[pct-l] Bear Spray and Snow

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Re: Bear Spray
I brought bear spray to the CDT this summer for some thru-hikers. It  
seemed to me that the little pamphlet that comes with the spray is  
the more valuable thing, not the actual spray. In fact, if you did  
everything the pamphlet told you to do, and didn't do anything it  
told you not to do, you probably would never need the spray. It had  
photos of what bears look like when they are going to attack, what a  
bluff charge looks like, everything. Grizzly bears. That's what the  
spray is for. See this page for all the info:
http://www.udap.com/safety.htm

It's not needed for black bears. Those just run away or they just  
keep eating your food and ignore you. They don't eat people.

Re: Snow
When I hiked in 2008 and 2009 (and 2010) I didn't have much snow. Ice  
axe and crampons were not needed. I did try crampons but they were  
too hard to wear walking on bare rock so I removed them just when  
they might have been most useful. Mostly the snow is mentally and  
physically exhausting and the sun cups suck.

This summer when I hiked with the CDT hikers we climbed Knapsack Col  
which was a very steep snowfield. There I was taught by Shroomer how  
to walk on the snow. All that former struggling on the PCT snow and  
now I finally know how to do it.

Basically, all you have to do is kick your foot into the snow 4 or 5  
times until you make a little platform for your foot. Step up and do  
the same with the other foot. Trekking poles help you stay attached  
and balanced. It's exhausting. I cried because it was scary. But I  
didn't need crampons or an ice axe. And it was way better having a  
light, small backpack.

See, if this old lady can do it you younguns certainly can.