Throughout this entire hike we have been hearing about the book Wild. People we meet off the trail like the book, most veteran long distance hikers don’t. I have yet to read the book, but we saw trailers for the movies when we went to see St. Vincent. I understand the disconnect better now.
From the point of view of a thru-hiker, the Wild trailer would be considered an overdramatization of what long distance hiking is like … for anyone. That’s completely understandable. Any book will overdramatize one’s life experience; any movie will overdramatize a book; any trailer will overdramatize a movie. Yet in that overdramatization lies the essence of why long distance hikers and the general public react differently to Wild.
Long distance hiking becomes a way of life for those particularly fond of the pursuit. Satisfying ways of life are not roller coaster rides. Much of what is appealing about thru-hiking is the day-to-day, almost casual experience and appreciation of the landscapes around you. If long distance hiking was nearly as dramatic as Wild portrays, it would not be nearly as satisfying a way of life.
Though Wild misses the essence of what is truly desirable about long distance hiking, the dramatic appeal increases the amount of thru-hikers on the trail. The thru-hiking traffic on the PCT is compounded further. When the Appalachian Trail first had thousands of thru-hikers attempting each year the success ratio was 1 out of 8. The success ratio for the PCT is 1 out of 2 (ironically, the author of Wild did not complete the trail). The flocks of people up north on the PCT surpass the flocks up north on the AT. The movie is likely to increase that further.
All the more reason to advocate U-hiking. This is a concept I first proposed in a national essay contest for natural resources back in the nineties. Rather than concentrate the number of THRU-hikers on specific trails, why not encourage people to come up with there own U (you) Hikes. Put together a long distance hiking itinerary customized specifically to who you are.
I met one hiker who was doing precisely that. Sage hiked the PCT recently and this year was piecing together a 500 mile stretch of hiking in Northern California using a variety of trails, including a part of the PCT. She was excited when I shared the U-hiking concept with her, as she felt that described her own purpose for long distance hiking.
At the root of my U-hike concept was my Continental Divide Trails experience in 1985. We were told by the Continental Divide Trail Society that the seven people in our group who hiked the entire way from Canada to Mexico doubled the number who had ever done so. Yet what did we thru-hike? The trail was barely half finished and there were two different concepts for it: by the CDTS and the Forest Service. Every one of us patched together cross-country work, mixed routes and sometimes tried our own: such as when I stayed right on top of the Wind River divide for as long as possible. In reality we all U-hiked then.
This is a long winded way of saying that we all have become U-hikers out here as well. Thwarted by snow, daylight and increasing physical limitations we have customized the itinerary to get the most enjoyment of the experience for Cindy. If many more followed this lead, departing even further from the famous trails, we could better enhance the experience for all, including the traditional thru-hikers. And isn’t there something inherently dramatic about following the beat of your own, specific drummer?
My U-hike essay addressed a natural resource issue. Back in the nineties the AT already drew thousands of would-be thru-hikers and the PCT was just being finished. The issue of current and projected impacts on wilderness by hikers was evident back then, even more so now. My essay came in second place. Perhaps if I waited twenty years, until after the movie of Wild came out, I could have been the winner.
