[pct-l] Getting Into Trouble on the Trail

[chelin at teleport.com (Sharon & Chuck Chelin)]

Good afternoon, Bill,

There were people doing, and talking about, ultralite hiking in that era,
but the shortage was of people who would listen.  I hiked the Oregon
Cascades quite a bit from the mid '60s through the mid '70s, and I got tired
of the trying to explain the tiny load so I just started saying I was a
day-hiker.  At that time I used a medium-sized butt pack, with suspenders,
and  I lashed a bare-minimum, zipperless down sleeping bag on top of the
pack.  I didn't cook, and a nylon poncho served as a shelter whenever I
chose to erect it.

The real contentious item though, was the shoes:  That was the era when 5
lb. waffle-stomper boots were the norm, and what I wore drew more than
snickers. Even day-hikers weren't that far out on the lunatic-fringe.  There
really weren't any trail shoes at that time, and even running shoes were
just becoming popular with the jocks.  What I wore I found on a $3 close-out
rack.  It was a pair of some kind of field hockey or soccer shoes made of
little more than a few scraps of leather and mesh over knobby rubber soles;
rather like high-tech moccasins.  They were very light, very flexible, they
had good traction, and they drew all manner of derision and pity from the
regular backpackers.  I didn't have to listen to it for very long because I
invariable blew past them on the trail.

Steel-Eye


"The leader shouted to the crowd, 'I am a rugged individualist!' to which
everyone replied, 'Yeah, me too ... me too ... me too ... me too'. "
- Norman D. Thompson


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Billjensen1957@aol.com>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 04, 2005 3:38 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Getting Into Trouble on the Trail


> At its core ultra-light is a great concept.  I wish that someone had  been
> talking about it in 1977.
>
> Bill Jensen
> "Portland Trailblazers"
> PCT '77