[pct-l] Ok, i give...this is my take on speedhiking

[Greg Kesselring]

hmmm...   I can see your point.  But I can also see both side of the 
fence here, because I like hiking with a goal in mind and I also like 
going out just to go out and immerse myself in the beauty that's out there.

I think the response you will get is why should you care whether they 
get a lot of satisfaction out of their achievements?  That's their 
thing, one of the reasons they get out on the trail.  For me, it doesn't 
in the slightest lessen any of my own achievements, or lack thereof.  My 
reasons for getting out are my own and it doesn't matter to me whether 
someone has done the trail in 5 days that I'm about to take 10 days 
doing.  I will enjoy my hike and do it the way I want to do it, fast or 
slow or in between.

I see it as just part of human nature.  If someone gets a sense of 
satisfaction out of setting goals and achieving them, even if those 
goals are to break a speed record (either their own--a PR--or someone 
else's), then it's natural for them to feel proud of that fact.  And to 
talk about and wow others with that achievement and even to think about 
the next one, breaking their own record, etc.  That's just the nature of 
the competitive spirit...

Now, you could argue that talking about these kinds of records has no 
place on this forum, and I could see your point.  On the other hand, I 
for one actually enjoy hearing about these athletic achievements.  I 
find them exciting and inspiring, so from a selfish perspective I hope 
to see posts about records and speed hiking and fast packing on this 
forum along with all the other posts about hiking the PCT.

So in summary I'd say apples are apples and oranges are oranges and you 
just can't compare the two.  Sometimes I like an apple, sometimes an 
orange.  One is not better than the other, just different. 

Greg

mark v wrote:
> I haven't wanted to alienate the whole PCT community,
> and i tend to skip over any PCT-L posts related to the
> topic, but i'm crumbling to the internal pressure and
> re-posting something i wrote once on trailforums:
>
> I don't have any problem with the records...i just
> find them silly. I'm glad people speed-hiking have a
> great time, and i hope they keep doing it. HYOH. (At
> least until i can find someone to hike my hike for me
> while i stay up late drinking instead. That would be
> HMHFMWISULDI.) 
> But, i think this is why speed-hikers get a negative
> response from many non-speed thru-hikers: by saying
> that completing a trail in a record time is a great
> achievement, there's a SLIGHT implication that going
> less fast is less of an achievement. (Otherwise, if
> not to achieve a faster time, why would the person try
> to break the record?)  Then for those of us for whom
> going fast isn't an objective, we may feel that our
> own achievement has been lessened. I think it's the
> same rationale that has straight-thru-hikers at odds
> sometimes with flip-thrus and skip-thrus. Each side
> can feel that their achievement is lessened when
> somebody else makes the achievement about some other
> set of parameters. It's like comparing apples and
> oranges, but of all sudden being the most citrus is a
> great achievement. The apple doesn't stack up anymore.
>
>
>
>
>
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