[pct-l] Planning...

[Phil Baily]

A few additional thoughts below.

Pieces


At 07:13 AM 11/13/06, Chris Willett wrote:
>Hi Scott,
>
>Keep your eyes on Washington snow pack, as you may want to delay your start
>or take different gear depending on how our winter turns out. We're getting
>a bunch of snow in the mountains now, with ski resorts in the Cascades
>beginning to open.  You're going to get a lot of advice from people, so I'll
>try to be brief.
>
>1) Elevation: Don't worry about it until the Sierra.  Washington and Oregon
>and NorCal are not that high. By the time you get to the highest 
>points in the Sierra, you should be acclimated by the previous 
>hiking, and the highest point (Forrester Pass) is at the southern 
>end of the Sierra. When I went from Tuolumne to Whitney, I was fully 
>acclimated by the time I got to Forrester. The other passes were 
>also no problem.
>
>2) Ice Axe: Sort of.  You're going to be on snow for most of WA and it will
>be hard pack. So, you'll need to know how to self belay and self arrest.
>You can read up on this extensively before hand, which might be sufficient.
>But, you could also easily get in far over your head.
>
>3) Sun:  The light coming off the snow in WA is going to be very intense,
>and you'll be in it for multiple hours during the day.  You'll want full
>coverage clothes and sun screen for your face and hands, and lip balm.  Air
>temps won't be that high, with probably highs in the 50s, maybe up to 60 in
>spots, and a few daytime highs in the 40s. It is drier and probably 
>cooler on the PCT, so you will not sweat as much. I use AloeGator 
>sunblkock and it lasts 6-8 hours. There are other brands that are 
>water resistant. I don't use lip balm, but everyone is different.
>
>4) Navigation:  You're going to have to get pretty good at it right at the
>start, as a lot of the trail may be buried in snow.  When the trail is snow
>free, navigation is a snap: Just follow the trail.  You don't have a ton of
>blazes, but it is hard to get lost (except when snow is on the 
>ground). I agree, the guidebooks are sufficient when there is no snow.
>
>5) Alcohol stove: yup, it will work just fine.
>
>6) Canister: The only place to worry is in the Sierra from Tuolumne south to
>Kennedy Meadows.  You'll get a lot of different answers to this, both on the
>legal and ethical ends.  I'm not going to fire the first shot, 
>though. I will stick my head up and recommend a cannister through 
>the Sierra. If nothing else, it will save you the fine if you meet a 
>ranger. I have also personally been in a situation where the 
>cannister prevented food loss to a bear, and I have known others who 
>did lose food wihout a cannister. It costs and is heavy, but is 
>worth it. I am now going into my foxhole on this.
>
>7) Insects: You're going to be mobbed my bugs in WA for a couple of weeks,
>then you'll just face some flies. Plan on bugs until August 1. Some 
>places will be worse than others, and they can be very localized. I 
>think the AT is probably worse.
>
>8) Bag: Yes, a 20 is fine.
>
>9) You won't see any other PCT hikers until the middle of August, probably.
>These will be NOBO hikers. You will run in to section hikers and weekenders
>as well, but not for a while.  So, be prepared to be alone most of the time.
>Of course, you might run into a long distance SOBO hiker, and there are
>plenty of people who do long sections on the PCT. You might meet them.  I
>crossed Washington from August 5 to August 23.  I saw 1 other thruhiker.
>There were two in front of me and there were at least 5 in the state when I
>finished.  So, not too many. In California, you should meet lots of 
>shorter distance hikers on the trail. There are places where you 
>will be at least 2 days' walk from a road or town in California and 
>in a few places in Oregon.
>
>Incidentally, from Crater Lake north to Cascade Locks, I saw zero
>thruhikers.
>
>Suge
>
>
>On 11/13/06 12:21 AM, "Scott Polewach" <spolewach at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I am planning a SOBO PCT thru-hike in 2007.  I plan on beginning at the end
> > of June/Beginning of July.  I thru-hiked the AT NOBO in 2006, and had a
> > great time.  I'm trying to get a knowledge base about the skills that I
> > didn't learn on the AT.
> >
> > High Elevation:  Is it possible/likely to have problems with elevation
> > sickness on the AT?
> >
> > Ice Axe:  Is it possible to learn how to use an ice axe well on my own if I
> > can get in a few training hikes this coming winter?
> >
> > Sun:  What are the best methods to avoid the sun?  I found, on the AT, that
> > even a silkweight shirt was uncomfortably warm, and that I sweated sunblock
> > off very quickly--simply put, I never really solved the 'sun 
> problem' on the
> > AT, and I'm sure that the PCT is much worse.
> >
> > Navigation: How much navigational skill is really required on the PCT?
> >
> > Will an alcohol stove work well at the elevations the PCT has?
> >
> > will I be ok with no bear canister?
> >
> > when/where are insects a problem?
> >
> > will a 20 deg. bag cut it?
> >
> >
> > I'm a little worried about being almost totally alone for the 
> majority of my
> > trip.  Is the PCT really THAT remote?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Scott Polewach
> >
> > Hermes, the Sandstorm of IWIC
> >
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