[pct-l] Ray-Day

[b j]

I second Steel-Eyes appreciation of Ray Jardine's work.  And I am also immensely grateful the myriad of resources we have now from ultralight gear makers to the instant back and forth of an international conversation centered around this trail!  Miracles!  

I look at my dad's old hiking pack -- strapped with leather and heavy canvas and WOOD (!) and am thankful of the people along the way that jumped out of the mainstream and thought differently to bring us a lighter world.  

Whether or not all of Ray Jardine's info in his book is current best practice or not, it helped us move forward to where we are now, probably by leaps and bounds.  If we were still solely relying on 1996 websites to plan our trips, we'd have been stagnant in the last 15 years!  Just because it's a book and not a website, means it sits on some of our shelves and maybe jumps out at us as more authoritative than a 1996 website.  

But as we should do with all info these days, we take in a smattering of info and make our own conclusions based on the source, it's datedness, and the consistency of the info out there -- and that's what we're in the process of doing right now in discussing Kennedy Meadows departure dates.  

I think Ray Jardine also deserves some authority from his experience in through hiking and making his own stuff.  In my view, he made a significant addition to the ultralight commercial industry and probably provided much inspiration to people to make their own gear, which we've all built on since then.  

And if some of his info is inaccurate or incorrect, then all the power to us and to him to now know that!  Without the presentation of that info, we would never have known it right or wrong -- getting us closer to a better way!

This turned into a bit of a rant, but I don't like seeing a significant contributor to our hiking world dismissed.  I believe that when we walk the trail, we walk upon the footsteps of many before us, each of them lending a helping hand to us, whether in print, online, or in spirit.  And I think each one of us is a bit of nut!  :-) (And I love you all for it!)

In peace,

-Rhiannon



Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2013 07:01:20 -0800
From: CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ray Day
To: PCT listserve <pct-l at backcountry.net>
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    <CABc=HNn4rufrfVFh0EV0pDwO3JorrJhdkPrzoerU_AqC9-u=Mg at mail.gmail.com>
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Good morning,

I don?t often come to the defense of Ray Jardine because his PCT books
contain a substantial amount of baloney however, considering the
state-of-the-art in the mid-90s when his first book was published he has
done the hiking world a favor by promoting light-weight, long-distance
hiking in general and PCT hiking in particular.

His book was published in an era that many of you do not remember: when The
Net was in its infancy -- unavailable to most prospective hikers ? and
email was relatively new.  As a result most information-sharing about
hiking was by dead-tree media, word-of-mouth, and snail-mail, but they are
slow and expensive.  Print-media had to rely upon a large audience to be
commercially viable. Long-distance PCT hikers are an incredibly small
demographic which Jardine successful addressed; much to his credit.  His
information was basic and often superficial but that was OK because there
was little competition offering anything better.

Regarding ?Ray Day?: Sierra entry date can be an important decision so it
deserves comment by a serious writer; but compared to the information
available today Jardine?s experience was very limited.  He gave it his best
shot, and absent any better information it?s OK to use in practice.

Nowadays with lists like PCT-L, numerous books, websites, blogs, trail
journal sites, shared hike preparation and management tools, snow tracking
reports, and a much larger and more solid core of hiker experience
Jardine?s book should be looked upon as an interesting history rather than
a prime-path way to plan and conduct a PCT hike.

Enjoy your planning,

Steel-Eye

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

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/