[pct-l] poor old Ray

[JohnDRandall at aol.com (JohnDRandall@xxxxxxx)]

The essence is this; from a PCT thru-hike perspective--can you hike 20+ miles 
a day or 8 miles a day?   I've reduced my pack down to 22 pounds, but I still 
can't hike more than 10-12 miles a day.   I could reduce my pack down to zero 
and I still couldn't do more than 15 trail miles a day.   All the hoo-haw 
about weight doesn't matter beans if you can't walk the walk.  

Going from a 60-pound pack which I carried in my late 30s to the 22-25 pound 
pack I currently carry (in my late 50s) has done two things; one--it's allowed 
me to pursue an activity which I enjoy and be on the fringe of something I've 
dreamed about (hiking the PCT, etc) AND increase my daily hiking distance 
from 8 miles/day to 12-13 miles/day.   But, even if I could spend 100% of my time 
in exercise and preparation, I doubt if I could increase my miles/day by more 
than 25%, maybe up to 15 miles/day.  Top end.

The Ray Way provides the thru-hiker athlete--and I stress athlete--a 
methodology to walk the walk.   It also allows the average hiker who wants to spend a 
week in the wilderness--a 50/60-mile hike--a way to reasonably accomplish the 
goal.   However, I think corn pasta really sucks.

john