hey get this

“A group of my friends want me to go on the PCT with them( Ha! they dont know how little i know) because i am the only one who has had any experiance on the trail( Only about 45 miles of it). They are going to thru-hike it in 6 months and want me to guide them. I am the only one with compass exp.

They really want to do this and so do I its been a dream of mine for years, BUT I wanted to go off to basic around mid april (thru DEP). The same time they are leaving.

my question is WHAT DO I DO!!!!!

do i go off to basic and miss probably my only chance to ever thru hike it before i am to old?

or do i delay my enlistment for another year?

I am lost!!!”

“Flip a coin, but don't look at it.

You will have wished it to be either heads or tails, depending on what you assigned. That FIRST wish that comes into your head while the coin is in the air, is what you want.”

“ok i will try it.”

“Hey, Im in the Army. Believe me when I tell you they can push your enlistment back a little. They would kill me if they knew I told you that, but Im talking from exp. If its a once in a life time thing, go for it. The Army will still be there next year. Congrats on the decision to join. I had alot of fun seeing the world.”

“actualy i'm going into the coast guard.”

“Poppinfresh - despite what the coin-subconscience trick tells you, I'd agree with Dare.

If pushing back your enlist time is doable, I'd say hike the trail with your buddies.

And best of luck in the military, you guys are the greatest!”

“Coast guard, very cool! Didn't see your message until after your post.”

“thanks

for one they are making me take them to REI so they can buy thier gear

they dont know that i know very little on equipment. but hey REI staff will help them.

i plan on breaking them in on the TRT”

“Sorry about the Army thing, but the same rules apply, so Id go hiking. Military gear really sucks compaired to civilian. I was hard headed a first but my s.o. got me to try some of her stuff and I fell in love. Its so much lighter. She is still waiting for me to give some of it back....ha ha”

“Don't get lost. Are you placing yourself in a position of responsibility for these peoples' lives? If they are raw newbies and young (foolish), I would take great caution before being a guide. If you hike the PCT, I hope it is a great experience.”

“cool”

“like i said i plan on teaching them all the good stuff on the tahoe rim trail this summer”

“I really am not sure if it is wise to take them throught the desert when they have so little Exp. (like i can talk)”

“I suggest you go to basic training first. There will be another time to hike the trail, and you might have some valuable experience to help you after basic.”

“true. But what if i meat some girl and settle down back east and have half a dozen kids? when will i find time for the trail then when i am 70?”

“AKKK i put the wrong meet in i dont mean meat, like in eating her”

“What is wrong with hiking it when your 70?”

“i'll be to old!!”

“I think you might just want to go back to the flipping the coin suggestion. Seems like there are good points to either decision.”

“true”

“Can you estimate the value of increased maturity?”

“well basic will definently mature me

PCT with buddy's need i say more...”

“I think you should be real clear with your buddies that you do not have the knowledge or experience to be their guide.

Plan on doing lots of reading, planning, and shorter trips to get some good experience before you embark on a six-month BP trip...you may not even enjoy being on the trail for a week, let alone six months, best to find that out before you change your career plans.”

“good point fritz

them search and rescues are up to 250 bucks an hour”

“hehe..you going to carry your iron skillet on this trip?”

“That was what I was trying to get at.”

“no my solo cook pot”

“Poppinfresh:

I think you're over your head on both sides of the coin.”

“yea i'll have to agree”

“yea i'll have to agree”

“akkk double posting!”

“freshie, you are very agreeable today.

?????”

“yes i am”

“Yeah, better do the coin deal. Either way, good luck!”

“poppinfresh,
you're never too old and that chance will come along if you make the time (and it'll be a better trip if you're prepared for it). I'm 45, and its taken me this long to get to the JMT. I started backpacking (1-2 trips per year) in the 80s, but didn't really start backpacking til the 90s because I was raising my son. My first long trip (6 days) was in '96, then in '97 I did 6 days followed by 7 days (a dayhike to Whitney in between the two trips). In '99 I did 16 days, and in '01 I did 30 days. It took 2 years to prepare for the JMT (30 days), and everything went as planned. During the years between the longer trips, I did a lot of overnight trips (some 3-5 day trips thrown in) almost every weekend to work up to what I'm doing now. I'm older but a lot more knowledgeable than I was then. No way I could do this 10 years ago.

