[at-l] Equipment...

[pmags@juno.com (Paul A Magnanti)]

With all this talk of Goretex, what kind of boots to wear, what is the
suggested rain gear, using PDAs, etc..etc. ,It seems that we are
neglecting to say something that should be stated:  Equipment is
secondary for the successful completion of a thru-hike.

Consider the array of equipment people have used for hiking: The latest
and greatest from LL Bean, thrift store specials, Army surplus, North
face. 

What gets you to Katahdin, Manning Park, Springer or Mexico is not a
piece of equipment. It is mental fortitude.  Slogging in rain day after
day, going through bitter cold, frozen fingers, bland food...all aspects
of thru-hiking that depends more on a hikers attitude.  Equipment
facilitates the hike, but no equipment in the world is going to make you
put one foot in front of the other for six months. No piece of equipment
in the world is going to lessen the yearning for friends and family. No
piece of equipment is going to make the umpteenth dinner of Liptons taste
like lobster or filet mignon. 

So people who are about to embark on their journey this coming year, 
yes, you should pay attention to what equipment you are carrying. 
Afterall, it is your home, kitchen,  and office for a while. But once you
are out on a trail and you are on your journey, you will find that
equipment quickly becomes secondary to what you are experiencing.  Humans
have journyed for thousands of years in conditions harsher than what
hikers experience, and with equipment most of us would not even consider
using.  But what kept them going, what lead them to see what was over the
horizon was something that we humans same to have a knack for: a desire
to see something new, to explore and discover, to persevere in whatever
curve balls  life can throw.

Enjoy the hike. It will be an experience you will remember, and I don't
mean what kind of boots you used. :D

Mags...rambling as usual...and wishing he was departing in March for
Springer...





 
  

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The true harvest of my life is intangible... a little star-dust caught, a
 segment of the rainbow which I have clutched.
-- -Thoreau
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