[pct-l] RECORD SECTION HIKES

[Donna "L-Rod" Saufley]

I would agree that if you don't want anyone to know where you've been or are, you shouldn't sign a register.  Most sign to say, "Hey, I was here."  Or they want their hiker friends behind them to get a message.  

That said, I honestly believe that most hikers are entirely unaware that there are those who want to piece together a record of their progress from their register signings and make comparisons about fastest, slowest, oldest, skippers, etc., like it truly is a horse race. 

I also believe that if hikers knew this type of register information gathering effort were underway, many would avoid signing the registers outright, thereby impacting an important way the hikers communicate with each other on the trail.  

I know this will be an unpopular comment (hey, I'm Lightening Rod for good reason) but I'll take it a step further and state that I don't believe that telling everyone on the post that you saw hikers at a specific location is anyone's business either, unless the hiker said it was okay to do so.  I know that no one means any harm by doing this, and they are just excited to see the hikers, but it's still an invasion of privacy. 

It's bad enough Big Brother tracks our moves in life -- we shouldn't be doing it to each other. 

L-Rod


-----Original Message-----
>From: Carl Siechert <carlito at gmail.com>
>Sent: Sep 2, 2007 8:34 PM
>To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] RECORD SECTION HIKES
>
>I don't have a horse in this race, so I'm not taking sides -- just asking a
>question...
>
>Folks who think it's nobody's damned business when and where they hike don't
>(or shouldn't) sign trail registers, right? Doesn't the very act of signing
>a register indicate that you want people to know you were there? Nobody is
>required to sign a register, and I hope they never are, whether the
>requirement is imposed (and the information retained) by the PCTA, USFS, or
>Homeland Security.
>
>I'm also puzzled by Jon's comment about "actors in someone's 'reality
>show.'" I've never thought of this forum and its members in those terms.
>Don't people read and post on PCT-L because they're interested in what
>others are doing on the PCT? I honestly don't mean this to sound as snarky
>as I'm sure it will, but, conversely, shouldn't those who do not want to be
>"actors in someone's 'reality show'" decline to read and post?
>
>Cheers,
>Carl
>
>
>
>> From: "Donna "L-Rod" Saufley"
>> >
>> > Because there are laws around privacy, and it's nobody's damn
>> > business who hiked when and how old they were (or for that
>> > matter, who's on the trail right now and where they are).  If
>> > someone wants you to know those details they will keep a
>> > trail journal, post to this or some other list, or write a book.
>> >  Many have chosen to do so.  For many other hikers, it's a
>> > very personal experience and not for the entertainment and
>> > speculation of others with apparently nothing better to do with their
>
> > time.
>>
>
>> > I for one thank the PCTA for keeping this information private.
>>
>>
>>
>_______________________________________________
>pct-l mailing list
>pct-l at backcountry.net
>unsubscribe or change options:
>http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l