[pct-l] re: 2001 Hikers - HELP! Class Project/Good luck Newbies!

[blisterfree@surfree.com (Brett Tucker)]

Amigo wrote:

2.  It's going to take you at least 300 miles to get
into the swing of things. You will hurt. You will have
an unwelcome encounter (maybe a snake, maybe an alien,
maybe a pissed off waitress who doesn't want to give
you extra pancakes for free just because you are a PCT
hiker). There will be a surprising amount of uphills
along the trail, even in the desert! Don't even think
about giving up until you are in Wrightwood. Then,
rock the trail for just three hundred more miles.
Then, at Kennedy Meadows, just go 5 more days.  If you
don't like it by the time you reach Mt Whitney, then
quit!

----------------

Amigo's got the right idea with the waypoint thing. Focusing on the ultimate
goal of Canada, the CA/OR border or whathaveyou can be too much of a
mindblower for the freshly-arrived distance hiker. Break the journey down
into manageable portions. Not only will this turn infinity into something
the hiker can finish, but it might also foster the sort of mindset that
allows him or her to appreciate every step of the way.

The Trail is never as we imagine it. What ever is? And like it or not, the
Trail won't change. So we must! And in the process we might just evolve into
something better than our current selves. Think not of the Trail as a
vacation from all hardship, but as a trip to the good life, a life of
sacrifice and reward.

Oh, and don't quit at Wrightwood, either. Statistically, Wrightwood is a
trap, a common place to jump ship. Better might be to avoid the place
entirely (Acorn Trail and all). This is now an easy thing to do, I
understand, thanks to the new motel at the I-15 interchange about a day
south of the Wrightwood bomb-off. Can anyone confirm the name of this motel
and whether they're still holding packages?

Nor would I recommend quitting at Mt Whitney. To stop the hike way up there
would be to endure a great deal of lightning and winter snow, to say nothing
of the marmot attacks.

- blisterfree