[pct-l] A bit much

[pbaily at webuniverse.net (Philip Baily)]

I am a section hiker, and attended the kick-off last year in order to learn
more about lightweight gear and to take advantage of the shuttle to the
border so that I could walk back. I met at least as many section hikers
there as I did thru hikers. I felt no discrimination or "unwantedness." If
the program interests you, go the kick-off and don't worry about how far
you are going to hike. 
			Phil




At 01:58 PM 1/10/05 EST, Glkroeker@aol.com wrote:
>Right on, be nice to the section hikers.
>
>This is my first post, I have been lurking for about a year now, gleaning
all 
>sorts of info and ideas.  My husband and I (61 and 57) are section hikers.  
>We hiked Oregon the summer of 2003, half of Washington last summer until 
>sidelined by a knee injury and hope to finish Washington this summer and
tackle 
>California the summer of 2006. Our longest hikes are about 6 days, then I
go back 
>to work for a week, and then out we go again. We are very proud of what we 
>have accomplished, and to my knowledge, have never told anyone what we "do" 
>unless we are asked - and then we just say Gary is retired and I work.
>
>This summer in Washington we met (actually, were passed) by some of the
first 
>thru hikers.  We were so excited to meet them, we are in awe of the 
>tremendous dedication it must take to thru hike - and want to know all
about them, how 
>much weight they carry, how long they have been on the trail, how far do
they 
>go each day etc, etc, etc.
>
>We were thinking about coming to the Kick Off this year, but when I read
what 
>I consider somewhat disaparaging remarks about section hikers, I wonder how 
>welcomed section hikers really are into the PCT community. I think section 
>hikers bring a lot of interest and support to the PCT and our experiences,
though 
>not the same as thru hikers', certainly bring us to the same place of awe
and 
>appreciation for the wilderness. Lots of people are wrapped up in their 
>identity - and they aren't just the section hikers.
>
>Respectfully,
>
>Judy Kroeker
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