The ‘Wild’ effect Hikers are flooding the Pacific Crest Trail

[Bob Moulder]

The problem at REI is that 90% of the staff doesn't try to steer novice buyers toward lightweight gear, and many of them don't really understand UL principles themselves. Most don't even know what cuben fiber is. There are some exceptions though

+1 Monte

A couple of days ago I was at my local REI (Yonkers, NY) and witnessed somebody gearing up — buying the whole kit and kaboodle in one giant gulp — for an upcoming REI backpacking course… shopping cart brimming with new gear. I got the impression that the REI sales guy assisting was wincing, but going along with the recommended gear list.

[J-L]

I don't think it's actually the gear that is heavy. It's all the extra stuff novice backpackers take. You don't have to know what cuben fiber is to be light

Let's say you buy a 5lb tent, 3lb sleeping bag, 2lb sleeping pad, and 5lb pack. That's only 15lbs. Add in a generous 5lbs for heavy stove, first aid kit, water filter, and clothing and you have a base weight of 20lbs. Even with food and water, you should easily be around 30lbs for a few days out (which is really not that bad).

Yes, they could be lighter, but it's got to be all the accessories weighing people down.

[Billy Ray]

"The problem at REI is that 90% of the staff doesn't try to steer novice buyers toward lightweight gear"

That's because the really light weight gear is not as durable and REI has to warranty that stuff… The average person will not be careful with it and it will end up in the returns pile… and a negative impact on REI's bottom line…

Also… most of the really really light stuff is not produced in great enough quantity for REI to stock it in all their stores… or to satisfy the online demand at REI either… you can't sell what you can't supply…

b

[Dave P]

Yeah, it's the accessories and overpacking for the situation. At from how I see people go shopping at MEC and Wholesales Sports.

Paul Kirtley recently has a video on how to reduce the sleeping system down from 5.775 kg (12 lbs 2 oz) to to 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs)

Video

Transcript

And he's the sort of guy who works with mainstream backpackers as well as the bushcraft crowd who tend to have heavy packs. His target audience isn't lightweight backpackers or ultralight.

1.6 kg is heavy for us, but it gives an insight how the mainstream think about packing, and how they could purchase products from any hiking store without having to resort to cottage industry.

[Kelly G]

Craig, I've been a trail angel for a few years now, just south of Mt. Hood in Oregon. Several through hikers have mentioned that some do almost depend on trail angels for a meal. That said, one lady said I was the first angel she'd seen in Oregon… And Oregon was nearly done at this point.

Maybe there will be a wild Trail Angel effect as well.

Kelly

[Jennifer Mitol]

I think both Bob and grumpy-old-Nick-Gatel are right on the money about this – in their own ways.

First of all, yes, it's very good to have more people out enjoying the wilderness; that can only be a good thing. They'll learn about it, want to protect it (drill, baby, drill!), and want more of it.

Those with experience and knowhow – and lighter packs – can get to the places the novices don't/can't go so we can have our solitude and long distances, and gorgeous unspoiled landscapes etc. (i.e. the Sierra High Route vs the JMT)

Yes, we lament the crowding of our favorite places, but shouldn't it be a good thing that the obese kids/video game crowd learn to love the outdoors? We just need to move on and find new favorite places.

Having said that – I'll never camp in a campground on purpose ever again. Damned radios and screaming kids………

And…to argue with myself….places like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon (really…a shopping center on the rim???!!!), Torres del Paine and Yellowstone (etc etc) are in many ways being loved to death.

[Billy Ray]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/22/health/trail-hiking-women/index.html

[Ken Thompson]

Amazing what people get paid to write. This little bit is really the only relevant part of the above linked article.

"Since the release of the book "Wild: Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed, and the subsequent movie starring Reese Witherspoon, more people have been motivated to hit the great outdoors. Google searches for "hiking the PCT," have increased six-fold — and those aspiring hikers aren't all burly outdoorsmen, either. According to data compiled by The Outdoor Foundation, while only 48 percent of adults pitching tents in 2011 were women, that number rose to 60 percent in 2014."

And who is the Outdoor Foundation? Link

[Jennifer Mitol]

The one thing that's interesting (annoying?) is that I've been thinking about the PCT and trying to figure out how/when to make it happen for about 10 years now. It looks like next year may be my year…so I'm starting to talk about it to make it more real (envision it, think about it, do it!)

Anyway…I cannot tell you how many times people say "oh, you must have read Wild!" or
"did you see that movie Wild?"

Girl -> backpacking -> must've been Oprah!/Reese who showed her how to do it!

grrrrr……..

[Matt Dirksen]

Make me wonder what would happen if they re-released a classic outdoors masterpiece, like "Deliverance"…

Would we all of a sudden start building more dams again?

Chaff aside, any "thematic" book and/or movie which resonates with a certain generation of folks will naturally create a wave of interest.

"Just how long the wave will last", is the question I contemplate, presumably while skipping and whistling along the trails of Dolly Sods. I just hope it'll get one or two folks genuinely hooked. It just takes a bit to get there, & I hope they help out while they're out there.

Things are out of balance.