Put your gear in a pack and try a few weekenders before comitting to a 6 month trip. It takes more than reading a compass to make it out there.”

“Poppinfresh, listen to the wise Nymph...she has the experience.”

“poppinfres, do as Snow Nymph says. It is extremely likely that after you've done more backpacking the choice will be obvious and you won't have to ask if you should or could. You'll know.”

“Dude if all of the questions that you've posted here are for real and not you pulling our collective legs. Then you do not have the experience to guide anyone, at least from how I read your posts. Go hiking with the buds? Sure, but not as a guide.

Being a guide is far more demanding that you might imagine. You in essence take responsability for the safety and well being of everyone in your party. Plus what EXACTLY do your friends expect of you? Are they thinking that they are just going to hang out in the woods? Do they think you are going to be their personal sherpa? Have any of these guys even hiked before? You might find out that they are great buddies and nightmare hiking partners.


Look at what you posted. There is a lot of "I'm not's" in there. Be sure these guys know what your experience and comfort level are like Fritz said.

I think you should go on a few small weekenders with the fellas first and just see what shakes out. If everything looks cool then maybe it'll work out.

The last thing you want to do is go out for a 6 month hike and make enemies out of your best friends over some misunderstandings that could have been ironed out in advance.

But hey, a lot can be said for entheusasim and confidence. There are a lot of folks out there that have very little experience that sucessfully complete thru-hikes. This is not impossible for you to do. The key is that those people are responsabile only for themselves. Just think real hard before you jump in and you will be fine.”

“Ok-another one gonna tell you not to do this.
Don't do it-
Listen to snow nymph-HPM-skullcap -
Being young is great-but despite what you and your buddies think -you do not know everything and you are not 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
You have not even done that 10 day trip right?
The logistics of a thru hike of that type are mind boggling.

If you have already signed the papers to go into the service-keep your word.
It is much more important than any hiking trip-
Besides your buds will probably pusssy out after the first good rainstorm- Then where will you be?
IMHO”

“shoot.. I guide.. and I dun't know nuttin!

:)”

“good point, TD!


heh heh.”

“TD was guiding us????

Pop I'm not trying to bust you down. I just want you and your friends to have a good time out there.

But ya know.....
The worst trips make for the best stories.”

“C'mon TD-
I think this one calls for a serious answer.
Teach the young mind oh giver of knowledge-
You too rad_this is real life decision stuff.”

“I aggree HPM-
Poppinfresh I would tell my own nephews who are about your age the same thing I told you-
You are going to Have plenty of time to hike.”

“don't do it, until you get out there, first.

go for an overnighter, this weekend. next weekend, a 3 day trip. then, take your friends on a week long trip.

if all is good with the friends, and you get some rainy or cold conditions, during those trips, then go ahead.

otherwise, you're going to end up being another SAR case.”

“Just do something. Stop already with the "do I do this dream or that dream?"”

“ok ok. :)”

“The blind leading the blind is a recipe for disaster.

I'm with the others who suggest: get some skills before you tackle something like 6 mos. straight on a trail.”

“"You might find out that they are great
buddies and nightmare hiking partners...."


humanpackmule
08:29:23 AM
01/15/02


Been there, done that...... ---- Pop - don't do it.....”

“I have already told them That i do not have the exp. to lead such a thing.

they are going weather i go or not.

I have not sighned my enlistment papers yet but probably will soon.

they have gone on a few very short weekenders. Though i have stated to them i will not be attending their trip as guide, I did agree to work on their backpacking skills with them on incresenly longer trips.

I took them to REI so they could buy for themselves what gear they needed.

i had them each buy a compass and a book on how to use it, and they will be attending a REI navigation coarse. i explained to them that they should not rely on one person to find the rought.

they are now making pre trip plans
i lent them all my bkpng books and they are eagerly reading them

this april i plan on taking them for a 5 day walk in the desert so they can practice all the skils they will need. In their plans I did agree to take them on a thru-hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail.

i will drive them down to campo and see that reach warner springs alright I can handle that.

thank you all for your very helpful advice, you all shored up the disicion i was going to make

once again thank you all for your wise and well apreciated advice

Mr. Fresh”