[at-l] "Back then..." comparisons 1979-2004

[Raphael Bustin]

At 06:54 AM 9/27/2006 -0700, toe wrote:

>### People who bought non-Norweigian or non-Littleway
>welted boots needed 2-3 pairs of boots to finish.

Fabiano Trionics were up to the job.  '89 thrus
raved over them.  I wish I could still buy them.


>### There were no water filters or chemical kits.

The streams weren't in the shape they are now.
I never used a filter before '89.  I got sick.  Didn't
want to go through that again, and haven't.


>### MSR stoves were the rage, though the Svea 123R was
>still lighter to carry. Alcohol and alcohol stoves
>were available, as were fuel tabs, but none of us were
>bright enough to use 'em. They were dismissed as
>under-powered and bad in cold weather. I'll bet
>ZipStoves were out there too, come to think of it...

I've never seen a thru-hiker carrying a Zip stove.

>### Ensolite ruled the sleeping pad end of things;
>ThermaRest was reserved for the RV types


Thermarest was and is the cat's meow for comfort,
but those who went for it obviously weren't thinking
"lightweight" first and foremost.



>### Socks? No ergonomic designs, CoolMax fibers, etc.

There were Thor-Los, even then.


>### Nearly everybody wore a cotton t-shirt, which
>really sucked down south; those who wore soccer shirts
>or the rapidly-coming-on polypro shirts stunk to high
>heaven. "Duo-fold" was wool/cotton. Thank God for
>CoolMax.

Say what?  Cotton tee is fine for hot days.
Dip it in a stream, wring it out, put it on wet.  Nice.
But cotton tee is the ONLY cotton I carry.


>So where *is* there a difference, if at all? Trail
>intelligence is way up -- videos like Lynn Wheldon's
>"How to hike the AT" and "Lightweight Backpacking
>Revolution" let everyone start the AT with knowledge
>they might have only gained a thousand miles up the
>trail. The ALDHA Companion and Wingfoot's Guide
>started life as a two-page mimeograph that I didn't
>see until DWG.


Mainly, before the early '90s, there was no
Internet.  There was Colin Fletcher, the Rodale
books, and the Philosopher's Guide (which
predates Wingnut's book.)  The '90 edition was
edited by Darrel Maret and sold from the ATC
bookstore.


>So: gear is little different, hikers are no different,
>trail intell is much improved, and the trail's hardest
>and easiest points are McTrailed to a "long green
>tube" only hinted at before. And ANYONE who traverses
>that long green tube, in one go or in many, deserves
>as much respect now as before.


I have slightly different take on the McTrail issue
but what the heck.  I don't mind a graded trail.
The ascent SOBO from DWG is my idea of a
beautifully-graded, pleasant and scenic trail.
I did 7 miles in 3 hrs, a 1200' ascent, and it
felt effortless.  I was in heaven.


rafe b
aka terrapin