[at-l] "Back then..." comparisons 1979-2004

[Sloetoe]

--- Victor Hoyt <vhoyt at comcast.net> wrote:
 
> I think you're right for the most part. But
> technology certainly has made a
> few more inroads and refinements. I think pack
> suspension has come a LONG
> way since'79. My D3 was pretty cool (and I still
> have it), but there's a lot better out there now.
### My circa 1974 Alpine Designs external frame (pvc
tubes and delrin joints) was a big breakthrough in
comfort and lightness, though it did not catch on. The
hip belt was later copied by Kelty and used to this
day. But when I tried a Lowe Alpine internal frame
that autumn (1979), as loyal as I was to my "Betsy", I
went ga-ga for the comfort of the Lowe immediately. It
was a three day solo bushwhack in northern Wisconsin
forest, just roaming around in the brush, and I LOVED
that pack like that {snap of fingers}.

> You're wrong about the Thermarest. I was one of only
> two people in the group I hiked with who did not
have one. I was on the Colin Fletcher kick, and
> swore by Ensolite. The Thermaresters all finished,
> and I did not. Hmmm...
### If it helps, I remember only two Thermarests at
the beginning of the hike. Both were retired as
useless hulks at The Place, after weeks of frustration
in inflation/deflation and holes. (Don't know of
owners made it, though.)

> These days I am in love with the Z-Rest.
### FWIW, I tried a Z-Rest one night on my carpeted
floor, and found it a viscious lie as a claimed "pad."
If you check out the Gossamer Gear pad, you will
*flip*.

 
> What we did not have then, though they were just
> starting to appear, was trail names. For me, that
> was a good thing. I know it's an unpopular opinion,
but I do not like trail names.
### Trail names predate Earl Shaffer's 1948 hike, when
he started out as the hiker of "The Long Cruise"(?!?)
and became known as "The Crazy One" -- as in "Oh,
you're the crazy one hiking the whole trail"... Ready
for this, I picked "Connecticut Yankee" rather than a
Lord Of The Rings inspired name (that would become so
popular in the early 80s). Didn't really like that,
compared with Otel, JanSport Hilton Trio, Woodstock,
Ice Cream Kid, DonnafromWisconson, and was happy when
the genuine connection of "sloetoe" was burnt into me
in Damascus.....

> Hiking for me is about
> striding out and covering miles. There's always
> something new around the
> next bend or over the next rise. ... I hope that
> never changes.
### Testify, brother!

Spatior! Nitor! Nitor! Tempero!
   Pro Pondera Et Meliora.