[pct-l]PCT Hike Planning Guide

[atjulliard at yahoo.com (Alan Julliard)]

Do you have a copy of the Chuck's book?  As far as I
know, it was the first of such books (Yogi's being
today's version).  He asked me to contribute to it but
I was of a different mind, as was Jim Podlesney (who
is still quoted in the latest California PCT guide). 
So, because of my bad karma, I have never found a copy
to read.
  I don't know about 15 pounds of camera gear (I had a
Kodak Pocket Instamatic, the 70's "ultralight" hiker's
choice) but most hikers had an 35mm SLR, none of which
topped 5 pounds.  Of course, some of the lens were
monsters and could add up quickly to 15 pounds.  As
for 5 pound boots, that was standard (mine were 5
1/2).  My tent was a North Face Tuolumne (I still have
it though haven't used in 20 years) that weighed 5
pounds, which was light compared to some of the other
tents that were carried.  My ice axe was a aluminum
version of the MSR metal ice axe, a whole new idea
then.  I had the only one I saw as most were still
wood.  I carried mine every inch from Mexico to Canada
and though 99% of the time it served only as a walking
staff, the other 1% for self arrest made it one of the
most useful pieces of gear I had.  Other than a
paperback book I carried for rare reading, I cannot
think of a single item I would consider useless. 
Though my pack weight today is far less than it used
to be, I tend to carry more "useless" stuff today. 
But, hey, once you've graduated from backpacking with
babies and kids and all the stuff that went into those
trips (and the days packing it all), you'll think
nothing of throwing a few "useless" items in the pack.

Alan
 
>Maybe this should be a gear carried in year's past on
>PCT, and a gear carried this year contest(??) I've
>read some of the early 1970s journals and Planning
>guides, and you'd be amazed at what was carried. In
>the 1976 "PCT Hike Planning Guide" by Chuck Long some

>of the incredible items carried were 15 pounds of
>camera gear, 5lb leather mountaineering boots the
>total distance, 8lb Sierra Design Glacier tent, and
>full length wooden ice axes the whole distance. To
>each his own hike. To look to the future we must keep
>an eye on the past.


		
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