Re: [pct-l] Introductions ---

[Tom Sweetnam <savamutt@razorlogic.com>]

Hi Owen,
Cool idea. I couldn't agree with you more. I already know a little bit about
super-athlete Brick, and Joanne and her husband, since I've visited Brick's
home page and I've e-mailed him and Joanne a time or two. I'm 47 years old, an
ex-US Army Ranger who spent two years backpacking a trail called the Ho Chi
Mihn, which if included in any of these forum pissing matches about the
toughest trail on the planet to backpack, would probably rank somewhere up
there with the AT and PCT I'm pretty sure. At any rate, I'd never want to
thru-hike that one under those circumstances again (and I had to do it without
a single piece of clothing or gear with a designer label too).

My pack during those years averaged about 105 pounds, so I certainly wouldn't
fit into the politically correct mold of a Ray Jardenesque ultra-lighter,
that's for sure. I was shot a couple of times and wounded by grenades a few
more times, and I had to use my own arsenal of weaponry on several occasions,
which probably goes a long way in explaining why the thought of violence
between backpackers in the wilderness sickens me, so it may further explain why
I NEVER carry a weapon on any trail in North America, especially not on the
PCT, and I guess it explains too, why all this talk about weapons and the
violent use of ice axes against man and beast on the PCT is something I find
distasteful in the extreme.

I'm a goon. I'm 6'1" and weigh 217 lb. and with my goatee and permanent scowl,
I scare the hell out of most people, but when a pair of petite 22 year-old coed
backpackers run into me and Sally (my mutt) somewhere in the middle of nowhere
on the PCT, they'll stop and chit chat like I'm some long-lost family member.
That's always been my experience in wilderness backpacking. How many rapists or
muggers are going to hump a 55 lb. pack up a 3000 ft elevation gain over a 20
mile day so they can rape or rob someone? It doesn't happen. Any park ranger
would probably agree that the greatest potential for violent confrontation for
backpackers is drunken high school kids vandalizing cars at trail head parking
lots. AVOID these places. It isn't that difficult.

I'm a animal radical. I consider the hunting and killing of wild animals an act
of cowardice. I'm an active member of Predator Project, an organization
dedicated to the maintenance of indigenous predator species in the western
states and Rocky Mountain bio regions. In 1996 I led a coalition in Northern
California against Proposition 197 which would have allowed open season on
hunting mountain lions. The proposition was defeated, mountain lions maintained
their protections. More recently I lobbied for Proposition 4 which was passed
last Tuesday, and which bans the use of foothold traps in California.
Hopefully, trapping is an avocation that will soon go the way of the buggy
whip. Another proposition outlawing the slaughter of wild horses for commercial
packing was also passed on Tuesday. The rights of wild animals are being
recognized more and more in California.

I was fortunate in being able to drop out of the rat race in my early 40's. I'd
worked as a commercial writer and marketing director in the computer industry
up until then, but now spend most of my time writing for fun and backpacking in
the Northern California wilderness. I spent nearly 250 days backpacking last
year, and covered almost 3000 miles, always with my mutt Sally, and sometimes
with my buddy Brooks or my girlfriend Regina. Living in Eureka, California,
affords me many wonderful opportunities for wilderness trail escapes. I'm in
close proximity to the Trinty Alps, the Lost Coast & Kings Range, the PCT, the
Marble Mountain Wilderness, the Yola Bolle, the Smith River Wilderness, etc.
etc. etc.

I really enjoy the technical input I get from the PCT list. That long string on
river and stream crossings was the most interesting and informative treatment
on the subject I've ever encountered. This place is full of people who really
know their stuff, and it's a wonderful place for one to hone their backpacking
skills as well, that's for sure. Whether or not I'll do a PCT thru-hike, I just
don't know. But I don't consider that particular ambition as being a necessary
cost of admission in this forum. I do know one thing though. I do know that I'm
not going to play into the nastiness that one or more individuals here seem to
want to proliferate. The personal attacks I've seen here (and I've been the
target too) are uncalled for and adolescent, and I'm not going to fall for it
anymore. There are too many good things to garner from this forum. If one or
two individuals here want to swill in misery, more power to them. Just leave me
out of it, OK?




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