[at-l] options for the future of the AT

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

William the wise Turtle wrote:
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> But let us face it.  Such patches are more souvenirs and touchstones than
> real awards.  They remind us of what we have done, and they are good
> conversation pieces ("Yes, I wallked all 2,000 miles of the Appalachian
> Trail from Georgia to Maine...").  But they cannot replace the real hiking
> experience and they do not give the cheaters the real experience of having
> hiked the AT.  So they are the loser no matter how many badges they have
> pinned on them: Kind of like Frank Burns' (MASH) Purple Heart.
>
> Either you do it or you don't.  No badge can replace doing it.  No badge
> means you have done it.

And that's the truth. An album full of photos and a journal are even better
reminders. Let's face it, aside from the initial impact of someone saying...
'You really walked over XXX miles on that trail?' and if you thru-hiked...
'All at once?' the accomplishment means little to anyone but you. Yeah,
maybe a few newbe hikers will look to you but the old hands will spot you
anyway if you're a phony. The average Joe on the street has no idea what it
means. Patches are fun but really don't mean much. Like anything else in
life, it's what's inside that makes you real.

Saunterer