Last summer Fixit and I did the whole Tahoe Rim Trail by starting at Mt. Rose Summit, and resupplied at the halfway point, which was the Echo Lake resort post office.  We’d resupplied there both times we did the PCT, and had found the owners to be very friendly and helpful.  They even let us pick up our box outside of the posted post office hours and were cheerful and accommodating.

Not anymore.

Same owners–but their ATTITUDE toward hikers has totally changed.  And that’s because of two things:  the unbelievable hordes of people now hiking the PCT, and most of all, the rotten ATTITUDES of many of those hikers.  Instead of cheerful store owners at Echo Lake, we found them morphed into angry, growly and not accommodating at all.  We had to sit and wait over 2 hours before we could drop off our Rim Trail supply box, and then when we’d hiked around the lake and had arrived to pick up the box, we had to wait over three hours before they would let us have it.  And we had to endure them growling and snarling at us.  But under all the snarls and growls, we heard loud and clear their total frustration with the hikers.  Seems that an awful lot of people were coming in off the trail and proceeding to get drunk and disorderly and were leaving messes and annoying regular customers and in general being very obnoxious.

Attitude.   It’s seriously important when you thruhike.

For one thing, there is no way you are going to finish a 2,000 plus mile hike unless you have the right attitude.  Francis Tapon (one awesome hiker!) did a survey/study to figure out “What’s the key factor that determines whether a hiker will be able to finish the PCT/CDT/AT?”   Is it being younger?  No–lots of old guys finish.  Is it being fit & healthy?  No–people with medical issues do finish.  Is it having new gear?   No–people finish with all kinds of gear.  Is it better food?  No, people finish even eating junk, and whatever they can scrounge from hiker boxes.  Is it having plenty of money?  No, people finish who have very little money.  What it turned out is that being able to finish is all about your ATTITUDE and determination to finish.

Fixit and I think this is funny, sort of.   Here’s how we see it:   Starting the PCT/CDT/AT, you have to be a little bit unusual.  To keep going, you have to become a bit crazy.  And to finish, you have to be a bit insane!  You have to be able to laugh at things that would normally make you cry.  Add to your vocabulary the phrase, “Are we having fun yet?  Yeah!”   so you can yell it whenever things get really tough.

And attitude becomes REALLY important when you get into a resupply.  Every hiker in a way represents the entire hiker community.  We try to represent it well, and that means having a cheerful, friendly, respectful attitude when we are in town, and not leaving messes and getting drunk & disorderly and obnoxious.   We want those little mountain towns and resorts to be GLAD the hikers are coming through, not resentful and defensive.

From what we hear of the CDT, it is a real test for attitude–lots harder than the PCT.   Hopefully, we will pass the test.