[pct-l] "Business"...."THE NATURE OF THE BEAST"

[walt Durling]

All this discussion about TAs seem to either hint at the point, or to miss it.  The PCT is a national scenic trail, so designated.  In essence, it's there for the people.  I had the privilege of meeting Fireweed several weeks ago in Oregon, and she made what I think is an apt observation:  Not only the hikers enjoy the trail, but the communities along its path, and many businesses make a profit from it.  If individuals want to contribute in their own way with helping out hikers, who are we to criticize them?  It's their contribution to this trail.  No one forces anyone to partake of trail magic, whether its a water cache or a bed for overnight, or a ride to and from the trailhead.  

IMO, leaving water at select locations, for example,  does not somehow make the trail "impure," nor does it detract from the trail "experience."  Yes, some hikers foolishly count on caches, but I'm pretty sure even they get religion rather quickly when the cache they thought was there, wasn't.  It's pretty difficult to "cheat" by carrying only minimal water and counting on others to get you through.  Besides, there are many long stretches along the trail where water is absent and where no one leaves water caches.  

As to the trail having to bear too many hikers, I agree that might pose problems, especially where the main body of hikers tend to congregate on the same stretches simply because of the window for thru-hiking.  I suppose anything can be loved to death or suffer from overuse.  People discover the trail in different ways, and experience it  for many different reasons.  We should celebrate the trail's success. After all, that's why it's there!   I, for one, do not foresee contingency plans to limit the number of hikers, like the JMT.  And in spite of the occasional overload on certain sections, the trail does not appear to be suffering.  Of course, trail maintenance is critical, and kudos are always in order for those who perform such critical work. 

Sent from my iPad

> On Jul 9, 2014, at 17:04, Tim Umstead <tumstead96 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I agree about the water caches.  They are not needed.  None of them.  Many
> people hiked the trail before there were caches and made it.  My wife and I
> were two of them.  We never ran out of water.  You either learn to carry
> the water you will need or you got off the trail.  The water caches are a
> luxury.  Maybe a little less hand holding in S. Ca will make the
> thru-hikers more self-reliant and feel less entitled.
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