[pct-l] 1977 Gear list

[Bighummel@xxxxxxx (Bighummel@xxxxxxx)]

A picture from 1971 of my brother and I prepared to go backpacking into
Glacier NP shows us with old Rugby - cotton knee high - socks, full leather -
high top - hiking boots, cotton bag - boy scout - external frame packs,
cotton baffled - sleeping bags and old army surplus - cotton canvas pup tents
with wooden posts and steel tent stakes!

I was only 15 at the time and loaded with probably 65 to 70 pounds of, now
considered, almost totally useless equipment.  Hey, but we had fun anyway.
It kind of goes to show that, though we have learned a tremendous amount
about fabrics and materials and backpacking strategies, the only thing that
seems to matter in the end consideration of whether it was fun or not, is the
depth of the adventure, the beauty of landscape, the resolution of our drive
and the overcoming of hardships; NOT what equipment you are carrying.

Our experience is the foundation upon which your knowledge and equipment is
now based.  And, yes, in hind sight, we were pretty ignorant and just
followed what others had done before us without questioning or deeply
thinking it through.  That is what I love about the ADZ homemade gear contest
(AGPLDHI&GR).  The participants tend to all throw out all assumptions and
traditions to come up with new, sometimes completely off-of-the-wall, ideas.


The "Question Authority" attitude that emerged in the anti-Vietnam war era of
the late '60's is still alive and well.

Greg