[pct-l] Early start

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Dec 11, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> Ned says "Of course, carry crampons..." From what I have been able  
> to learn
> from trail journals and books, very few PCT through hikers have used
> crampons.  Am I missing something?

For an early start or a big snow year, yeah, crampons are a good  
idea. I don't think you need the heavy-duty mountaineering kind. The  
Kathoola KTS aluminum are really good.

I hiked the Sierras during regular thru-hiking season (neither early  
nor late) in 2008. I had instep crampons. They would have been  
helpful if I had actually used them, but I didn't. It was not a big  
snow year. I mostly walked over patches of sun-cuppy snow and bare  
rock, making crampons a nuisance.

The key parts of the equation are whether it's a big snow year or an  
early traverse of the Sierras, and then add in whether or not you are  
the kind of person who would become impatient and unable to wait a  
few hours for snow to soften.