove it with numbers, but it's
probable that more PCT hikers have been killed in car accidents on the
way to or from the trail, or murdered by criminals, than have been
killed by nature itself.  That's not to minimize the very real dangers
that always exist in the mountains, but in comparison to off-trail
mountaineering, thru-hiking is not just a little bit safer, it's a whole
lot safer.


In other words, a mountaineer is always saying to himself, "How can I
avoid dying?  Will this piece of gear possibly save my life on the
mountain?  Yeah, possibly, in some bizarre scenario.  Ah, what the heck,
toss it into the pack."

A thru-hiker is always saying to himself, "How can I maximize my chances
of completing my thru-hike?  Will carrying this piece of gear allow me
to put in more miles, or will the weight cost miles?  I think the
certain mileage cost of the weight is more important than the potential
mileage cost of being caught without it, so I'll leave it home."

Every thru-hiker has a different personal sweet spot, where adding any
more gear would mean fewer miles, and taking away any gear would mean
fewer miles.  That point of balance is different for everyone, and
that's where the phrase "hike your own hike" comes into play.

Eric



Eric