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bullshit. <BR>
<BR>
all of this is coming from someone who lives in that geographical location?<BR>
<BR><BR>> Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:10:50 +0200<BR>> From: roni.h10000@gmail.com<BR>> To: pct-l@backcountry.net<BR>> Subject: [pct-l] lameness of pct2007 and law budget hiking<BR>> <BR>> Seems like again, due to my confrontational and a highly abnoxious<BR>> personality, I a have to write what many people think but are too nice<BR>> to say. (At least what I think many think)<BR>> This is what I wrote in the pct2007 group, which I consider to be on<BR>> average the most lame group of thruhikers I've ever met:<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> "<BR>> The fact that both medow-ed and I, who have an opposide perspective about<BR>> most stuff, actualy agree about this subject, shows there must be<BR>> something to it.<BR>> what ed is saying in his nice, none confrontational way, I will repeat<BR>> in my rude Israeli style. It looks like hikers in the last year or<BR>> two are becoming increasingly lame, and are strongly loosing the sense<BR>> of titenited community that used to be found amongst thruhikers in<BR>> previous years.<BR>> I don't know the pct group of 2006 but I there are 3 reasons I see of<BR>> the apperent lameness of the 2007 group:<BR>> <BR>> 1) There was an unusal amount of couples hiking the pct this year.<BR>> I'm not saying all couples are lame, but couples, especialy but not<BR>> exclosively young couples, tend to be much more closed to interaction<BR>> with other hikers. For them its more a couple experience than a social<BR>> experience. Again, I can show many exceptions for this rule, but as<BR>> an average, I find thruhiker couples to be much more lame than single hikers<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> 2) Almost all thruhikers I've seen this year were hiking an a much<BR>> higher budget than I've seen in previous years, especialy 2003. More<BR>> accuratly, the low to very low budget segment of hikers seemed to be<BR>> completly missing. Tony and I were virtualy the only people I met who<BR>> persistently stealth camped in towns. I think there might have been a<BR>> few others but far less than I I've seen in normal years.<BR>> One reason for that is possibly Yogi's hand book. Its a good book but<BR>> its definetly geared towards the higher budget hikers who actualy buy<BR>> the book. Of what I've seen in it there is almost no mention of<BR>> stealth camping sites in towns, which makes most people think there<BR>> are none.<BR>> <BR>> You might think stealth camping and low budget hiking has nothing to<BR>> do with lameness, but the truth is that if you think about a group of<BR>> hikers, they will always be bounded much tighter together, if they end<BR>> up having to stealth camp or sleep 6 in a motel room than if every<BR>> single one of them ends up getting a motel room for himself.<BR>> For me and Tony one of the most interesting chalenges in hiking is<BR>> finding a good stealth site in a town.<BR>> I'm know that there were this year many hikers who should have been on<BR>> a lower budget than mine (I actualy have money, I just try to spread<BR>> it over more hiking seasons) but they weren't very succeful in keeping<BR>> to their budget, partly because everyone around them was on a higher<BR>> budget.<BR>> Stealth camping and low budjet hiking are aquired skills. without<BR>> having anyone to show and teach you how you can easily thruhike on<BR>> less than 10$ a day, and still enjoy it, You might never try.<BR>> <BR>> 3) As I mentioned in the past, I saw an unusaly high sense of<BR>> entitlment from hikers towards trail angels. Not from everyone, but<BR>> from more than I've ever seen before.<BR>> Its probebly partly due to the abundence of trail magic but also has<BR>> something to do with the almost complete lack of low budget hikers<BR>> this year. Bluntly speaking, for a high budget hiker who stays in<BR>> every motel, a trail angels house is basicaly just a free motel room.<BR>> For me, who didn't stay in a single motel room on the whole pct this<BR>> year, a trail angels house is so much more, (inc' what might be the<BR>> first real hot shower I had in a month or more)...<BR>> I know this is a gross generalization, but its natural for people to<BR>> appreciate more what they dont have normaly, than what they have.<BR>> And so,generaly speaking, a low budget hiker tends to have a smaller<BR>> sense of entitlement than a high budget one.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> I'm not sure what the solution for this situation is. Definetly<BR>> having pct 2007 hikers try to keep in contact with each other would<BR>> help, but its probebly too late for that. People got used to not<BR>> writing, finding excuses why not to write insted of why to write.<BR>> <BR>> I do think that someone might want to give at the next kickoff a talk<BR>> about low budget thruhiking on the pct (not me, because I'm probebly<BR>> not going to be around there this year). Thats an aquired skill that<BR>> seems to have all but disapperd from the pct, which is a real shame.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Roni (in Israel)<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> --- In PCT2007@yahoogroups.com, "edfaubert" <edfaubert@...> wrote:<BR>> ><BR>> > Roni is on to something, note i did not say Roni in ON something.<BR>> > Many of the class of 07 were first time hikers on the PCT and had a<BR>> > great time enjoying all the miles and the people you meet alone the<BR>> > way. For many LDHs its the people you meet that makes a diference in<BR>> > having an enjoyable time.<BR>> > Having been envolved for over a decade with you folks i will say<BR>> > there is a difference in the hikers of 07 and say 2000 or as Roni<BR>> > said the 03 group. We still see at the KO folks who hiked years ago<BR>> > still together as a group and keeping in touch. For whatever reason<BR>> > and i have not heard a good explanation for this, times change and<BR>> > the yearly folks hiking the trail change as well. Take the class of<BR>> > 06 for example, after 02 we saw a class gift from them to the class<BR>> > of 03, same for the next few years too. giving something back to the<BR>> > next group of hikers coming behind you. When it was 06s turn to give<BR>> > something back there was no takers offering some form of thank you<BR>> > from the group. I think its only those of us who have been involved<BR>> > with the hikers on the PCT for years and years that really see a<BR>> > difference in the collective group of thru hikers.<BR>> > Am i saying this is bad, well no,not at all. Roni had pointed out<BR>> > something last summer about hikers in 07 (expecting) rides back to<BR>> > the trail etc etc where when he hiked befor no one would have even<BR>> > asked for a ride back to the trail.<BR>> > That was then i know and now is now but still it beggs the question,<BR>> > why have hikers changed in the past few years. Those of us older<BR>> > folks who are into mangement positions talk a lot about the upcoming<BR>> > generation of folks who just don't care about responibility<BR>> > anymore... Is this same kernal of thought affecting the hiking world<BR>> > too? And if it is, is it a bad thing or just something us older folks<BR>> > have to readjust too.<BR>> > Just some food for thought here....................and this is not to<BR>> > say Roni is in anyway correct about anything, either.................<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><BR><br /><hr />Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live. <a href='http://www.windowslive.com/share.html?ocid=TXT_TAGHM_Wave2_sharelife_012008' target='_new'>Get it now!</a></body>
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