[pct-l] Disrespect of the PCT

[JPL]

You guys really need to change to a fee system.  It may mean that you have 
to get a county license of some sort, but raise rates accordingly.  500 
folks, $20 a night should pay for whatever improvements need to be made. 
Hostels charge; you should too.  imho

-----Original Message----- 
From: Andrea Dinsmore
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2014 9:25 PM
To: Wayne Smith
Cc: PCT-L
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Disrespect of the PCT

I had a hiker email me and ask why "I" thought it was disrespectful for the
hikers at Ziggy and the Bear not to allow their photos to be taken and not
to sign their register ??  My answer......It's OUR home. WE allowed close
to 400 STRANGERS into our home last year. They are allowed to use our
shower, laundry, sleep in a warm hiker dorm, collect their mail and wait
out the pouring rain plus a whole lot more. You all are guests in our home.
You do not pay the bills here. This is not YOUR home. We have rules just
like all the other trail angels. If you don't like the rules then go stay
at the motel.  If you all think your "stuff" don't stink.......and you are
some kind of "privileged" person because you are hiking 2665 miles. You
aren't any tougher than the 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 year old kids that have hiked
the whole trail before you. You ain't nothing special. Because you are such
a pansy and can't hike the trail like those who preceded you......there's
nothing cool about you. Get off your high horse and act like a responsible
man (or woman). If you are just on the trail to party you ass off you
probably should go stay somewhere else. If you are so broke after buying
your beer when you get to a trail angels house that you can't afford to
drop a few bucks in the jar......that is sad.  You may think it is funny,
cool among your buddies.....but if we can't afford to keep spending our
Social Security income supporting you.....some of these angels may go broke
and disappear. Maybe some angels can afford the rising costs. When it gets
where we can't afford our mortgage and other normal household bills.....we
will be gone.

Our hiker count 12 years ago was around 10-12. Last year we had 388. This
year we are expecting closer to 500. This year Ziggy and Bear had at least
1,014 and counting. Really sad when the hikers who stayed and got cleaned
up, ate salads and ice cream and had their feet washed couldn't even drop
some money in the jar.

Andrea Dinsmore
PCT MOM


On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 5:24 PM, Wayne Smith <bumblefist at gmail.com> wrote:

> This is a topic I've considered bringing up on here for a few years.  Is 
> it
> maybe time for there to be LESS help and services for thru hikers?  I've
> noticed over the years a growing sense of entitlement among hikers on the
> trail and I blame this mostly on the fact that as the years have gone on,
> there have been more and more people wanting to help hikers with trail
> magic and make it easier for them to hike the trail.  This has allowed a
> different breed of hiker to grow in numbers on the trail, the kind of 
> hiker
> who isn't as self reliant as hikers in the past had to be.  A lot has
> changed in the 16 years since I first hiked the PCT.  Back then the PCT 
> was
> more of a solo endeavour where hikers had to rely on themselves and their
> own ability to plan and carry out the logistics of hiking the PCT.  These
> days it seems more like a supported, group effort where many of the
> challenges have been removed or made easier by well meaning trail angles
> and former thru hikers who want to help the current hikers any way they
> can.
> The ADZPCTKO is a good example of how I think things have gone too far in
> trying to help hikers and it is helping to create or promote the growing
> sense of entitlement on the trail.  When you start out, right from the
> beginning with a big party for hikers, where volunteers fall all over them
> trying to make them feel special, giving them free food and telling them
> about all the free services to expect from people along the way like 
> rides,
> places to stay, and water caches. It would be hard not to feel like you
> deserve special treatment from that point on. You're a PCT thru hiker!
> People love you and want to help you anyway they can!  And you have barely
> even started yet!  The KO sets a tone for many of the hikers who attend it
> each year which I believe only encourages a sense of entitlement.
> Trail angels are great people, don't get me wrong, I just feel that 
> helping
> the thru hikers too much may be contributing to the growing number of
> "party hikers" who in the past would not have lasted long on the trail at
> all, if they even made it through the planning stages.  Every water cache
> contributes to the sense that it is reasonable to expect outside help when
> things get a little challenging.  Why carry your own trash when there are
> other people going back to town who can take it for you?  Everyone wants 
> to
> help you, right?  That is what they are being taught right from the
> beginning.  Something freely acquired is never appreciated as much as
> something earned.  New hikers who have never known anything different 
> don't
> think there is anything wrong with expecting all the help that is offered.
> That's just part of the PCT experience as far as they know.  I'm sure many
> hikers this year were genuinely surprised to learn that some trail angles
> were upset about not receiving donations for their hospitality.
> With all the information available on the Internet, it is easier than ever
> for anyone to plan a thru hike, and we see that in the growing number of
> people hiking the trail each year.  Don't have what it takes to plan a 5 
> to
> 6 month hike?  No problem, plenty of people online will help you.  And
> with all the help on the trail it is easier than ever for people to stay 
> on
> the trail so even the people who can't learn to rely on themselves can 
> keep
> hiking and surviving off the good intentions of others.
> The natural filters that weeded out the unfit and undeserving in the past
> are being eroded as time goes on.
> Perhaps it is time to restore some of those natural filters that have been
> lost and work towards eliminating that sense of entitlement many hikers
> have been developing.
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