[pct-l] The bicycle-PCT conundrum

[Fred Walters]

I would expect that a hiker would come to the rescue, giving up his/her
valuable limited water/food putting both people in danger and in need of
rescue - making the problem worse (and more expensive), etc., etc.  How
many hikers carry enough water for two people when they travel alone ?

Fred

On Mon, Oct 29, 2012 at 2:34 AM, Thatcher Koch <ironlegs at pacbell.net> wrote:

> and is the broke-down cyclist going to carry out his bike as well as all
> his
> emergency equipment?  i think not.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Douglas Tow <douglastow at gmail.com>
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Sent: Sun, October 28, 2012 1:03:28 PM
> Subject: [pct-l] The bicycle-PCT conundrum
>
> Good morning!
>
> Please bear with me as I go through a somewhat tortuous thread of
> reasoning:
>
> 1.  Barring injury, a hiker can only hike.
> 2.  A horse and rider might be forced by circumstances to proceed at hiker
> speed, which is not orders of magnitude slower than an a rider.
> 3.  Mountain bikers have the capacity, and expectation, to achieve long
> daily trail distances on a trail like the PCT, which would reduce the time
> between resupply, or even eliminate overnights (camping, cooking) along
> most of the trail.
> 4.  If that is a mountain biker's expectation, only emergency food,
> clothing, and shelter might be deemed necessary.
>
> However, referencing (1) and (2) above, a cyclist with a breakdown becomes
> a hiker, and the mind boggles about those places along the trail which are
> days (walking) from a road or resupply.  What is a broken-down cyclist
> going to do without food or shelter 60 miles away from anywhere?  It is
> rare for a PCT hiker to need emergency rescue for other than illness or
> injury - few if any need rescue because they are out of food, a way to
> carry lots of water, or lack a way to stay warm overnight.  If a cyclist
> thinks that he can get from Yosemite to Sonora Pass, or even Markleeville,
> in a day, would he really carry a bear canister?
>
> I am sure that there are cyclists who have gone days away from roads (CDT,
> perhaps), and who carry sufficient emergency food and gear in case they are
> stranded, and I respect them for that.  I am just as sure that unprepared
> broken-down cyclists on the PCT would be a non-trivial problem.
>
> Doug
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