[Cdt-l] Cdt-l Digest, Vol 27, Issue 26

[Jim Eagleton]

I saw the same conditions as CicelyB, and agree fords are not much of a nobo issue.  However, nobo's can increase their chance of death if they really want.  I can only think of a few high crossings that are easily avoided.  

1)  The Lower Gila is unlikely to be any safety problem, but if crossings are a negative, this is a very bad route.  It may cause you to bail on the prettier Upper Gila.  However, it is not the official route and also has the infamous Tadpole Ridge bushwhack in the wrong (uphill) direction.  

2)  The ford uptream/south of Twin Lake lake/town, is on the opposite end of the lake of the official trail, and has a bridge a mile or so upstream.  

3)  The Buffalo River ford, north of Togwotee Pass has a high water alternative at Togwotee Lodge to the west.  This alternative crosses a small gap in the Ley maps, and skips some very nice terrain.  However, it is shorter and safer in very high water (i.e. very early).  

4)  There is an easy ford (and not too bad bushwhack) well south of Lake Ann Pass that everyone took to avoid the long walk to the bridge on the official trail.  

    What am I forgetting??  There are too many fords to mention for sobos.  

Jim


 

Replying to:

>>

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:40:28 -0500
From: "Bill" <Bill at Luttge.com>
Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] finding a function's definition from a call
To: "'Jim and_or Ginny Owen'" <spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com>,
<prairiesky at yahoo.com>, "'cdt-l'" <cdt-l at backcountry.net>
Message-ID: <D983FE0C8AE74FD98AD0018C909F6C4C at SONY>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I'm only 5'4" and 65 yo, so I'm finding this discussion on river crossing
techniques and experiences to be very informative. I've already completed a
number of long thru-hikes (including the PCT), but the prospects of big
rivers on my CDT nobo thru-hike this Spring has me concerned.



FireBall



<http://www.reply/> Reply to Bill at Luttge.com <mailto:Bill at Luttge.com> 

(Trail name: FireBall)

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adventures at www.Luttge.com <http://www.luttge.com/> 

_____ 

From: "cicelyb250 at aol.com" <cicelyb250 at aol.com>
To: prairiesky at yahoo.com
Cc: cdt-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Thu, December 17, 2009 9:52:01 AM
Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] finding a function's definition from a call - water crossings

I'm 5ft 6 inches and 60 -61 when I did the CDT in 2008-2009. For the 
Gila, I wore sturdy tennis shoes and kept them on all day since I was 
crossing the river constantly. Heavy, but safe. I noticed many 
hikers used crocs for the water. When I finished in 2009 (Lincoln, 
Montana to Canada) I used crocs. They worked like a charm. Hiked a 
bit in them in parts of the Bob Marshall where there were river crossings within 
several hundred yards. Normally I hike in hiking boots since my feet and 
ankles are crappy. Many, many hikers use some sort of trail shoe and 
keep them on for rivers and trail. Of course Billy Goat is famous for 
crossing rivers by wearing socks lined by his liners. If it's a nice sandy 
river bottom bare feet are ok too.
I am a fisherman and learned early on that when the water is swift - turn 
and face the current. Shuffle sideways across the water. Feels and 
sounds strange, but you are less likely to be swept off your feet. With 
two poles and two feet, keep 3 planted while you move the fourth. Slow, 
but safe for this timid old hiker. Take your time and "read" the 
river. What looks like a good crossing may or may not be. 
Maybe I just hit it right, but I found fewer scary crossings on the CDT 
than I did on the PCT. In hiking season, most rivers in Glacier have nice 
suspension bridges across them!
CicelyB


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