So, we walked a couple miles on a road and took a side trail to reconnect to the PCT. Some hikers realized that if they walked the road a couple more miles they could reconnect with the PCT. Not only was this shorter but it avoided over a thousand feet of elevation loss, and then, gain. We were suprised how easily hikers would justify walking the road and cutting off a piece of the trail. Every hiker has his or her own set of ethics as to how they want to hike the trail. So, they decide for themselves what is cheating. Some hikers are openly not "purists," needing to walk all of the trail. Some occasionally do what is called slack-packing. This is having someone else take your gear to the road or wherever you will end up and you hike with only minimal supplies for the day. The advantage is a significantly lighter pack. Thirty-Five lbs may drop down to 10 or less this way, allowing the hiker to walk faster and have an easier day.
There is a popular saying on the trail: " Hike your own hike." Essentially don't let others tell you how to hike or what is exceptable. In many ways it is good that people hike there own hike. But, when people start skipping sections of trail and say they hiked the PCT, it seems it starts to diminish it for those who actually walk the whole thing- or at least that's my opinion. With that said, I know everyone misses 10 feet or 100 yards or a half mile somewhere. And with fires and other reroutes it gets tricky as to what hiking the whole trail really means. So in some sense, no one walks every inch of the trail; it's just that some try harder than others.
Miles seemed to roll by smoothly the rest of the day. We enjoyed a cold soda at a cooler where we met our first southbound section hiker, Beadman.
Total Miles:412.2
Miles Today:24.4
Camp 23:Windy Pines
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