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Re: Fw: Re: [at-l] Speaking of pillows...what about....
Jeremy Reiter wrote:
>
> 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',
Jeremy -
I wouldn't want you to take this as a flame either - but I'm on Will's
side. I know people who carried all those things - and made it. One of
our friends earned the Trail name Monk-librarian after he left town with
17 books in his pack. But there are damn few of them - and they're
nearly all under the age of 25. And most of them are under 21.
Age does make a difference - but what a lot of those in your age group
who finished the Trail overlook is the percentage of that age group who
didn't make it. The mortality rate for young, strong, healthy,
testosterone-filled males is astronomical, while the mortality rate for
older hikers is a considerably lower. And there are reasons for that -
the main ones being heavy packs, speed and big miles.
Walk softly,
Jim
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