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[at-l] Trail running/running shoes...

(A)
    trail running is a fine activity, great for the cardiovascular system
and run across some wildlife as well. Trail racing is what scares me....
Whoops no time to pack that trash , throw it aside, whoops no time to do an
eco-friendly dump, kick some leaves on it.... Or imagine on a smaller
scale...... a small running club decides hey good idea- we can have mini
trail races between sections of the trail- I see packs of litterers doing
everything to shave time, dropping powerbar wrappers and liquid fuel (the
energy jell stuff ya eat, not the stuff for a stove) packets being strewn
along the trail, cutting switchbacks, not slowing down for anything or
anybody... Now I know it isn't there yet, but for every timed feat or event
it will only give others something to shoot at... I doubt anyone who's
trying to set a record is going to take time to do the correct thing for the
time they are on the trail... It starts small, just like a man named Earl
Schaffer did years ago and now look.... The fact of doing the trail as fast
as possible is one thing, but any publicized organized endeavor like this
will only bring more to follow in their footsteps.... If Mr. Horton will
prove to be responsible to the environmental impact, then I hope he has a
nice  HIKE (whatever...)

(B) Running shoes- Yes Ray Jardine did it... Well let's see, looking over
Ray's achievements, I would put an emphasis on physical conditioning... The
guy is intense! I am sure he has a compulsive obsessive type
personality...Not a bad thing, but the big hinge on running shoes is
strength and conditioning.... Anybody believe that Ray was not in very good
physical condition before starting his hikes? I doubt it!!! It is part of
the system which he founded...  A System of interlocking principles which
are only as strong as their weakest link.... To do that type of intense
activity with minimum support, I believe you must first have the skeletal
and muscular conditioning... Well, I am too lazy for that, I wear boots! Ray
Jardine turned many in the hikers circles on their head- is it bad? NO! Is
it right for everyone? NO! Joe six-pack can't skim over a book, join a
health club for a month, do a couple overniters, walk outta REI with all the
latest gadgets and expect to adopt a system which EVOLVED TO  meet the needs
of an outdoorsman who had a vast array of knowledge and (I am forced to
believe) physical conditioning; and expect to imitate his achievements....
He may have hiked the trails quickly with lite packs, but I am sure that He
being an engineer had put in enough field testing to had hiked half the
trail before he even reached Springer.

HE KNEW HIS ABILITIES AND LIMITS BEFORE HE HIKED THE TRAIL!!!
If you can do the same, more power to you, but 98% of us can't.....



Sorry for getting up on a soapbox, but there are many hikers who have jumped
on a bandwagon and don't even know the tune!!! I get irritated by being
preached to by someone who isn't prepared for the trail that I should :

1) get a lighter pack             2) wear running shoes
3) use a tarp                        4) leave my filter
5) do as they do...

and then have them try and Yogi my:

stove, filter, complain that they are uncomfortably cold.....

ULTRALIGHT WORKS!!! IF YOU ARE WILLING TO MAKE SACRIFICES!!!!
I make some sacrifices and drop my pack weight to a comfy level.... I too go
verylight at times.... But I many times choose to bring along canned
peaches, walkman, thermarestchair kit, 35mm SLR, .... ITS my hike and I'll
do what I like!!! So to each their own, go ultralite if ya want, but realize
the system only works if you are physically, mentally, and have the
knowledge it requires to pull it off for a long hike...

So I hope to see everyone on the trail some time, but I hope everyone has a
happy SAFE hike!!! When you read the book you find that it requires a lot
more than shopping for new gear to shave weight....

Happily Heavy
Gary


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