[pct-l] THE LUGGAGE GUY..[unprepared hikers]

[Greg Mikol]

>This year, shortly after we left Cascade Locks, and
>topped off to the ridgeline, we met the "Luggage Guy"...

>...several large pieces of
>luggage, A 7 gallon water jug, a monsterous duffle bag and he,
>who with all his stuff was parked on a ice chest, in the middle
>of the trail...

>...He was self seficient, self
>relient, as well as perfectly capable of doing so.


I spent some time at Crest Campground this summer, and heard about this guy
from a number of hikers that I met. While he may be wrongly-prepared for
the trail, he's not unprepared in that sense, I'm sure there was enough
clothing and food to sustain him for quite some time.

And while he may not have been grounded in our reality, no one I spoke to
seemed to think he was dangerous, disoriented or deranged. Though I heard
it second-hand from a hiker, my understanding is that he did have a
plan...to what end I don't know. But that he was trying to get to Stabler
Country Store, at which time he was going to try and hitch to Randle (well
west of White Pass on US-12).

Anyway...he's not the kind of person I'd worry about being on the trail, I
wouldn't think he's endangered. It's the day-hiker I ran into, with a topo
map in his hand, pointing at Blue Lake, asking me how far it was to Blue
Lake and how much elevation/whether it was a hard hike. Or the thru, hiking
with only the Data Book, who asked me twice where we were while they
scanned their Data Book pages trying to figure out where that was.

Just my $0.02, but I wouldn't do more than a weekend on the PCT without the
relevant guide book pages, it gives you the maps, and I find the narrative
useful, even if it goes off on tangents from time to time. (I've never used
the NorCal/SoCal books, so I don't know if they're different from OR/WA).

--Greg