[pct-l] Tents at all

[ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com]

I realize that this response is a bit late, but I have a little time this 
beautiful Sunday afternoon in Tahoe to get back to old email I was 
interested in.

"What do I want to carry with my on my PCT hike? Do I really need a tent? Do 
I want to carry its weight?"

These and many other questions first burden the aspiring thru hiker in 
his/her planning stage. However, anyone desiring to do such a huge, remote, 
physically challenging and often painful, long-term, and long-distance 
"expedition" should not be asking this - they should already know the answer 
based on who they are, what they like to do out on the trail, and what they 
want to get out of such a "hike," because they have backpacked a lot 
already, accomplished a few multi-week trips in the worst of conditions, and 
they know what they're up against.

If you do not know these things yet, you will be "schooled" along the trail 
when the elements and circumstances come upon you. Either you will grow and 
mature through them, coming out the other end of the trail a different 
person, or you will have to retreat to deal with these issues you didn't 
know or understand existed before you started. Not everyone who starts 
finishes, for a variety of reasons, some of them internal. Some folks can 
regroup on the trail, assume Plan B, and move ahead, while others may need 
to go off-trail, briefly, to readjust and re-evaluate, and return to the 
adventure. This is all the learning process that the Journey takes us 
through.

Realistic planning and preparation helps prevent a lot of this trail 
turmoil. If you want to take anything to the "next level," train for it, 
learn about how to do it to that degree and practice. You can't fight the 
Master and expect to win if you don't train at his level.

Take a tent (or not) for the reasons I delineated in our Forum at 
Postholer.com, under "Preparation, Safety, and Snow Travel," entitled "To 
Tent or Not to Tent." Know yourself and what you prefer when in the 
backcountry in all conditions. You are the most important person back there. 
Do and take what suits you best, what makes you happy. If something "works" 
for Mtnned, that doesn't mean that it will work for you! Get out there and 
test yourself and your gear, then decide what to take on your longer trip. 
Just because John Muir carried next to nothing and was "fine" doesn't mean 
that you have to nor want to. Just because some hikers go 30-40 miles per 
day....

This point of view applies to everything eaten, carried, and done by hikers.

Mtnned
Mountain Education
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Bryce" <sbryce at scottbryce.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 6:01 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Thanks


> Randy Fitch wrote:
>> I defienetly am going to carry a tent! Maybe a three season around
>> 3lbs. or a tarptent the Sublite and use a hiking pole at 15oz!
>
> A 3-lb tent is a lot of weight to carry, especially for a piece of gear
> you will not be using most days on the trail. Take the tarptent. If you
> really are married to the idea of a 3-lb tent, mail it to yourself at
> Cascade Locks.
>
> The extra 2 lbs is a lot of extra weight to carry for 5 months for a
> piece of gear you will only be using, perhaps, 1 night out of 10.
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-l mailing list
> Pct-l at backcountry.net
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> __________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus 
> signature database 4520 (20091018) __________
>
> The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
>
> http://www.eset.com
>
>
>