[pct-l] The Reality of the Trail

[bluebrain at bluebrain.ca (bluebrain@bluebrain.ca)]

> I adventure travel, and now hike, because that is where freedom is at.
> Here in the urban jungle, we spend most of our days re-acting to other
> peoples agendas and desires. On the trail, all of that carefully designed
> prompting and manipulation is gone allowing us to live every day as nature
> intended and enabling us to take back the ownership of our lives.
>
> Chance

Ownership of our lives and days as nature intended them 


Maybe true 
 though one might argue that nature didn?t provide ultralight
silnylon, titaniam cooking pots, vitemen A, denatured alcohol, synthetic
running shoes, vacuum sealed tuna packs, breathable waterproof
rainjackets, duct tape, goose down sleeping bags, jet fuel ? airports ?
cars and highways to get you to the trailhead 
 and so on and so on.  All
the technologies and amenities that make thru-hiking fun and viable.

I think those of us that make ?alternative? choices in our lives often
loose perspective of the fact the very system that we 
 (despise? rebel
against? opt out of? feel opressed by? whatever fits for you) 
 is also
the very thing that both allows us the freedom to make those choices, and
facilitates the lifestyle.

Seems like a lot of hikers tend to look down on modern society and city
dwellers for their poor choices and priorities 
 getting a career, a
mortgage, a new car, and simply not recognizing the virtues of trail life

 as though hikers are somehow superior for having made the wiser choice. 
It?s all pretty western in perspective, by the way.  Eight out of ten
people in the world don?t have a telephone, and more people are concerned
with where to get their next meal than they are with job or mortgage
concerns, but that?s an aside.

In reality, if everybody made the same choice to ?opt out? ? thru hiking
would rapidly become a pretty difficult and unrealistic undertaking. 
There?d be no child slaves in asia to make our next pair of shoes, there?d
be no factories cranking out food in little packets, there?d be no trail
angels able to drive around to help out, and most of us would have a
difficult and lengthly trek just trying to get to one of the trailheads.

That said, personally I feel extremely greatful that the ?system? and the
people in it keep motoring along (for the time being) allowing me the
freedom to choose to opt out and hike.  Even if hiking life FEELS like
life as nature intended, I think in reality long distance hiking as we
know it is a luxury quite unique to our time and doesn?t bare quite so
much resemblance to the lives any of our ancesters lived ?as nature
intended.?  Certainly elements of it do, but bottom line IMHO, thru-hiking
is probably the most enjoyable adventure that anybody in history has had
the oportunity to undertake.

I think it?s a gift. A gift that only works so long as a very few of us
choose it and one that is completely and totally facilitated by the
system.

Certainly not trying to sound preachy, just sharing my perspective.  :-)

Mostly just avoiding my afternoon cubicle tasks.

Speaking of which 
 back to work.  :-(

Cheers.
Paul

?eight out of nine americans poop sinkers?