[pct-l] Disrespect of the PCT

Sat May 24 14:42:42 CDT 2014

Dear Elizabeth,

Go for it. You have such a great attitude I have no doubt your positive karma will be with you every step. Have fun out there!   Peter

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 23, 2014, at 6:32 PM, Elizabeth King <ekingc at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> As a newbie to the trail (NOT a thru-hiker.... yet...), this conversation
> is very disheartening.
> 
> 1. Because all of this seems like common sense. When you're in the
> backcountry hiking and backpacking, you should more or less expect to rely
> on your own preparation and wits. However, how beautiful to have a
> community where the members love the experience and the land so much that
> they are willing to help make the experience possible for others who* want
> to take the experience seriously,* and treat the land with respect. Just
> reaching out to this list has been so tremendously helpful with planning,
> and I hope I've adequately expressed my gratitude and followed the proper
> etiquette guidelines in my requests for help.
> 
> 2. On my short, first hike, I am hoping for a challenging, enjoyable *learning
> experience*--this conversation is making me think I am likely to encounter
> a bunch of grouches who feel I have no right to set foot on the trail and
> wouldn't help me find north if I were dead lost, or a bunch of frat boys
> whose moms read Wild. It can't all be bad... right...? This list alone has
> shown me there's plenty of great folks.
> 
> 3. I'm troubled by all this talk about entitlement. Technically, all US
> citizens are "entitled" to the trail. So I think that creating a discourse
> of an exclusive community belonging only to the most hardcore backpackers
> who started hiking before some of us were born is unfair. However, I agree
> 1000% that to expect and even demand free help from perfect strangers is
> out of control. I suspect that those in this conversation have been
> referring to a sense of an entitlement to certain benefits of the community
> (including the extremely generous assistance of TAs and others willing to
> help), that have to be earned by displaying respect, etc.
> 
> Now, I'm coming from a place where I am hoping to be let in to this
> community, and want to learn it before I claim to be a true member, so I
> hope I am not speaking out of turn. I haven't seen the trail change over
> the years, I haven't seen it at all yet! But I would hope that some out
> there have faith in those of us who really believe in Leave No Trace and in
> common courtesy to others. I can at least promise that my 2 travel
> companions will be hoping to learn, and will maximize our respect of the
> trail, fellow hikers, all who help, and a general ethics of human decency.
> We DEFINITELY will not be leaving errant trash bags.... good grief.
> 
> 
>> On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 8:35 PM, Matt Signore <mpsignore at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Many of the hikers that attend the ADZPCTKO are anywhere from a hundred to
>> 700 miles North on the PCT in low snow years.  They have already been to
>> 3-4 angels homes already and acting however they act without the ADZPCTKO
>> as the excuse.  So, I'm not sure that the ADZPCTKO is the cause of the
>> entitlement.  Bad upbringing maybe, but at some point you have to stop
>> blaming someone's parents.  Some people are just twits.  The entitled
>> individuals showed up to the monument with the entitlement ingrained in
>> them already.  For me it isn't worth getting all worked up trying to put
>> the toothpaste back in the tube.
>> 
>> Personally I don't necessarily agree with water caches either.  However,
>> that is how some people stay connected to the trail.  They like putting
>> water out for hikers and reading the registers to see who came through
>> These people want to help others.  Who am I to say they can't?  These
>> angels do it out of enjoyment.  They are volunteering.  If their volunteer
>> efforts become a burden it is up to them to stop the activities that cause
>> the distress.  I am a skeptical person, and I don't believe everyone will
>> do what is right.  The people that are takers and not givers are not my
>> friends.  I won't hang out with them for guilt by association reasons.
>> 
>> Also, I have cached water for myself on other trails that are much drier  I
>> mean 50+ mile carries between unreliable water sources.  The PCT doesn't
>> NEED caches, but they exist.  So, it isn't a supported less pure hike
>> scenario for me.  Just that I will be damned if I am going to have someone
>> spend all Spring caching water for hikers just so I don't have to walk 10
>> minutes off the PCT for a natural water source.
>> 
>> This is where you start to lose me
>> 
>> "The natural filters that weeded out the unfit and undeserving in the past
>> are
>> being eroded as time goes on"
>> 
>> What trait makes a person fit and deserving to walk across the country?
>> Sounds kind of like "get off my lawn you pesky kid" mentality.  All the
>> Triple Crown trails are getting more crowded.  Us "old timers" need to
>> adapt.  Personally I find more remote trails far more pleasant than the
>> more crowded trails.  If you are losing your love for the PCT it may be
>> time to find other trails you enjoy as much.  Hopefully you find a happy
>> place.  Because the PCT is not going to go back to the way it used to be.
>> 
>>> 
>>> Matt Signore
>> *http://www.yogisbooks.com/ <http://www.yogisbooks.com/>*
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