[pct-l] slowest hike?

belcherjd at juno.com belcherjd at juno.com
Thu Sep 20 18:02:30 CDT 2012


Chuck, maybe we should start a special club.

I spent my 7th birthday in 1957 on the Crest Trail from Arch Rock to Big Crow Basin although I do not remember that portion of the trail .... I just remember catching fish out of Sheepherder Lake and sleeping under a heavy cotton canvas tarp.

My first very clear memories of being on the Crest Trail was a horse back trip south from Snoqualmie Pass toward Big Crow Basin in the summer of 1964.

Almost every year since I have spent a backpack trip on the Crest Trail (now the Pacific Crest Trail).

Next year I'm planning to be able to consider myself a "Thru Hiker" and I use the same definition you use.

Yes, a half century of PCT enjoyment.

'til later,
jon


------------ original message ------------------------

Message: 15
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:52:53 -0700
From: CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] slowest hike?
To: abiegen at cox.net
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID:
	<CABc=HNmtYiXtZxFE3fhCRaVLgttwPpuRt4vd4m2zmSpCcsn3SQ at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252

Good morning, TrailHacker,

I?m reluctant to admit any stature in a measure of the ?slowest hike?.  I
read the original post as ?thru-hike? which to me means a completed PCT
hike in one year, however if the question concerns not a single-year hike
but total  time to complete the PCT, I may qualify as at least one of the
slowest.

The summer of 1965 I worked for the USFS in Central Oregon, and one weekend
I drove to Diamond Lake, parked my truck, and then took the trail east to
climb Mt. Thielsen. That trail crossed the Oregon Skyline Trail (OST) which
later became a charter portion of the PCT.  The next weekend I had someone
drop me at the PCT crossing of Hwy-138 between Crater Lake and Thielsen,
and I hiked about 20 miles to Miller Lake where I got another ride.  Based
upon that experienced I decided to hike all of the OST.

Then in ?68, before I finished the OST, I experienced ?scope creep? when in
PCT was officially designated by Congress.  Learning that, I simply
extended my objective to include all of the three-state distance of the
then-brand-new PCT.

45 years later, in 2010, I completed the last inch of the trail when I
hiked between Etna and the Cal/Or border.  In the meantime, I had hiked
many thousands of duplicate PCT miles, but 2010 was the official finish for
me.

Viewed in total the results are not impressive:  45 years for 2,663 miles
equals about 60 miles per year, or 860 feet per day.  That is very humbling
compared to my 25 miles per day average on major portions in certain years.

On the other hand, I?ve had well over 45 year?s-worth of enjoyment compared
to some hikers who decide at the last minute to ?do? the PCT, then 140 days
later they finish and move on to whatever is next.

For me, life is about the journey rather than the destination.

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT ? 1965


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