Library Trip
“But man’s values change as his life changes. The deeper he plunges into the whirlpool of modern living, with its speeding transport, vexing problems, and harassing pressures, the more he prizes the escape of an adventure as old as mankind itself—a solitary walk in the wilds.” (Edwards, Mike W. , “Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail.” The National Geographic Magazine vol 139, No 6. June 1971)
Not surprisingly I was perusing the Internet a month or two ago for maps of the Pacific Crest Trail. Via google images I found this picture/scan of this National Geographic cover:
Seeing that there was an entire National Geographic article on the PCT I decided I had to read it. I searched the Internet high and low (digging deep into National Geographic’s website, finding interesting tidbits but no June 1971 article). So, it was time for me to go to the library.
I’ve always been a big fan of libraries (despite the huge fines I rack up in forgetting to return the massive quantities of books I have checked out at one time) but sometimes I go for long periods without going to them. My younger sister Shelly works in the library, bringing home strange tales of the crazies who often abide there, so I often feel as though I am vicariously spending time at the library through her.
I went to the Richardson public library and descended straight to the reference section, in the basement, and found nothing but a few computers, patrons, and one librarian.
Sure I’ve researched things at other libraries in the past eight years, but I haven’t had the need to do so at the Richardson Public Library since high school. Upon some questioning I found I needed to go up to the third floor to find the magazine archives. I trudged back upstairs and filed my archive request with the least friendly librarian I’ve encountered in a long while.
I happily received the requested volumes a few minutes later and skipped over to the copier. Really, I wasn’t about to read a 37 page article (don’t worry, lots of pictures) in the library, I would rather pay the 15 cents a copy to take home the article and read in the comfort of my own bed, over and over if I needed.
I quickly used up all my jingle jangle and resorted to crinkly dollar bills, but alas they were too crinkly (or so i thought). I went over to the grumpy librarian to see if she had any change. She didn’t have coins, but she did begrudgingly change out the crumpled wads I had for crispy new dolla’ bills.
That’s when I learned that no matter how flat and perfect your paper money was, one wasn’t going to be able to make any copies with that machine. No joke, I think I tried each bill twenty three times.
Blast! I had to convince the librarian to let me take the volumes downstairs to another copier. Allowed. Crisis averted…but, the second floor had a JACKED UP looking copier that certainly wasn’t going to allow legal sized copies. Luckily that floor had a change maker. So, I opted to change all the bills into quarters, I hiked back upstairs, and finally finished the copying.
Simple ten minute task = 30 minutes. Typical.
That evening I started reading the article, which was quite enlightening, full of history, short tales of people who have lived near, influenced, or traveled the trail, descriptions of the landscape, and a general sense of the journey (even though the author only hiked small portions of the trail). However it was written at a time when the trail was 2/3 finished (to planners standards), only three years after congress had designated the PCT and AT as national scenic trails. The border-to-border trail was proposed by Clinton C. Clarke, a conservationist, in 1932, but it wasn’t until 1993 that it was totally complete.
I’d gotten a little busy over the last week, therefore I just finished reading the article tonight. I must say, though it was written nearly 40 years ago and I’m sure many things have changed, the story sums up nearly all my reasons for hiking, at least the ones that I haven’t been able to voice.
So go read the article if you just happen to have a stack of old National Geographic magazines sitting in your garage.
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