Re: [pct-l] The Devil's Own

[Owen <jim_ginny_o@attglobal.net>]

Brett Tucker wrote:
> 
> >From: "William M. Stenzel" <manjovin@jps.net>
> 
> >I feel the need to represent all the sides of a long distance PCT >hike to
> >those interested in embarking such an adventure.
> 
> Have you done a long distance PCT hike? Forgive me if you have, but the gist
> of your note paints a rather detached picture of you and the trail.

Brett - 
In one sense, Will has the right idea - many of the discussions on the
trail lists (and other places) tend to be either about gear or about how
wonderful the trail is. But if you're gonna do a long distance hike,
there's more to it than sunshine and butterflies.  And personal opinion
is that many, if not most, of those who don't complete their thruhikes
go home because of what might be called "wrongful expectations".  What I
mean is that they're ignorant of some of the realities of trail life. 
That's sometimes because they've never been told about the rain (or the
snow  or the heat or the pain or the boring food or .... whatever), and
sometimes because they didn't listen when they WERE told. It's no favor
to anyone to NOT tell prospective thruhikers about the blisters and the
sweat and the long climbs and steep descents.  Or about how they'll
smell after 3 months on the trail. Or a whole world of other trail
realities that most thruhikers tend to forget to talk about because
they've accepted those things as part of the experience.  And so some of
those things rarely get talked about. The thruhikers on the list know
the answers to questions that don't get asked - because those who
haven't thruhiked don't know the right questions to ask to get those
answers. The thruhikers are here - the answers are here - and sometimes
some of the questions are here and the answers pop up.  

And then I've watched some of those answers get blown off by those who
don't take either the questions or the answers seriously.  Maybe it
would help if the thruhikers identified themselves as such.  

 
> Before I head back into lurking mode for another long hiatus, let me just
> say that the A#1 reason why this mailing list does not serve to help
> prospective thru-hikers is because it has been sabotaged by non-thru-hiking
> types who feel the need to reside in the bully pulpit. Speaking in general,
> of what use is the above type of information to those listers that come
> seeking help with their long distance hiking plans? How does any of this
> encourage or instruct? It is trash talk, hardly uplifting, and hardly
> necessary. And while the novice hiker might suck it all in, miscontruing it
> for useful information, those who have completed extended wilderness
> journeys sit back with pained expressions. Most of the successful
> thru-hikers and distance hikers I know have been greatly moved by their
> experiences, and would only seek to encourage those thinking of following in
> their proverbial footsteps. 

To a large degree, you're right here - but not entirely.  Those who
thruhike have committed a significant part of their life to the effort. 
They've set a goal for themselves that's larger than most people are
willing to attempt. And I care enough to WANT them to succeed - so for
the last 5 years I've been doing what I can to tell prospective
thruhikers what I percieve as "trail reality".  It's not always sunshine
and butterflies.  But it's not always rain and pain either.  

The things that Will said are true - in part, but NOT entirely. I
wouldn't slam Will for what he said - because for him and sometimes for
others, those things are true and representative of their hike. For
those who complete the trail, some of what he says is true. But it's not
a true representation of their hike, only a small part of the hike that
they were smart enough - or lucky enough - or disciplined enough - to
work through, to solve, to accept, to minimize in the face of the larger
goal - the thruhike. Example - we spent 6 months on the CDT - and we
hurt (in one way or another) nearly every day of that 6 months.
Sometimes it was foot pain, sometimes it was back pain, sometimes other
things.  But the pain wasn't the entire hike - only an incidental and
very unimportant part of the hike.  That kind of pain sends a lot of
prospective thruhikers home early because they don't know about it,
don't expect it and aren't willing to accept it. 

Like all things worth doing, or worth having, the cost of a thruhike can
be very high. If it was easy, would it be worth doing?  Both the cost
and the reward are valid topics of discussion. For the sake of those who
are considering doing a thruhike, it would be a serious disservice to
talk only  about the rewards without mentioning the costs involved. 

> A thru-hike is not a logical act, it is an act
> of emotion and self-expression, of self discovery. It is a labor of love.

True - there is no logic to a thruhike. I'm not sure there's even
sanity.  But that doesn't ever make something "not worth doing".  If
nothing else, a thruhike is a learning experience, a "Way" to personal
growth and freedom, the experience of a lifetime, a walk through beauty
- and a thousand other intangible results.  It may not be logical - but
for some of us, it's a necessity. 

Walk softly,
Jim & Ginny
AT-92, CDT-99, PCT-00

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