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Fw: Re: [at-l] Speaking of pillows...what about....

Will wrote: 
> comfort items = weight = energy to carry = going slower = need more things
> because it takes longer to get from A to B = misery = less comfort =
> injuries = no ga-me

Please do not construe what i'm about to write as a flame, but just as you were
worried about what you saw in the original post, i'm a little worried about the
transitive property employed in the formula above. On my thru-hike last year i was
far from an ultra-lite packer. I carried a Walkman with a tape player. Sometimes i
had up to 8 cassettes with me. I always had _at least_ one book with me (at one
point in Pennsylvania i had 3). I carried a heavier journal than most. I carried a
hacky-sack. I carried a therma-rest pillow. Why? Because i enjoyed having those
things with me. Listening to the Dead play an amazing China->Rider while sweating my
tail off while climbing a steep ridge could be orgasmic. Reading the 'Tao Te Ching',
or 'Desolation Angels', or 'The Endurance: Shackleton's Amazing Voyage' while on the
Trail gave the works special meaning and enjoyment that could not be gleaned from a
non-trail reading. Plus i'm a reading junkie :-) Carrying a journal that was made
for me instead of some loose-leaf paper gave the journal more personal value to me.
Hacky-sacking with trail family while resting up on a town-day was fun. I could go
on, but i won't. I'm all for educating fellow hikers to think about their pack
weight, and provide tips for packing lighter, and sharing ways to make innovative
light-weight gear, etc. However, i do think we need to be careful and not give the
impression that just because your pack is "heavy", or you are thinking about
carrying some "creature comforts", you are definitely not going to make it on a
thru-hike. Or that your thru-hike will contain "more misery". Would i have been
happier without my "creature comforts"? An emphatic NO. Did i make it all the way
(and without serious injury)? Yup. Thanks for listening, and keep those ultra-lite
suggestions coming!

Walk with weight (if you want),
-Rambleon-
rambleon@email.unc.edu

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