[pct-l] Class of 05 thru-hike completion rate?

[dsaufley at sprynet.com (dsaufley)]

Yes, I have enjoyed the Teutonic Knight's registry tallies that he's shared.
But that's not what I meant.  If they start a pool on finishers, then they
start picking nits -- this one road walked, this one skipped, this one
didn't take the PCT the entire way. There was that whole "purity" discussion
going on, which this dovetails into.

It just seems to get away from the concept of journey, and the deeply
spiritual sense of what that means to individuals. Counting sends a message
-- you didn't finish, so your journey didn't count. The meaning and personal
relevance is lost. My guess is that many hikers don't want to be counted in
this way, and would be appalled to know that people were betting on their
completion.  I know I would hate and truly resent it if it was applied to
me. Probably would avoid signing registers, just to spite 'em and to avoid
their scrutiny and unwanted judgment of my journey.   

I've heard some people categorize by whether folks are section or thru
hikers.  Just doesn't matter to me, and I for one don't care to know because
it simply doesn't matter.  What matters is being fulfilled by what you do
accomplish, and enjoying each moment.  Quantify that!!! 

OTOH, some (many) people revel in this sort of thing, and I've always been
an oddball. 

Just my .02

L-Rod 

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Ken Powers
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 5:13 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Class of 05 thru-hike completion rate?

On the other hand it is the only measure we have to compare one year to 
another. Assuming that we miss a similar percentage each year we can still 
gauge one year against the others.

In 2000 I got to work on the data. They (Meadow Ed, Bob Norton, & others) 
gave me the names and dates from several registers along the PCT. It was 
interesting trying to match naes with mispellings, trailnames to real names,

changed trailnames, & lots of day hikers thown in. In a few cases you could 
pick out flip-floppers because of the dates. It was an interesting exercise.

Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "dsaufley" <dsaufley@sprynet.com>
To: "'David Plotnikoff'" <david@emeraldlake.com>; 
<pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 4:54 PM
Subject: RE: [pct-l] Class of 05 thru-hike completion rate?


> Just an FYI -- Puck is no longer with the PCTA.  There's a very nice lady
> named Jean there now.  I think 2005 finishers would be very difficult to
> sort out.  There is a Yahoo group for the 2005 hikers, but their contacts
> are only as comprehensive as, well, their contacts.
>
> Personal observation:  trying to count finishers is a slippery slope with
> big rocks below.
>
> L-Rod


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