[pct-l] Weapons on the trail?

[dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (David Davis)]

This is beautifully written and in my opinion is the best and truest
argument on the subject I've ever heard!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brett" <blisterfree@isp01.net>
To: "Pacific Crest Trail" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 11:30 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Weapons on the trail?


> >My latest thought is to carry a 20" curved machete sticking out of my
> bag.  I've heard people saying they were thinking about bringing a 45
> magnum.
> I've been a vegetarian all my life, have never killed an animal and the
idea
> of hunting enrages me.  I just don't want to be stupid.  Every animal in
the
> woods has their particular defenses, why shouldn't we?<
>
>
> The underlying reason why those who have walked the trail will, by and
> large, discourage the above suggestions? It's fear-based thinking. This is
> the type of thought pattern generated by a fear of the unknown, by fear of
> the many, infinite really, negative possibilities that might await you
along
> the trail.
>
> The antedote to fear is love. It is easy to fear something that is not
> associated with feelings of love, and if you step back and view in this
> context the antics and the baggage of fledgling hikers departing Campo --
> the worry-filled jabber about illegals, the overprepared hikers who carry
> GPS units, the obsessive talk about water sources, the packweight
> comparisons, and the occasional hunting knives, machetes and handguns seen
> in tow -- what we really find here at the start of the long journey is
fear.
> Ignorance or overcautiousness in some cases, yes. But underneath it all we
> find fear, a perfectly natural instinct. And the way to banish this fear,
as
> almost all successful hikers discover, is to simply walk. As you progress
> north, the inertia of positive experiences will grow, your confidence and
> capabilities will expand, and nature will find its way into your heart and
> mind. You will fall in love with the trail. Might not even admit it to
> yourself, but it happens to each of us who goes the distance.
>
> We become attached to the trail experience. Nature becomes our home, the
> animals become our family, and the trees and rocks our furniture. All that
> lies within our home is beautiful and right and worth defending from the
> outside world of man. Indeed, the world of man from which we ascended only
> weeks before may now represent our final holdout of fear, and those
resupply
> point re-emersions into that realm signify our last justification for
> striking a defensive posture. Yet in that environment our implements of
fear
> are next to useless against the overwhelming force of potential evil in
> man's world. Knives won't cut us off from trouble should it arise. What
> _will_ protect us in most cases is our newfound awareness - that same
primal
> instinct that keeps us safe in a storm can also work in the towns and at
the
> road crossings along the way.
>
> This is a gradual evolution, of course, and some might argue that it makes
> sense to carry a weapon until the fear has abated. The problem with this
> approach is that the fear will not abate until you release yourself from
the
> weapon. Nor will you truly be safe on the PCT until you have conquered
your
> fear. So my advice would be to focus less on equipment, particularly of
the
> dangerous kind, and instead place a stronger emphasis on opening oneself
to
> the beauty and love that will assuredly be discovered along the way.
>
> Every animal has its defense against an untimely demise, and humankind's
> greatest is this unique ability to re-create ourselves, by will, in
defense
> of the natural world.
>
> - blisterfree
>
>
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