Re: [pct-l] thruhikers-Section B

[charliethorpe@worldnet.att.net (Charlie Thorpe)]

Hello Tom (?) -

You said:

>I agree that their are logistics problems on a
>supported resupply effort. I don't think that they are
>insurmontable...

I absolutely agree that it always could be done in some form.  Close
support for a thru-hiker (however we define "thru-hiker") is quite common
on the AT...but then you can do beer/pizza there every few days, too <g>.

The major problem that I see is that of scheduling...somebody is going to
have to wait around unless both parties (resupplee and resuppler) are quite
determined to stay on plan, the plan is realistic, and the planets are all
in good alignment...or both have cell phones and remember to use them when
they happen to actually pull a tower out in the backcountry.

Unless you do a "pre-supported" thru-hike.  I tried doing that on the 400
mile segment of the CDT I did this year.  Packed my resupply in plastic
pails and buried them in already-impacted areas along the trail.  Worked
great...no problems at all with the food staying good and safe from the
critters.  Did have some concerns about leaving the buckets (containing my
trash) out in the backcountry, so I planned to go back out and pick them up
after my hike.  Lucked out...found folks who were more than willing to toss
them in their OTR and dispose of them at home.

Doing a closely-supported resupply can also be a neat way for a partner to
have a thru-hike that they might otherwise have to miss.  I ran into a
northbounder just outside of Hanover, NH during my AT hike.  I think that
her trailname was either "Two-stick Lil" or "Honey Bear" (she had one of
those little plastic bottles of honey taped to each of her hiking
sticks)...'93 was a looooong time ago <g>.

Her husband was driving a van along the trail and meeting her at planned
road crossings throughout each day.  She carried a minimum of gear and
ate/slept with hubby where/when they could work it out.  He had trashed his
knees (football?) and was unable to hike...it even hurt him to stand around
and talk to us when we met him.

Doing the hike the way that they were doing it allowed him to be a big part
of that team effort...even though he couldn't walk worth a hoot.  Was she a
distance hiker?  Sure.  Was he a distance hiker?  Nope.  Were they a
distance-hiking team?  You bet!

>...this is the only place where even a slow hiker,
>like myself, would need more than 4 quarts of water]...

By the time my son and I were up that far, we had discovered that we tended
to burn up a liter per person for each five miles we hiked.  That figure
has mostly stayed true for me ever since (goes down some on cold
days...probably shouldn't).

Good luck...it sounds like you are going to the trouble to plan carefully
(private property permissions, etc.)...don't forget to include the planning
needed to minimize the possible impacts to the backcountry from the
resupply effort <g>.

Trace No Leaves,

- Charlie II  AT (MEGA'93)
             PCT (Mex@Can'95)
        Chipping away at the CDT


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