[pct-l] ADZPCTKO

[RJ Lewis]

I actually have to say I agree with you here. Caches are emergency 
sources of water, a nice thing to have, but not to be relied on as one's 
sole source of water in the desert. To do so would be foolish indeed. 
Plan carefully through the desert, rest during the heat of the day, and 
hike during the cooler parts of the day, when the demands won't be so 
high on your body, and water needs will be lessened too. Hikers get lazy 
because they don't want to carry all that water weight thru the desert, 
and while I don't blame them, it's part of the hike, and one must plan 
and deal with that.

When you do come to a cache that does have water, take only what you 
absolutely need to make it to your next water source, and don't leave 
your trash, like so many do. The folks that are so kind to haul all that 
water up to the trail for you don't need extra work hauling your garbage 
back out. That's just plain rude and thankless. So, take it with 
you...don't leave it for them. Be good to those who are so good to you.

Peace!
KG


Matt Geis wrote:
> To piggyback on Donna's point about caches, there has been a lot of discussion in years past about putting up more signs on trees (to avoid another incident where someone decides to hike through a snowstorm, gets lost, and loses his or her life), caches, etc.
>
> The PCT guidebook, while often jokingly referred to as "The Book of Lies" contains everything you need to hike without relying on caches.  It lists numerous alternate water sources, and contains maps where springs are marked.  The problem with it is that many hikers want a **convenient** hike, one where all the water is within 10' of the trail.  They want it evenly spaced, and are not willing to plan strategically, and consider possibilities like "what will I do if I get to said cache or spring, only to find no water?"
>
> Some of my most memorable and rewarding experiences on the trail, in hindsight, were the ones where I had to use my own skills to sort out a problem, rather than depending on others.
>
> Hike at night.  Go slower.  Rest in the shade frequently.  Maybe you go a mile off trail to get water.  There's a lot of options.  All it takes is some strategy, thinking about the next day (or two) of hiking, rather than the next 15 feet ahead of you on the trail.
>
> In '02, a number of hikers were depending on caches near Kelso Valley Rd., only to find them dry (I was one of them).  I found an alternate source (off trail), rejoined the trail, and hiked at night to the next cache.  It was also dry, and it was HOT.  So, I hiked slowly, calmly, to the next spring (.75 miles off trail) and disregarded the sign that said there was no water to be had and that any water at all would be found by digging a hole in the mud and allowing it to fill from a seep (this is Yellowjacket Springs, for those who are interested).  I went down, and spent all of 3 minutes looking around PAST the mud, and found LOTS of flowing water.
>
> When you encounter situations like this, they're only an emergency if you let them be.  When I encountered the first empty cache, it was at the height of the day's temperature, so I set up a sun shelter and rested.  At the second, I slowed my pace.  When I finally found water, I rested there too, and gave my body a break (as I realized I'd been asking a lot of it).
>
> [sidebar:  There will ALWAYS be lazy hikers.  The very next hikers on the trail took the water bottles I left on the trail, along with the note explaining where the water was, rather than drinking, going to the spring, and refilling.  They took the note because they figured, "well, we're taking the water, so the note about this water having been left will no longer make any sense."]
>
> At Old Station, a number of hikers got lost and continued on the old pct route to the Hat Creek Rim, instead of taking the new one into Old Station (both routes were, and maybe are to this day, still signed and traveled).  I started out on that incorrect route, and after a mile, when I figured I was off, used a map and compass to verify that I was east of where I should have been, and headed due west to rejoin the trail, which I did after only 10 minutes or so.
>
> You can't plan for every contingency, and you'll probably have a better hiking experience and actually learn something by not letting others do all your planning for you in the form of caches everywhere, AT style blazes every 50' so you can't get lost, etc.
>
> Iron Chef
>
>
>
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