Dumpster-Dancer

Luman's Dad had led his soldiers on foot from Vera Cruz to Mexico City and back during the “real” war. To him, his Luman's regiment in The Army of the Potomac was pretty pathetic. They had been training in a cushy camp with tents outside Fredricksburg VA for almost 2 years.

Luman wrote to tell his dad otherwise. “You said we were soft. Well we just force marched 120 miles in 3 days and went into the line at the double quick (charged into battle at a dead run). We pushed the rebs back and saved the day.” The envelope is postmarked July 7th 1863, Gettysburg, PA. That was a few days after one of the hardest fought battles ever to take place in America. Luman went on to say that his regiment had left every single possession except muskets and cartridge boxes on the roadside.

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) meanders 2653 miles from Mexico to Canada across some rather difficult terrain. In 1986, I was strong and young, just back from nearly 6 years of USMC infantry service. (Infantry are professional hikers.) Trained as I was, I still relied on backpacking guru, Colin Fletcher's classic book “The Complete Walker” to put my civilian kit in order. He details safe, reliable, light as possible gear lists and menus for every condition. My wife and I assembled the perfect set of gear . . . and sank just about to our knees when we hoisted our packs at the Mexican border. We walked about 400 miles under the crushing weight before giving up.

Colin Fletcher preached cutting off toothbrush handles and substituting goose down for wool to save weight, but he missed Luman's Grand Hiking Truth. “We left everything on the roadside.” If you want to hike, you should read Colin's book, BUT you can't get the TRUTH of long distance hiking by reading Colin. Colin just gets you started and keeps you safe so you can learn on your own. Following Colin, by the time you pick the right pack, tent, sleeping bag, stove and boots you are already at 25 or 30 pounds. Add food, water and warm clothing and you are humping an impossible 70 lbs. Thus the guru sets you up for failure with perfect truth.

After reading Great Uncle Luman's letter in a box of my wife's things, I remembered a battalion commander who forbid packs and sleeping bags on a frigid mountain training exercise in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We wrapped food in our ponchos and slung it over our shoulders like a Civil War blanket roll. At night we huddled together shivering under a pile of our shared ponchos, but we set records for marching at that training facility.

15 years later, recovering from back surgery, out of shape and no longer young, I combined Luman's trick with my battalion commander's and tried the PCT again. I wrapped fruit, nuts, salt and sugar in a poncho, tied it around my waist and set off in sandals. The miles flew past, sometimes up to 40 a day like Luman's regiment had done. (Love called me home after 1200+ miles, but it was a very good walk.)

Around this time, another hiking guru, Ray Jardine, started the “ultra-light backpacking” craze. Ray described the essential truth. Doing without gear is the secret to keeping weight down, which is the secret to making miles on the trail without injury. However, like all gurus with a “secret” to sell, Ray wanted to make money. So, he wound up obscuring the truth in a bunch of mystical and commercial nonsense. He advises lighting fires with bow and drill, leaving sacred stones at water holes, camping on undisturbed forest duff (bad for the environment on a heavily traveled trail), and silly nonsense like carrying umbrellas and eating corn pasta. Then he helped found Go-Lite, a manufacturer of the ultra-light gear he advocates.

Every Spring we meet the ultra-lighters and the traditionalists a few hundred miles into their adventure. By then the ultra-lighters have stuffed tents, stoves, crampons and wool sweaters into their flimsy Go-Lite packs as they try to stay warm. The packs burst from weight they are not designed for. Ankles fail in sneakers that twist under the load. Similarly, the traditionalists are hunkered down, resting in their fine tents nursing blisters, bruised feet and strained muscles as they try to decide which gear to leave behind.

The key to ultra-light is substituting skill for stuff. Luman's regiment didn't just hop out of bed and fast walk 120 miles to win a huge battle. No, they had trained for 2 years. Similarly, my battalion commander didn't send raw recruits into the snow without packs and sleeping bags. We were already the best trained infantry battalion in the world. Learning to survive a harsh climate without gear was just fine tuning of an already top notch, highly disciplined unit. Ray, like me, has the skill to ultra-light 40 miles a day, but most of his novice readers have not got a clue what to do on, say, an ice chute in flip flops. Some learn, most drop out and head back to REI for some decent camping gear. A few slip on the ice.

Similarly, Colin's traditionalists either start getting rid of stuff or they drop out like my wife and I did. But they are safe, if exhausted, along the way.

No matter which guru you follow, long distance hiking ultimately becomes an individual journey of skill building and self-discovery. Everyone hikes his own hike. I did a more extreme ultra-light than even Ray recommends, but I'd spent years learning what I could do without.

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Analogously, spiritual advisers promise to outfit us for the journey of life. There are Colin-like traditionalists, such as the Baptists, who pile on us an unbearable burden of rules and rituals to cover every contingency that might arise in life. And there are Ray-like ultra-light enthusiasts, like Abraham-Hicks who promise that with the right attitude, vibrations, mindset and $49.99 DVD set, joy and wealth are but a positive thought away.

Neither of them is necessarily wrong. The question is, which end do you want to start on?

Those who follow Colin to the letter don't finish the trail, but they don't get seriously injured either. They live to learn and try again, like I did. Those who dive head first into Ray's ultra-light just might die or break an ankle.

Ray calls his book the “The PCT Handbook,” like it's the final word. Many a shivering soul would say it's not. But I know he's right. Still, I get suspicious when anyone claims to have the whole answer and then offers shortcut advice. I get suspicious when anyone claims to have the whole answer then sells the solution for money. The Truth is eternal and free of financial cost to anyone who seeks it.

In both hiking and spirituality, traditionalists can tell you what has worked for others over the centuries. Ultra-light enthusiasts can tell you what has worked for them so far. The thing is, when it comes to spiritual journeys, no one alive has actually finished their own journey yet, so no one alive can possibly know the long game. Only tradition has been tested by time.

So, I'd say it's safer to follow Colin/Baptists. Start with a full pack then throw away unnecessary stuff away (starting with the frying pan/guilt) as your skills grow.

If you do choose to start from the ultra-light end, here's a tip. Almost all ultra-lighters give up umbrellas, use matches, sleep on pads and hate corn pasta.

If you choose to start from the Abraham-Hicks end, then know that almost all spiritualists eventually discover that seeking one's own happiness is less satisfying than living life for others or a higher purpose.