[pct-l] Shit happens (was cold weather)

[roni h]

Just to reiterate what L-rod wrote.
   
  In 2003 stupid and erogent hiker started his pct thruhike.  Only a couple weeks earlier he had completed his long winter A.T. thruhike in which he endured sevral Ice and snow storms, including one record breaking arctic storm, on which tempratures dropped below 0 farenheit.  Vainly, he figured that after that, the southern california desert would be a "piece of cake", and as he never got  even close to hypothermic on the A.T. he figured he could safly mail his winter gear ahead. 
   
  He was wrong.
   
  Within a week he was hypothermic, after being caught in a rare May rain storm wearing little more than a wind shirt .  He was then "rescued" from the resturant on the palms to pines road by the local trailangels, who commented that he had a strong resmlence to the apperance of a drowned rat.
  As the winter gear in his drop box never arrived in the attended post office, he figured that continuing to the higher snow coverd san Jusintoes would be dangerous, so he decided that he would restart his pct hike from Campo. 
  Still errogent, but a little less stupid, he bought a heavy fleece jacket in a thirft store, to give him extra wormth untill he would be reunited with his lost gear. He didn't buy any other clothing, as he knew that the chances of a rare May rain storm hitting him again in the desert were virtualy none. The lightning doesn't strike again at the same place, he herd.
   
  He was wrong. again.
   
  This time it took only 3 days to remind him how stupid he could be.  Just north of mt' Laguna lightening striked again.  It wasn't so much the rain, but the 40-60 mph  wind on top of the ridge, that caused him his second hypothemia in a week. Somehow he was able to nighthike to the desert below, ending up passing the night by rolling himself in his tarp, like a burito. 
  He might have considerd the irony that of all places, he would end suffering his coldest night ,  in the desert in southern california in May, but he was too misrable to care.
   
  From that night, which would turn out to be his worst night ever, he learned  that above freezing tempratures, rain  combined with the  brutal winds which are common in the exposed "desert" sections of the PCT, are pottencialy more dangerous for the unprepared than below freezing tempratures, even extreme ones
   
  This guy learned an even more important leason that night.
  He now knows that as much as he might try to avoid it, somtimes shit will just happen.
  In such a case, its up to him to deal with it.
   
  In a few days this hiker will start the pct again. This time his carrying amongst other stuff, frogtoggs and mittens, which proved their value in numerous rainstorms in colorado last year.     He will never win any ultralight gear contests, but with his couple more pounds of gear, he figures that he will be able to deal much better if shit does happen to him again on the trail.
    
  At least, he hopes.
   
  Roni (a little less stupid, a little less arogent, four years later)
   

       
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