Re: [pct-l] 1999 Day Zero Planning

["Brett Tucker" <blisterfree@surfree.com>]

Just curious - who is asking for these water conveniences? Who would rather
simply take what the trail provides, and carry extra water where need be?
Who that want a wilderness experience prefer to find plastic jugs and such
lying obviously about the trail corridor?

Caching water for oneself would appear to be one thing - and then hopefully
a discrete activity. It would seem, though, that outside support-for-all,
though well-intentioned, has a tendency to degrade the trail experience more
than it would enhance it. This kind of thing is commonplace along the AT,
and the AT is the poorer for it. Let the town stops be the sag wagons, not
the man-made articles of convenience thrust on everyone without their input.
I certainly don't want to measure my progress along the PCT by how many
trailside plastic water jugs I pass.

Each new man-made intrusion on the trail experience degrades the wilderness
by that much more. It could be water, fairly minor. But it could be roads,
or shelters, or developed campgrounds, etc. In the end, these things make
the hiking more like city-living, and isn't this what we're trying to get
away from? Don't the cities have enough crowding as a result of doled-out
conveniences?

I intend no flame, here. Just voicing it how I see it...

- Blister (Campo to Whitney '99)

-----Original Message-----
From: reynolds@ilan.com <reynolds@ilan.com>