Thread: Jacket and Pants

Owl is right- people like to vent their frustration here and go on about what they hate, but they're not nearly like what they seem to be here, on the trail. It occasionally annoys me when people ask all the time to see my maps, but whatever. Not like they're going to get worn out or anything.

Quote: Originally Posted by Painted Turtle Ok let me open a can of worms. I went to boot camp in 1964 when Boot camp was for real. I hear that is no lomger the case. *** I'll pass your opinion on to any Marines I see from Pendleton or who have "camped" at MCRD San Diego out here. I'm sure they will express how much they agree with you in an appropriate manner. As for a thru hike, any comparison to any...

Quote: Originally Posted by sburke15 alright thanks, All this info is great. I think the option that looks most appealing/viable right now is working up until august in summer then taking fall semester off and hiking southbound. Would that be possible? when does your spring semester start?

In re. to an above post, yeah Bfitz is the perfect example of the cheap bastard who cheerfully acknowledges that he'd never spend a dime on a map, but who will very happily look at YOURS around nine times a day. And in that I've let him do this for years, I should probably stop complaining about it.

Physically hiking the trail was tougher than Army BCT simply because I could push myself to the total point of exhaustion. In BCT the drill sargents would push a certain muscles to exhaustion, but never my entire body. If my arms went limp after push ups I still got a roof over my head and three meals a day and whatever the minimum allowed sleep that regs stated we must get. I followed directions pretty well, always passed training...

Quote: Originally Posted by rp1790 however, the AT is so well defined and blazed that you really don't need one... HA! We got lost several times...and I had a map... And I love the blazing in PA - white can mean AT or the game lands. And there are many places the AT is not blazed b/c it is wilderness. And try seeing a well defined blaze with fresh snow blown against on the tree or blazes on trees that have been blown down. I don't...

Quote: Originally Posted by Jack Tarlin I stand very properly corrected. If Wolf is suggesting that it's a good idea to carry maps everywhere on the A.T., well he's absolutlely right, and I agree with him 100%. yes jack, that is what i'm suggesting. i practice what i preach in this case

You will meet plenty of other hikers in late summer and early fall, especially on weekends. Probably not a lot of thruhikers starting then. By early November the trail will be a lot quieter.

I have never been to boot camp, but I would think that boot camp is harder. Hiking only uses your legs. Boot camp would make me do push-ups and I would fail. Hiking is peaceful. Boot camp has mean people yelling at you. Hiking is pretty. Boot camp is usually some place kinda ugly. Nobody tells me what to do when I hike. But I am a pretty ruthless taskmistress. Still, I think I'm easier on myself than a drill instructor. On the other hand,...

So what is the trail etiquette when it comes to requests to borrow a map? After listening to the maps or no maps thread for a while, maps sounded pretty important. So I just spent $250 on maps and books. And I must say I feel irked by the I can't afford the money or the weight folks who are willing to ask for someone else's map. I can't afford the weight or money either. I kinda makes me think of I don't want the expense of...