[pct-l] PCT vs. AT

[Karen Borski <kborski@yahoo.com>]

"I have heard many war storys about the AT in recent years with hikers
using cell phones to hog up campsites even though other thru-hikers are
five miles ahead of them and closer to prized campsites and shelters.
With so many thru-hikers hitting the trail at one time, people become
cold toward each other.....

I really hope we don,t get the hordes of people the AT gets. Too many
hikers means people get into their " mall trance" and just look
straight ahead when other people are coming. bummer  Any AT thru-hikers
that can
share about this or PCT hikers of recent years?"


I thru-hiked the AT last year.  Although I found the first couple of
weeks to be a bit crowded for my taste, I never ever encountered "mall
stares," or unfriendly behavior on a large scale even when there were
groups at the shelters or in town.  Thru-hikers recognized one another,
looked out for one another and it seemed the ones that stayed on the
trail had a mysterious ability to form close friendships early on. 
Also, I never heard or saw any thru-hikers using phones to "hog up"
campsites - in fact, I'm not sure what this means or how one would use
a cell phone for such a purpose.  Only hiker I witnessed talking on a
phone in front of me on the AT was a weekender in the Smokies (and it
was very disturbing). 
 
I consider nearly all of my fellow ’98 hikers to be an extended family
now.  Heck, I considered them family the same day I met them!  I still
call them, write them and plan hikes with them (like the PCT next
year).  I do remember several encounters with "cold" and inconsiderate
weekend hikers and large groups out for a few days on the AT, but the
thru-hikers were not rude.  Hanging around thru-hikers spoiled me,and I
was frequently appalled when other hikers would pass without saying Hi
or smiling.  Guess I looked rough, though.

One other note about the AT:  I experienced quite a bit of solitude,
surprisingly in the places you’d least expect it (PA, NJ, NY, CT),
proving that it has a lot to do with timing.  Of course there are a lot
of folks starting in Georgia in the springtime, but those numbers don’t
stick around for New England.  I have to say I did not share many camps
or shelters north of New York state. 

Still, a lot of AT thru-hikers I’ve talked to about the PCT admit that
they’d like to hike the PCT before it gets crowded.  I’m one of them
and hope to see fewer hikers on the PCT than I did on the AT. 

Karen
Nocona GA->ME ‘98

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