[pct-l] your experiences with fear on the trail

[Edward Anderson]

Great post Schroomer.  Good advice for those who want to go through the Sierra in June.
MendoRider-Hiker
 

________________________________
 From: Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com>
To: Sir Mixalot <atetuna at gmail.com> 
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net; p-gottschalk at comcast.net 
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 7:47 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] your experiences with fear on the trail
 
Stream crossing in the High Sierra in a heavy melt off was consistently the
scariest in 2010.  Some of those were the deciding moment for a number of
folks who jumped forward rather than risk another.  We had a committed
group of 5 who stayed together over the High Sierra and helped each other
across, sometimes making human chains anchored to a tree or rock on the far
shore.  Frightening, and in fact plenty dangerous, we did our best to hunt
up relatively safe crossings, and attempted the worst crossings in the
morning when the water level was much lower than later in the day.

The other was following Smiles as she stomped new track up the face of
Mather Pass (so scary I got no pictures of this ascent) and then we hoisted
her over the rim of the cornice where she anchored herself back a ways with
an ice axe and hauled me over.  We then anchored the axe back even further,
lay on the cornice, again making a human chain out to the edge, and then
hauled the rest of the bunch over the edge.  It was imperative that we
spread our weight and move it back from the edge as a cornice collapse
might have killed us.

We got to know folks in the desert and were able to choose those we trusted
due to experience and displays of good judgement, and banded together at
Lone Pine, and promised to stay together until Sonora Pass.  For us,
banding together was one of the best decisions any of us made all summer,
and turned the hardest and most dangerous stretch of trail into the most
fun, most rewarding of the entire hike.

Shroomer

On Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 12:57 AM, Sir Mixalot <atetuna at gmail.com> wrote:

> Near the end of Section A I had a young cougar visit within 15 feet
> frequently while I cowboy camped solo.  I was plenty scared, but by 2 AM I
> said "eff it" and went to sleep.  I walked out very quickly the next
> morning.
>
> I learned not to put my food bag on a boulder less than 15 feet from where
> I'm sleeping.  Fortunately I was using an Ursack.  Now I always put it MUCH
> further away and tie it to something.
>
> I also got scared at Warner Springs during the Easter Earthquake.  I wasn't
> if the cabin was adobe.  Adobe doesn't work well in a strong quake.  I'm
> from California, so I was already moving towards the door while I was
> thinking about the construction of the cabin....and yelling at my hiking
> buddy that was trying to get dressed!
>
> On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 6:53 PM, <p-gottschalk at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > Would you share with us where and how you felt fear on the trail?
> > As a newbie I'm very appreciative of this forum. Thank you so much.
> > Paul
> >
> >
> >
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