[Billy Ray]

Very interesting find Ken…
Outdoor Foundation… interesting the largest donors are:
(not sure I like the National Park Service donating between 20 and 75k of taxpayer money)

Everest Plus Platinum Club ($75,000+)

The North Face
The Conservation Fund
REI
Keen Footwear
Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation

Everest Platinum Club ($20,000 – $75,000)

National Park Service
Merrell
Stephen Bechtel Fund
Outdoor Retailer, Emerald Expositions
Wolverine / Wolverine World Wide
The Coleman Company
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
Thule Inc.
W.L. Gore and Associates

Annapurna Gold Club ($10,000 – $19,999)

Vasque Red Wing Shoe Company
Carhartt Inc
Chaco, Inc.
Confluence Watersports Companies
Economic Development Corp of Utah
Eddie Bauer
National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
Yakima Products
CamelBak Products, LLC
GSI Outdoors
Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)
PrimaLoft, Inc.
Skechers, USA
STELLA INTERNATIONAL LTD.
The Timberland Company
YY1

[Anonymous]

"Would we all of a sudden start building more dams again?"

Probably not, but I'll bet there'd be a huge interest in UL chastity belts. ;0)

[Dave P]

"Girl -> backpacking -> must've been Oprah!/Reese who showed her how to do it!"

Heh. My girlfriend has been hiking Lapland her whole life since she was a kid- a good 30 years or so.

Americans like to assume she started because of "Wild." She never understood why people asked the question so frequently until she read a blog post citing statistics about 20-80 ratio. She found found that statistics depressing. In her country, the ratio is about 50-50.

So, now when she hears about the novel or the movie, she just feels pity for Americans.

[Billy Ray]

Oprah…

She's to fat to be a backpacker.
Crazy to think she would be responsible for getting anyone to backpack.

What a strange species we are.

billy

[James Couch]

>Oprah…

>She's to fat to be a backpacker.
>Crazy to think she would be responsible for getting anyone to backpack.

>What a strange species we are.

>billy

Yep – prejudiced, snobbish, exclusive, and elitist – what a strange species indeed! But that seems to be what BPL is all about these days.

A large number of the folks I have had come into my workplace looking to do the PCT are overweight. I also run into a lot of overweight people on the trails. I think if you set your prejudice aside and actually took a look at who is out hiking these days you might be surprised. I say more power to them!

[Richard Lyon]

@Jennifer –

<>

Just remember Warren Miller's advice – If you don't do it this year you'll just be one year older when you do.

Richard

[Jennifer Mitol]

"Just remember Warren Miller's advice – If you don't do it this year you'll just be one year older when you do."

Yep Richard, exactly. The stars are lining up for me now, so I think I need to jump at the chance. My mom has been really ill lately so it really hits home as to how fragile life is and how important it is to NOT put things off for some unrealistic "perfect" future time.

[Nick Gatel]

"Nick,
I agree that the word "convince" was a poor choice of words and to some, could smack of religion. However, it seems to me that most traditional weight backpackers I have encountered over the years do not believe that lightweight or ultralight backpacking could possibly be comfortable/enjoyable or doable for them. IMO, "we" who do enjoy lightweight/ultralight backpacking have a lot to offer to traditional backpackers IF AND WHEN they express an interest in going lighter."

I just finished reading Chris Townsend's PCT memoir. A really heavy pack, and at times Chris traveled well over a week without re-supply. He did it in a really heavy snow year. At times he did 30 days without a Zero. His hike was in the early 80's so planning was more difficult, and many sections had no realistic safe bail out options. He did the trip in just under 6 months.

Was his experience better than what PCT thru-hikers have today? Perhaps, perhaps not. In some ways it was better, and in other ways it wasn't.

[Nick Gatel]

"But if I was to type in "backpacking", the first thing that came up are MEC's and REI's checklists. Not to mention numerous guiding services. Along with Backpacker magazine. From what I can see, the checklists don't really jive with UL backpacking."

Sometimes we place too much emphasis on the UL way. Some people just aren't interested. Some can get by just fine with traditional gear, and many people have done epic trips with traditional gear that many of us will never approach in scope and beauty.

The few people who have hiked with my know my kit is pretty light. But that isn't the point, the point is the enjoyment each individual realizes for themselves.

An interesting dichotomy is me and my son, who is 36 years younger than me. In high school and college he was an elite distance runner. He has run thousands and thousands of miles over the past 10+ years. I get advice from him on running shoes. He doesn't hike in runners, he wants to wear boots, boots that I bought for him. I don't try to change him or convince him there is a better way.

His backpacking gear is "traditional" stuff, much of which I bought for him as gifts over time. I buy what he wants, not what I think he should use. I did give him a ULA Ohm — he prefers his REI Cruiser. He knows I would buy him the latest and greatest cuben shelter and other gear for his birthday and for Christmas. He isn't interested, he has many diverse interests in life, and backpacking is just one of them. In his backpacking circle, his gear is excellent.

My son is a great backpacking partner. We have great times together and we rarely discuss gear, unless I am teaching him how to use something. My light gear and his heavier gear put us on an equal plane — I can keep up with him on any trip.

[Cayenne Redmonk]

Trail use is up in my hills. People seem to be enjoying the parks. Volunteers are out in force too. New paths being laid for family bike/stroller loops. New hiking trails about to open in my favorite park. Large groups, runners, hikers, horses, and bikes all seem to be out right now.

bikes seem to be struggling to stay on the trails, hikers like to create side trails, pile rocks and talk too loud, horses time their passing to be as narrow and steep as possible, and there are too many bird watchers standing in the way.

[Author]

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