<div>I agree wholeheartedly with Ron. I believe speed has nothing to do with our enjoyment and observations on the trail. This year on the PCT I spotted a bear that none of the other hikers near me saw because I happened to look over my shoulder down into a valley. It reminded me of my hike on the CDT last year along Cochetopa Creek. A guide passed me by with 17 dayhikers in tow. None of them turned their heads slightly to watch this large beautiful black bear amble down to the creek!</div> <div> </div> <div>We did the side trip up to San Jacinto Peak this spring where I discovered an unusual tree. It was unlike any tree I've ever seen. I haven't been able to identify it, this tree is not in any identification book. It's a mystery...a single specimen I've never seen before.</div> <div> </div> <div>My point is that the more observant and curious you are, the more you'll see. Being out in nature
is like a spiritual tonic for me. I feel like a child who is in awe of everthing! And it doesn't matter how fast I'm going. Of course, I trip now and then, ha-ha, but I feel that's a small price to pay while taking in all the grandeur of nature. </div> <div> </div> <div>I feel my fellow hikers are all kindred spirits. We all love being out in nature. We are like snowflakes, no two alike and should celebrate our uniqueness and differences.</div> <div> </div> <div>~~La Zorra~~<BR><BR><B><I>Ron Moak <ronmoak@sixmoondesigns.com></I></B> wrote:</div> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Unfortunately the whole debate about hiking speed is a bit of a canard.<BR>There are things that enhance our perceptions of the world around us and<BR>those that detract. Hiking speed has a best a marginal effect on either. If<BR>you wish to debate things that do
significantly affect our perceptions<BR>that's fine.<BR><BR>I'd recommend three topics that have a direct bearing upon our appreciation<BR>of the hike. They are misery, knowledge and curiosity. I'd expect there may<BR>be more but these probably have the greatest impact.<BR><BR>There's nothing like a little misery to make hiking a downer. Whether<BR>carrying too much weight; being too hot, cold or wet; or anything that make<BR>us question our sanity, misery makes us withdrawn. Our world shrinks until<BR>it extends no more than a few feet in front of us. Time slows, sounds<BR>diminish to the point we hear little more than pounding of our heart.<BR>Clearly anything that can combat misery can give us a positive outlook.<BR><BR>A little knowledge can do wonders to enhance our perceptions. A photographer<BR>can frame a sunset in a drop of water resting on an alpine flower. An artist<BR>can see past the details into the soul of a mountain landscape. A geologist<BR>can see a
million years of turmoil in a single rock. A botanist see the<BR>constant struggle of plants to survive both against the elements and<BR>competing plants. An hydrologist can scan the soils and rocks, peaks and<BR>valleys of a landscape and chart the flow of water, both visible and<BR>underground. As a trained Forester, I look at the dynamic nature of<BR>environment, how fires burn and what's likely to burn next; the effects of<BR>logging, roads, trails on the environment; and the changes in forest over<BR>generations as one species of trees gives way to the next in the natural<BR>progression of a forests life. <BR><BR>One doesn't need a college degree to learn some basics that will open up<BR>backcountry in new and exciting ways. The simple curiosity of a child will<BR>do. That curiosity is too often discarded along the path to adulthood. <BR><BR>Looking to false debates that serve no other purpose than to divide us, does<BR>little to dampen the misery or pass on the joy
experienced by so many who<BR>take the time to walk on the wild side of life.<BR><BR>Ron<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pct-l mailing list<BR>Pct-l@backcountry.net<BR>To unsubscribe or change list options (digest, etc):<BR>http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p> 
<hr size=1>Never miss a thing. <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs"> Make Yahoo your homepage.</a>