Can of Worms

[Namtrag]

I would think the purists would like the slackpackers. Lots more spots too camp!

[1234]

Is it just me or are more & more thru-hiker slack packing & staying in hotels, hostels or with trail friends than they are sleeping in the woods?? I thought the main part of going to the wilderness was to experience the wilderness?? Strange??

The more than sleeping in the woods is to funny. After months of staying in a tent and seeing 3 walls of a shelter there is not much to write about that is to exciting. HOWever its a big deal to go to town or stay in a hostel or hotel!! SO that is what folks write about.
If you are looking to experiance the wilderness get off the AT it is not for you. Go hike little used trails in the national forest.

[hikerboy57]

oz, invisible man and army ant each spent close to $14k during their hike from springer to katahdin. they slept in the woods half as often as they slept out of the woods. they flew a seaplane from monson to whitehouse landing, skipping some 68 miles and aquablazed the shennies, stayed in hostels and motels more than they tented, ate sirloin instead of ramen,it cost them a lot of money,but they had the trip of a lifetime!!!
they also told me they encountered quite a few "purists" who were envious of their "hiking" style.
how someone else hikes their hike has no bearing at all as to how i choose to hike mine.
its all good.

[coach lou]

I wish I had 7G.........I'd skip the Aqua Blaze

[coach lou]

................I'd eat more pizza than Ramen.........more draft, less bottled!

[bamboo bob]

I love to camp and I love hostels, B&B's and motels. One point is there are way more places to stay then there were years ago. Every road crossing seems to have a note on a tree for lodging with shuttle including. Tempting in a downpour.

[bamboo bob]

Slackpacking is not about making your trip easier. It's mainly about the lodging outfit getting you to stay another day, with meals etc. Also it slows down your hike. Andover Maine is a huge time sink with some people doing road to road slack packs for four days.

[RED-DOG]

If you got an un-limited bank account why not stay in Motel's / Hostels and live in a lap of luxury, Heck on my Thru-hike in 2012 I meet a couple that spent $25000 on their thru-hike and they had a hike of a life time but they also was spending a lot of it on their fellow hikers, most people only gets one chance in their life time to hike the AT why not go for the GUSTO, but personally I would rather spend between $5-6000 on a more TRADITIONAL thru-hike (and that's really all I can afford to spend), I'd rather stay in the WOODS, but if you are one of the lucky one's FLAUNT it.

[hikerboy57]

i slackpacked twice during my 6 week section hike this spering. once was out of kincora, it ws raining, and we had planned to just zero, but at bob peoples suggestion, decided we could do a 9 mile slack apck which would save us a climb from kincora the next day. the other was out of erwin, slacked 20 miles back over beauty spot, and it was absolutely one of the best days of my hike.most everyone we passed heading up out of erwin with full resupply told us they had wished they had joined us.

[Cookerhiker]

Nothing wrong with slackpacking. Of the 36 days it took me to thruhike the Colorado Trail, 2 were slackpack days. My overall experience wasn't lessened or diminished in the slightest.

www.trailjournals.com/cookerhikerCT11

[oldbear]

I don't sleep well in unfamiliar places so for me at least the comfort of my own tent and sleeping system is preferable to somebody else's lodging

[kayak karl]

the thing i hate about slackpacking is i feel like i'm on a schedule. "Got to be at pick-up" is all i thought about, but i do like Slackyaking

[T.S.Kobzol]

What's slackyaking?



Bumblebee Tuna

[Biggie Master]

oz, invisible man and army ant each spent close to $14k during their hike from springer to katahdin. they slept in the woods half as often as they slept out of the woods. they flew a seaplane from monson to whitehouse landing, skipping some 68 miles and aquablazed the shennies, stayed in hostels and motels more than they tented, ate sirloin instead of ramen,it cost them a lot of money,but they had the trip of a lifetime!!!
they also told me they encountered quite a few "purists" who were envious of their "hiking" style.
how someone else hikes their hike has no bearing at all as to how i choose to hike mine.
its all good.

and I bet they don't give a hoot what anyone thinks of their hike... Mags said it best, let everyone enjoy it their own way.

[Last Call]

and I bet they don't give a hoot what anyone thinks of their hike... Mags said it best, let everyone enjoy it their own way.

They sucked eggs then....no where near a purist AT Thru Hike...some of ya'll just don't "get it"....and that's all I'm gonna say about that!

[Astro]

In the immortal words of Rhode Island Red.....I say, I say there boy....your doin it all wrong!

I thought that was Foghorn Leghorn.

[coach lou]

They sucked eggs then....no where near a purist AT Thru Hike...some of ya'll just don't "get it"....and that's all I'm gonna say about that!

I'm just not sure what they didn't get while walking from Ga to Me?......and I know they sucked alot of beer!

[Biggie Master]

They sucked eggs then....no where near a purist AT Thru Hike...some of ya'll just don't "get it"....and that's all I'm gonna say about that!

who says you have to be a purist? My hiking buddy and I have a saying "no asterisks" -- meaning that our goal is to be sure we pass by every single white blaze. But just because that's my philosophy, doesn't mean that it's right for everyone. The end goal is to get out, experience nature, and have fun. There's more than one way to skin that cat. I can appreciate the hike that Oz and his group experienced. It's definitely not purist, but I guarantee it was a blast, and I respect them for their ability to ignore those who would tell them they did it wrong. It wasn't wrong, it was different.

[wornoutboots]

I started this thread just to note an observation that I've noticed by reading many journals. PLUS I thought it would give several people "Much Needed" popcorn & beer time Not judging anyone, just a simple observation! I'm a firm believer in HYOH, I'm a nero'er & LOVE the little towns along the trail & I often hitch in, grab a beer, ice cream, 2-liter to chug, sit on a bench, people watch, chat with the locals, stroll through the town then hitch back out. I personally feel very at peace in the woods, it's all good

[Airman]

Birdbrain, you sound like a wise person. I couldn't say it any better.