Re: HST Good Loops for Backpacking Mid March?
Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:14 pm
So let's review a little. A new member with no experience whatsoever starts one thread inquiring about hiking the HST and Whitney Portal area solo in mid-March. The first thing some members begin discussing is whether he needs a permit. Other people talk him out of it and he agrees. A day later the same person starts a new thread inquiring about HST loops. The person owns a backpack and a sleeping bag that's not a backpacking sleeping bag. That's it. Somehow the reality does not sink in as people try a little harder and a little harder to explain it.
Now comes along someone telling the poster to rely on himself alone and no one else. AlmostThere responds appropriately in almost shock at the statement. Unbelievably, someone replies that AT is "trippin".
Russ, in another earlier thread (there have been several this year) someone with no experience inquired about winter backpacking. I stated you need specialized training to survive in winter conditions (training that I have). You told them they did not need any training and advised they should just go do it. You think I should not talk so much about death? That's not going to happen. Too many people have already died. Jes was not grasping the reality. I did what I thought was necessary to make the message sink in. I did not like being so hard on the kid, but I am a retired professional. If that's what it takes to keep him alive, that's what I'm going to do. I spent years teaching young people how to survive under adverse conditions in the wilderness. I have a passion for that. If I think someone is unknowingly flirting with suicide, I am going to act in a way that I think will prevent that. It was an act of tough love, but I am not one to sit passively while someone walks into the wilderness that I love and either die or come back with such a bad experience that he never tries it again.
I got through to Jes. Because I did, I figured I also had a responsibility to guide his enthusiasm in a positive manner and not crush it. To date he and I have exchanged 45 PMs as I try to assist him in selecting equipment and destinations as well as learn what he needs to know. It is my intention for him not only to survive, but to find the same love and passion for the wilderness that I have and for it to become a lifelong endeavor.
Nature is a powerful and primal force. If you do not learn to understand and respect her she will devour you. Learn to understand her and gain wisdom about living within her boundaries and you can thrive. The attitude just go do it is not a responsible approach. That message is a menace to the entire hiking community and I will always counter it whether others like it or not. It is a responsibility that I cannot ignore. I have nothing against you personally, but I cannot and will not stand idly by if I think someone's life is in danger.
Now comes along someone telling the poster to rely on himself alone and no one else. AlmostThere responds appropriately in almost shock at the statement. Unbelievably, someone replies that AT is "trippin".
Russ, in another earlier thread (there have been several this year) someone with no experience inquired about winter backpacking. I stated you need specialized training to survive in winter conditions (training that I have). You told them they did not need any training and advised they should just go do it. You think I should not talk so much about death? That's not going to happen. Too many people have already died. Jes was not grasping the reality. I did what I thought was necessary to make the message sink in. I did not like being so hard on the kid, but I am a retired professional. If that's what it takes to keep him alive, that's what I'm going to do. I spent years teaching young people how to survive under adverse conditions in the wilderness. I have a passion for that. If I think someone is unknowingly flirting with suicide, I am going to act in a way that I think will prevent that. It was an act of tough love, but I am not one to sit passively while someone walks into the wilderness that I love and either die or come back with such a bad experience that he never tries it again.
I got through to Jes. Because I did, I figured I also had a responsibility to guide his enthusiasm in a positive manner and not crush it. To date he and I have exchanged 45 PMs as I try to assist him in selecting equipment and destinations as well as learn what he needs to know. It is my intention for him not only to survive, but to find the same love and passion for the wilderness that I have and for it to become a lifelong endeavor.
Nature is a powerful and primal force. If you do not learn to understand and respect her she will devour you. Learn to understand her and gain wisdom about living within her boundaries and you can thrive. The attitude just go do it is not a responsible approach. That message is a menace to the entire hiking community and I will always counter it whether others like it or not. It is a responsibility that I cannot ignore. I have nothing against you personally, but I cannot and will not stand idly by if I think someone's life is in danger.