[pct-l] Record Section Hikes......

[Ralph Alcorn]

I guess I started this, by asking about pct records. Being an old guy, I
take pride in my accomplishments, but also wonder just how long I can keep
doing this. Knowing that someone older has completed the PCT, or is still
section hiking gives me inspiration. I wouldn't be doing this at all if I
had not read Marge "Old Gal" accounts and realized that I didn't have to do
20 mile days if I dry camped, and people older than I were out there doing
it.

The other thing that prompted my search for records is a sense that history
is being lost. Some of the hikers from the 70s are dead now, some are in
their 90s and their memory isn't what it was. The internet has only been
widely available since the 90s, and listservs since about 1985. People
didn't have an easy way to tell their stories before that, which brings me
to the registers and the PCTA.

The PCTA 's primary mission is to protect, preserve and promote the trail.
It has a small staff, and a big job, and I don't know if they have the time
or resources to take on the job of an archival librarian. Nevertheless, if
they have been accepting PCT registers over the years, there is a duty to
preserve them. I don't have confidence that this is being done. I would at
least like the board of directors to set some sort of formal policy re
handling of the registers. If this beyond the capability of the PCTA,
perhaps the registers could be transferred to another responsible
organization such as ALDHA-West.

Before this storm erupted, I would have advocated posting annually on pct-l
or the PCTA website, the Manning register, with such trail name, age and
gender info as the finishers chose to enter, and also posting from the Campo
monument register the summarized statistics of number of starters by age and
gender. Now I'm forced to rethink that, but still have a hard time imagining
why someone would sign the Manning register if they weren't proud of what
they had done, and wanted other hikers to know.
-- 
Ralph Alcorn
http://www.backpack45.com/pct.html
http://timecheck00.blogspot.com