[pct-l] The subjectiveness of a thru-hike

[rmoak@fallingwater.com (Ronald Moak)]

ToeJam writes >>Still, when I reached Monument 78 and read the entries
in the unofficial register left by my friend Amigo,
everybody seemed to have had the same feeling of
accomplishment, whether they hiked the entire trail, or
hitchhiked the entire trail.  I'm not criticizing
anybody but when is a thru-hike no longer a thru-hike?
I've always felt that a summit attempt that stopped
short of the summit as unsuccessful.  Is this the wrong
way for a 'thru-hiker' to think? <<

Regrettably this is an attitude that's seems to have wound it's way some
3000 miles from the AT to the PCT and probably the CDT before long. It
speaks of purism. By the way if you aren't criticizing people, why bring it
up in the first place.

If a person says they've hike the whole trail and haven't, does it really
make a difference? Does it dilute your accomplishment? If so, then what
really was the purpose of your hike? Is it to achieve some mystical glory
heaped on by your peers? Most people hike for reasons they can barley
comprehend. But glory is probably the lest of them.

To me what's important is that people are out there doing something they
want to do. Beyond that I don't really care. If people want to lie about
their accomplishments, that's between them and their conscience.

There are important times for us to judge the actions of others. Judging the
validity of hiking a long trail just isn't one of them.

-Fallingwater