[pct-l] Re: death of a hiker

[canuck013 at yahoo.com (Patrick Shannon)]

JoAnn,

Though I read this list a lot since I finished my thru-hike last year, I rarely post, but I felt the need to here. First of all, I'm sorry you were offended, but I also have to agree with Judson and Craig. This is a proper place to talk about safety while backpacking and we can all learn from others mistakes. I hope that as horrible as her death is, that at least others can learn from it and not make the same mistakes, whether it be too heavy a pack, not loosening a waist-belt, not crossing a flooding river, or not hiking solo. On my thru-hike I found perhaps a stronger sense of community than I have anywhere in my life: from hikers, trail angels, and total strangers. The kind and generous acts of the people I came in contact with, including several on this list, is something I will never forget. Knowing personally some of the people you are criticizing here, makes me upset, which is why I felt the need to respond.

As for the pack weight issue, no I do not think it makes you a better person (sorry to disagree Craig) :o) but, as others have said, it can certainly make what we do more enjoyable. For all of the amazing scenery found along the PCT it would be a shame to miss it because you are hunched over from having to carry 50 pounds on your back. And though these single changes people often talk about on this list make little difference to an overall packweight by themselves, they do add up to significant weights. No one is ordering anyone else to hike with a ten pound pack. Hike your own hike! But I'm sure glad I had people telling me it was possible to hike with a pack weight of under twenty before I started out. Without many people convincing me of this and changing my mind set on what I REALLY needed I probably would have arrived at the Mexican border with a forty pound pack (if only someone had told me not to wear sandals without socks on the first day... oh wait... you did, I just didn't
 listen)!  

So, as far as I'm concerned, I hope anyone that thinks they have an idea that will make my future hikes safer or more enjoyable I hope they share it. I also hope that PCT hikers in the years to come will find as amazing a community, full of generous and caring people, as I did. I am confident that they will.

The Northerner (PCT 2003)

 


		
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