[at-l] Tell me your troubles...

[spiriteagle99@hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Hal Wright wrote:
>So (says the aging, bearded, spectacled hiker psychologist), lay down >on 
>ze couch und tell me your trubles...
>
>Well (says Pokey, the nervous, lowly section hiker), it all started >when I 
>went lightweight...

Hal -
Ain't no such animal as a "lowly section hiker" as far as I'm concerned.


>Doc: Go on...
>
>Pokey: I ditched everything, the 5 1/2 pound Lowe pack, the white gas 
>stove=>Pokey: Except...except...I CAN=B9T LEAVE THE LITTLE PLASTIC ORANGE 
> >SHOVEL behind!
>
>Doc (leaning forward): Interesting...
>
>Pokey: Don=B9t get me wrong, I sawed it at both ends to make it >lighter, 
>but I can't keep from using it...I mean, using my heel, or my >trekking 
>pole, to dig a cathole? Just can't stomach it...and it's >worse! I put it 
>in a mesh pocket on the outside of my pack...

***

I like it.  We've always carried one - and always will.  And it's generally 
on the outside of one of our packs, where we can get at it in a hurry.

Not carrying a trowel means that you're simply NOT following LNT - or 
anything reasonably resembling it.  Those who think they can dig a deep 
enough hole with a hiking stick or a boot heel are fooling themselves. 
Personally, I wouldn't want to ruin a hiking pole by trying to dig a 6" deep 
hole in the PA rocks.  And anyone who thinks they can dig a 6" deep hole 
with their boot heel just has no concept of what 6" is - or of the damage 
they're doing to their boots in the process.  This isn't as big a deal on 
the AT as it is other places because relatively speaking, the AT has a lot 
of outhouses.  But even on the AT there's no excuse for improper 'waste' 
disposal - and there's not always an outhouse nearby when you need one.

Worse than that - those who don't use a trowel on the AT develop bad habits 
- and take those bad habits with them when they go on to hike other trails.  
The PCT and the CDT aren't nearly as well supplied with outhouses as the AT. 
  And the soil generally isn't nearly as easy to dig holes in as on the AT.  
One PCT hiker found that out last year - we passed the place where he/she 
left their 'droppings' - and TP --- right beside the trail.  It wasn't the 
highlight of the day and it's a good thing we never caught up to them.

For those who think it doesn't matter - if you were gonna take a dump in 
your own back yard, would you use the same technique you use on the trail?  
If not, then you're doing it wrong on the trail.  Remember, you're not alone 
out there.

Walk softly,
Jim
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