Then and Now

On our fourth day out from Mackenzie Pass the terrain was virtually flat, but we encountered a number of blowdowns. Some had to be stepped over, some ducked under and some gone around. Cindy had trouble with the “duck under” ones in particular. She often zigs when she should zag with any obstacle or challenge she faces, sort of a motor skills dyslexia. I got impatient at times, which she did not need in addition to the bumps to her head.

The blowdowns did not present such a challenge to the northbounders we encountered as we headed south from Elk Lake. Except for Stumbles, who we encountered by the Three Sisters, they are pretty much the leaders of this year’s cohort. The first was Big Sauce, who was jogging along to get to Elk Lake Resort in time for a cheeseburger. He was part of a gang of four we met towards the end of our third day, who were doing a forty mile day through this easy stretch of trail. The others were Three Hundred (a woman), Will (a Brit and one of the refreshing few without a trail name) and one other whose name we did not catch. The first northbounders we met on the fourth day was Emma, who planned to do 52 miles in 36 hours in order to get to Mackenzie Pass in time for a package.

I’m not a stranger to high mileage days. After Big Sauce jogged on through for his cheeseburger Cindy commented: “That’s something you would do.” Um, to set the record straight, I might do that for a pizza, but likely not a mere cheeseburger. Nor am I a stranger to lightweight packs, despite my continued preference for external frames. Yet I do detect a little different orientation to long-distance hiking now.

In the seventies and eighties I would characterize thru-hiking as a way of life, with the main point being to prolong time spent in the wilderness. Current thru-hikers also do this as a way of life I suspect, but there seems to be more of an element of this being a sport. I pack to be prepared for anything faced in the wilderness; thus we could be out for four days on what was supposed to be a two day stretch. Many of the current thru-hikers pack to increase their mobility. They can hike their way out of trouble and get to civilization with greater frequency. Indeed, part of the “sport” involves hitting the civilized hotspots being publicized, something like a scavenger hunt.

For the record, I’ve never been a “right way” advocate for long distance hiking. Variety is the spice of life; I celebrate all the different ends and means of long distance hiking and have experienced most of them. I’m merely making an observation to contrast then and now.

Another contrast between then and now are the conditions of trails. The PCT was not even finished in 1977, yet every trail we were on was well-groomed, benefiting from the resources of federal agencies. I remember marveling at a miniature back-hoe I saw being used to build and groom the PCT. The same cannot be said now; I see more of a parallel with the Appalachian Trail. In both cases volunteers burden the main responsibility. Sections that have been visited by a volunteer trail crew, such as the Lyons Pride, are marvelous, but volunteers only can cover so much trail, with some stretches left in neglect.

If you were to directly ask why the Feds have backed off on trail maintenance you could expect the answer of dwindling resources. However, while we hiked through Colorado on the American Discovery Trail I asked the question a little differently. I noticed there as well that hiking trails on federal lands were not the same as in the eighties, with some even becoming abandoned. On the other hand the ATV roads we encountered were well-groomed and proliferating. I asked a Forest Service ranger I met to account for the difference.

“The ATV lobby applies a lot more pressure,” was the answer.

To their credit, ATV groups were doing a terrific job of maintaining their trails, similar to the volunteers for hiking trails, but they had more assistance from federal resources. This makes sense when you think about it. First, ATV owners spend much more on their hobby than a hiker; they have greater incentive to follow up on that financial investment.

Second, the average hiker is bothered less by obstacles than the average ATVer, due to a variety of factors. Certainly the thru-hikers doing forty mile days to Elk Lake were not bothered much by the occasional blowdowns. Only those with something like “dyslexic motor skills” might be so bothered, but they don’t have much influence.