Pacific Crest Trail Podcast:

Ben explains his PCT gear, approach to hiking, and experiences to BackpackingLight UK. (43 mins)

What's with the Gear fetish?

For us, one of the sources of enjoyment we get from going hiking is solving the many and varied challenges associated with living on the trail for months at a time and walking thousands of miles while we do so. Devising a system by which to survive and achieve our goals is a fascinating problem if you choose to look at it, and one that can be solved by any viable means you so choose. In some cases the best solutions rely purely on the use of skills and strategy, but sometimes they require carrying with us a particular item of equipment. Greater understanding of the problems we face and their solutions increases our independence and gives us the satisfaction that we are in control of our existence on the trail.

Billy and I have spent a truly staggering amount of time discussing hiking equipment since we met. To most people our conversations probably suggest that we're gripped by some sort of major-male-autism. This could well be true. However, the fact is that we enjoy it immensely and unashamedly. Many hikers scoff at those who talk incessantly about their equipment, and perhaps with good reason. Sure enough, a lot of those discussions you hear on the trail or read on the internet tend either towards the boorish - "my tent is better than your tent, because...", or suggest that those involved only go hiking in order to show off new toys bought for the pleasure of doing so. We'd like to think that we fall into a third, and hopefully less objectionable, category, that is: those who are enthusiastic and take an active interest in what they do.

Plenty of people gain enormous enjoyment from hiking without the need to spend countless hours speculating about whether or not to cut the zippers out of their sleeping bags. There are plenty of ready-made solutions available for this and most any other recreational activity. Any outfitter in the country will happily sell you all you need to successfully thru-hike the AT or anywhere else you choose. The dozens of internet sites and books dedicated to the topic will give you all the information you need to equip yourself in a perfectly decent manner. Surely all of this worry over mere paraphernalia can only detract from those 'good' and 'noble' aims of hiking to enjoy the beauty of the environment and to feel "at one" with "nature".

We like the sense of adventure we get in taking the risk of abandoning what we know works for what we think will work better. The nominal goal is perfection, but taking enjoyment in striving for it is an admirable end in itself. The process also encourages us to dabble in many related fields in the search for improvement. New interests in the properties of materials, sewing, biomechanics, nutrition, physics and structural engineering are fine rewards for showing a little attention to an activity that we already love. Thinking so much about our position in the environment and how we function within it makes us appreciate it all the more. Our efforts have enhanced every aspect of our hiking experience: we're safer, healthier and more comfortable on the trail because of them, and we may even be better able to enjoy the "good" and "noble" aims of hiking as a result.

- Ben Corr

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