[pct-l] Trail workers/thru-hikers

[Hillary Schwirtlich]

Hi everyone,

I've been planning to thru-hike in 2011 for about 10 months now. I must say
I'm so excited that I wish I could just start now. I'm excited about
everything - the views, the hard work, the solitude, (hopefully) pushing
through the bad stuff, and especially the community.

I just wanted to ask about the disparity between thru-hikers and
trailworkers on the PCT.

I have a friend who was a volunteer trail crew leader this year on the PCT
near Lake Tahoe. During her training in February, we along with a few other
friends decided that we would hike the PCT next year. However, after a
summer on trail crew, she decided that she didn't want to hike it anymore.
The reason she gave me? "Most of the thru-hikers I met were jerks."

Okay, I realize that this is probably an exaggeration (and in my opinion, it
wouldn't be a sufficient reason for me to call off my hike even if it were
true). I'm sure she met some really nice people, but unfortunately those did
not stick in her head. What she remembers are people puffing and sighing,
saying things like she was in the way and "now I have to step over these
giant rocks" (they were in the process of building rock walls so the trail
had enough useable tread). Basically, the way she felt was that she had been
ecstatic to help out on a trail system she felt passionate about, but
afterwards she felt like her contribution not only went unthanked (which she
could live with) but was outright criticized.

I've heard of problems between thru-hikers and trail workers before. I know
that since I'm not a thru-hiker yet, I haven't experienced the other side.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I was a trail crew member last year,
but I was never on the PCT and was always profusely thanked for my work by
passing hikers and bikers (depending on the use of the trial).

I have no interest in making anyone mad, I just really want to know why
these problems exist. Do thru-hikers feel like the trail doesn't need the
kind of work the trail workers are providing? Have thru-hikers been treated
badly by trail workers? Is there something else? Please fill me in.

Hillary
2011 hopeful