[pct-l] Death on the PCT / John Joseph Donovan

[Don Billings]

I looked at some photos of the area online & it appears to be really rough going and especially without a compass or gps.

Using HalfMiles way points, I can see finding the way even in a storm because of the short intervals between them. But, how can you even rely on a compass when the trail twists and turns as I've read about the PCT at the point? You'd still end up bushwhacking and in danger of falls.

As someone else pointed out, the very fact that the tourists from Texas found themselves in the same area, lost and within 12 months of the dead hiker, tells me that area might be tricky despite what I've read otherwise.

The man apparently wrote some notes prior to his death that were not released to the public. I'm curious what he wrote. I know his final entry was "Good bye." A similar last living statement was made by the young man who starved to death in Alaska a number of years back after being trapped by winter snowmelt & a flooding river.

Personally, I try to learn from the mistakes of others. Thats why I posted the article and the story. Its a good warning about certain hiking situations and gear.




----- Original Message ----
From: Jtm <jtmlite at gmail.com>
To: Erik The Black <erik at eriktheblack.com>; Pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Sat, January 23, 2010 3:21:57 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Death on the PCT / John Joseph Donovan

I couldn't agree more about having a working compass and actually knowing how to use it.  I went over mt. San Jacinto a bit after mid May and got completely lost because the top was still covered in snow.  It took a good hour or two to get to little round valley with lots of back tracking, after that I had to follow a creek untill came across a trail that I found out was the pct miles later.  Good thing I had that Eagle Scout training to point me in the right direction. ;-) 
OD 

-----Original Message-----
From: Erik The Black <erik at eriktheblack.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2010 11:57 AM
To: Pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Death on the PCT / John Joseph Donovan

Thanks for sharing this story.

I remember hearing about John Donovan when I was hiking the PCT in '06.

Sometimes the Southern California mountains get under-estimated because
SoCal is known for it's beaches and deserts. But it's not all desert here..
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