[Cdt-l] CDT Hikers' Age + Electronics

[Seth Schumacher]

It's been a long time since I've posted to the list so sorry if this 
post is a little long winded.

I have to agree with Ginny. IMHO most young people go for the AT because 
of the lack of difficulty, plus the community. Humans are social 
creatures, particularly the young. Therefore combine the difficulty, 
length, and lack of "the pack" and support system and I think you find 
the primary reasons for the older CDT hiker ages. Money of course is 
another major obstacle.

Then you have people like me who, being rather crazy and abnormal, 
decide to hike the CDT as their first thru, and do it right after high 
school. I saved every penny I could before graduating. I was 17 when I 
hiked the CDT in 06. I'm not a party animal, I get along better with 
older people, or at least more mature people, and I enjoy the 
semi-solitude of the longer, more remote hikes. I also like the even 
closer camaraderie that really seems to grow in the small groups of 
hikers on the CDT. No I wasn't anywhere near as ready to thru the CDT as 
I thought I'd be. I certainly had no lightweight fastpacking experience. 
But damned if that wasn't straightened out by the other hikers I met, 
and quickly. I attribute my continued love of the thru-hike experience 
to those first hikers I met in '06, Skittles, Mattie, Disco, POD, and NITRO.

I enjoyed the AT, but after the CDT I just felt like I was missing the 
wilderness aspects of a thru-hike. It definitely wasn't the same and 
while I probably will go back and hike the AT again, I CERTAINLY will be 
hiking the CDT again. That is after I finally am able to do the PCT. 
Darn that lack of funds.

As to electronics on the trails, I carried a pocketbook, gps, and 
digital camera on the CDT, all of which used lithium AAs, and added an 
iPod on the AT. I'll probably replace the pocketbook with the Peek as I 
move forward or just go with the handwritten journal. I definitely carry 
parts of novels for reading in my hammock while going to bed. I didn't 
even own a cell phone until I was finishing the AT. Handy at times, but 
certainly not necessary, and more often just a damned annoyance and dead 
weight. If I have one during future hikes, it'll be in my bounce box, 
not my pack.

Obviously I'm young and have far less experience than most of you who 
post here, especially Jim and Ginny. I just thought it might be worth 
giving the opinion from one of the minority of the young on the CDT.

-- 
Seth "Osprey" Schumacher
President Willamette Outdoor Recreational Climbing Club
Primal Quest Trekking Director 2008 | Primal Quest HQ Director 2009
Appalachian Trail 2007 | Continental Divide Trail 2006
1-406-223-6336 | osprey at ospreysjourneys.com