[pct-l] manners and bears

[Jim Owen <jrowen@pop500.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

So - F.A.G.E.M. finally showed up - Where have you been hiding?  First off,
I'm gonna say a big "Thank you" for kicking me while I was down.  And I
mean it. I needed that. Now -

HikerQs@aol.com wrote:
>
> But it IS insulting for snotty thru-hikers to look down their noses at
non-"thru-hikers," and attempt to belittle them

It would be insulting if that were the purpose ---

via the lame-ass notion of
> "it's a thru-hiker thing, you wouldn't understand." The elitist arrogance
of  that particular attitude continues to be a major problem in the
long-distance  hiking community. And it really bums me out. Please refrain
from such.

---- but they DON'T understand. And some of them don't even know they don't
understand and some of them don't give a damn, they just want control. And
why should anyone - even you - expect them to understand?  So how are YOU
gonna tell them what they need to know?

It IS a "thruhiker thing" in this case -  just as it's a "Specwar thing" or
an "engineer thing" or a "ranger thing" in other times and places. People
like Tom and bj haven't and probably never will thruhike - how do you
expect them to know anything about it if YOU don't tell them?  If you're
gonna get bummed out about that then you'd better find a deep hole to crawl
into cause there are damn few people who don't have their own "thing".

"Elitist arrogance" my ass - you've done your hike - without a bear can.
Cool. Now are you gonna tell me that you don't give a damn whether or not the
people who hike next year will be legally required to carry one?  Or
whether your next hike will be with a can because people like bj will make
you carry it?  I'm not gonna stand still while people who don't know jack
about thruhiking foist that kind of garbage on me.  Not without a fight.
Have you thought about the fact that if she gets her way, you'll be
carrying a can when you do the CDT?  And the CDT has a LOT of bear country
- a couple thousand miles of it - all the way from the Canadian
border through the Gila with a few small breaks in the middle.

Unless you're gonna get your mouth in here and tell her where to put that
kind of nonsense, then don't be jumpin' in my stuff about how I do what has
to be done.  If you don't like how I do it, then get in here and do it
yourself.

 And you're wrong, F.A.G.E.M., the biggest problem in the long distance
community is the silence of those with experience who should be out here
telling people how it really is.  The trail maintenance community has
exactly the same problem.  The mess this week would never have happened if
2 or 3 other thruhikers had had the guts to stand up and tell bj & co.
where to put it.  Don't tell me how bummed out you are - I'm the one whose
words were mocked, twisted and lied about.  Where were you when I was
takin' the heat?


> Now just who lost it here, really? Don't gimme that over-romanticized
krapola  about >how ThruHiking is such an intense activity on so many
levels (you may well be to >ThruHiking what George F. Will is to Baseball).
Hiking the AT or  the PCT ain't that >hard. It's walking. One direction. On
an established, well-  maintained path. Complete >with guidebooks. And
other hikers to boot. It is not a 2000 plus mile hike, but a series >of
shorter hikes. Yeah, other factors come  into play (e.g., big-ass
appetite), but that's >really what it basically is all  about. Please find
some other venue to puff out your >feathers, it really bums  me out.

Really?  Now how are you gonna explain that to the 90% who don't make it
every year on the AT?  Or to the 50% or more who don't make it on the PCT?
It might have been that easy for you - but it sure as hell ain't the same
for them - or for most of the other thruhikers I know. To quote one of them
- "If you haven't had an intense experience, then you missed something".
What did you miss?  Before you get bummed out about that, you need to go
talk to a few people and find out what they got that you didn't.  Or maybe
you need to try again.  How do you explain the fact that so many people
love it so much, they go back to do it again, and again, and again?

I don't need to puff any feathers.  What I need - and what the long
distance community needs - is for some other people with some guts and the
knowledge of what thruhiking is about to stand up and speak out when people who
haven't a clue about what long distance hiking is start making noises about
how it "should" be done.

I'll repeat the question - where are all those PCT/JMT hikers who have lost
their food?  There are what - maybe 350 people on this list? And no one so
far has said - "I was a thruhiker and the bears got my food".  Sorry,
but I won't buy it.


>  C'mon guys - I want to hear from you. If I'm wrong, then lets eat the
crow and get it over with.  :-) >>
>
> On the AT I saw two bears in Shenendoah National Park. One prob'ly knew I
was  there, but chose to ignore me. The other turned and fled the moment it
sensed  me from at least a [American] football field away. I also saw one
in New  Jersey. It disappeared as soon as I noticed it, again at a distance.
>
> On the PCT I saw but two bears: one in California somewhere near Tahoe
area  and one in Washington. Both ran away at top speed. For the record, I
never  hung my food, and I did not carry a canister.
>
> On neither hike did I lose any food to bears (although I did lose some to
rodents).

Cool - it was nice to hear from you.  When you get your stuff together,
come on back and YOU can be the answer man here - I don't need or want the
job.  I don't have time for it cause I've got my next thruhike to get
ready for.


Walk softly - but don't be stuffin' rocks in MY pack,
Jim


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