[pct-l] Why I do it (was do gooders)

[Brian McLaughlin]

Bob,

I can appreciate your position of declining to take advantage of water 
caches
or certain kinds of trail angel assistance, during your hike, but it seems a 
bit
self-centered to object to water caches partly on the grounds that 'you know
they are there', as if their existance caused you a personal problem.

You also know the trail is there, and it is assisting your hike. By 
following the
trail, you accept the assistance of the trail builders and maintainers.

Even if you are making all your own gear and growing your own food,
you are still accepting the assistance of the people who provided
your raw materials and sold them to you, and the seed growers who
at some point provided you with seeds.

There is no purist position, only degrees of compromise. Drawing the
line at water caches is purely arbitrary. Accept the fact that
others draw their lines elsewhere and do not let it bother you. They
are also on a journey. Let it be.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Vance" <hikerbob62 at yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2010 11:35 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Why I do it (was do gooders)


>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
>
> She wanted to respond to
> the whole "fragile flowers" and "do-gooders" topic that was up recently.
>
> let me make things clear.i never said i had a problem with people in town 
> opening up their homes. i never said i had a problem with people offering 
> rides to and from trailheads.these are services im free to accept or 
> decline as i see fit.what i said is, the only "trail angeling" problem i 
> had is with water caches.i believe the only reason they exist is to make 
> it easyer, if there is another reason id love to hear it.how does this 
> affect me?part of the allure of the p.c.t. is the challenge,i like the 
> chess game of how to make it from water hole a to water hole b. now yes ,i 
> can  always walk on past,but in the back of my mind,i know their 
> there.this is very different from people offering services in town.i won`t 
> back down from my previous comments. i think they are there because the 
> cachers believe that a lot of people can`t make it without them.
> note to the grammer nazi(you know who you are) yes im aware of of my 
> educational limatations,thanks for letting me know i will make a note of 
> it.
>
>
>
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