[pct-l] thoughts on snowshoes?

[Scott Williams]

Hi Patty,

I agree with Steel-Eye about snow shoes, and I was one of those thru hikers
carrying them.  And "carrying them" is the operative phrase.  I used them
one day from Trail Pass to part of the way to Crabtree Meadow, and found
that all the other folks I was with were traveling at the same pace as me.
 They just weren't needed for late Spring conditions in the High Sierra.

Had I been traveling over deep, fresh powder, they would have been
wonderful.  Or had we had a real heat wave and lots of post holing they may
have been useful.  But when we went out for resupply at Kearsarge and got
the long range forecast for June, which was unusually cold, I realize that
the only thing I really needed were my Katoola aluminum crampons, micro
spikes for others, and my UL ice axe.   I did use both of those daily for 4
weeks.  I shipped the snowshoes home and have had some great hikes around
Tahoe this winter in powder with them.

Shroomer