[pct-l] Bear Creek Crossing 2010

[ned at mountaineducation.org]

Waiting to cross a raging creek from a possible afternoon crossing to one 
the next morning is the best advice.

However, when thrus hike in a group of mixed abilities and wisdom, 
oftentimes group members differ on when to cross, the able move on and 
cross, and the inexperienced have to suffer the trial of making it across 
when it isn't the safest for their ability and experience level at the time. 
This results in a hasty crossing and dangerous decisions along the way. A 
fall is likely to happen.

The unity of the group is not as important as your life. No one should cross 
until all have discussed it. If you are not prepared or experienced in such 
a nasty crossing, don't do it! You'll catch up with your group later...



"Just remember, Be Careful out there!"

Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
    P: 888-996-8333
    F: 530-541-1456
    C: 530-721-1551
    http://www.mountaineducation.org
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Edward Anderson" <mendoridered at yahoo.com>
To: "CHUCK CHELIN" <steeleye at wildblue.net>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Bear Creek Crossing 2010


> Once he was in the water, and committed, I agree that Fuzzy Monkey did 
> everything right. HOWEVER: 1) if this was an afternoon crossing, he should 
> have camped and waited for the stream to drop next morning, 2) He should 
> have taken the time to explore upstream to discover a safer crossing - one 
> above tributaries where the volume would be reduced. 3) Also, it appears 
> from the last part of the video, that he had his pants on. Too much 
> unnecessary resistance to the current. Better to take the time to remove 
> pants and brave the cold water, and cross with legs bare to reduce 
> resistance. It's that resistance that can sweep you off your feet.
> MendoRider-Hiker - - - as a Monday morning quarterback.
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
> To: pct-L backcountry.net <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 8:22 AM
> Subject: [pct-l] Bear Creek Crossing 2010
>
> Good morning,
>
> Except for the obvious screw-up of not protecting his maps before 
> crossing,
> in my opinion, Fuzzy Monkey did (almost) everything right. He steadied
> himself with one pole upstream while probing with the other pole. He
> tended to face the far bank, thereby presenting the width of only one leg
> to the current, but he did occasionally turn upstream to expose both legs
> to current. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=265511
>
> One can probably see in the video that if he had been crossing with a
> partner immediately downstream of him, not only would the partner feel 
> much
> less current, but the partner could also have steadied Fuzzy as he took
> steps.
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> -Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
>
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/
>
> On Thu, Mar 15, 2012 at 10:44 PM, Paul Bodnar 
> <paulbodnar at hotmail.com>wrote:
>
>>
>> Here is a link to a video of Fuzzy Monkey crossing Bear Creek at about
>> mile 868 in 2010. Fuzzy Monkey shares an important lesson....
>>
>> http://thefuzzymonkey.net/?p=545
>>
>> Paul
>>
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