[pct-l] PCT questions: the variety pack

[ned at mountaineducation.org]

1. Assume every creek to have the potential of causing a slip-and-fall and 
be careful about how you cross. Obviously, during the sierra thaw in a long 
creek drainage there will be a pretty significant increase in water volume. 
Learn how to search for routes over the creek rather than through it, but 
even this starts with the acronym, STOP: Stop, Think, Observe, Plan.

There are a few basics to keep in mind:
- You do not have to cross the creek where the summer trail does!
- Protect your feet from injury from rocks and branches on the bottom of the 
creek.
- Creek flow may be less in the mornings, so cross then.
- Do not trust wet surfaces on rocks and logs when trying to make a dry 
passage across a creek.
- Your feet and legs may go numb and turn white while immersed in the icy 
water. They will warm up later.
- Maintain your balance at all times and chose good footholds with each foot 
before moving on.
- Chose a route across that has the least obstacles, immersed rocks and 
logs, and other hazards.

2. When going through the sierra during thru-hiker season, when there still 
is lots of snow and swollen creeks, plan to consume twice the calories and 
cut your daily mileage in half. I eat like a pig each time Mountain 
Education goes in to teach a class and still drop body weight!

3. Snakes are not the big deal. They like the heat of the sun, so you'll 
usually see them stretched out on a rock or on the ground near or on the 
trail. If they are stretched out, they can not hurt you. Step over them or 
otherwise go around them. If they are coiled up and rattling, beware! Give 
them a wide berth. They are only warning you to stay away. Heed their 
advice!

We have had a scorpion crawl onto a student's sleeping bag once. That was 
not a good experience for him. He made the mistake of laying out his 
sleeping bag "cowboy-style," not in a sealed tent, during the early 
afternoon on a short-mileage day. We advocate the use of sealable tents....

4. Wherever there is snow on a slope, there is the potential of a 
slip-and-fall. Once you have fallen and you start sliding down the hill, 
you'll need to know how to stop your slide before you hit the trees or rocks 
or lake at the bottom! Ice axes are the definitive tool to stop a slide (and 
more), but it has to be in your hand, first, as Diane said. That requires 
you to be aware of hazardous snow conditions ahead, stop and take out your 
axe, then proceed cautiously. Most thrus don't do this as they are pushing 
for miles or talking in their group or assuming the leader of their band 
will stop and alert everyone of nasty conditions ahead, trusting the other 
guy.

We always use and strongly advocate a self-arrest pole for snow-hiking. It 
is always in your hand all the time. Sure it weighs more than a trekking 
pole, but its in your hand and not on your back. You'll get used to it like 
everything else. We use the Black Diamond "Whippet" and they have stopped 
many a fall in my past, alone! Though they are not built to do "technical 
mountaineering duty," the advantage of its constant presence is peace of 
mind. But as Diane also said, you've got to know what to do with it and have 
practiced enough that deployment is reflexive and sure.

Traction devices we have tested over the years. 12-point technical climbing 
crampons do not belong on the feet of a snow hiker; the front points have 
the potential of cutting the Achilles tendon of the opposite leg. 10-point 
hiking crampons are the way to go. They are safe, predictable, simply 
functional, light, durable, and readily available these days. We like the 
Kahtoola KTS, but they have a new model out that is a bit lighter. Instep 
crampons do not work when you are on the ball of your foot on hard surfaces, 
so they are out as most of snow-hiking is done off the ball of the foot. 
Microspikes or other chain-type, rubber band contraptions have never stayed 
on our feet during emergency balance control moves right when we need them 
the most, so they are out, too. (Most thru hikers are concerned with weight 
carried over durable and reliable function, so they choose microspikes 
during their planning stage and hope for the best).

Don't be pacified by "low snow year" enough to think that you'll never have 
to walk on snow on a thru hike of the PCT. All it takes is a patch of snow 
across the trail on a steep traverse to bring a hasty day to a nasty end....

Mountain Education is out walking on and camping in the snow for, on 
average, about 70 days every winter and spring. We teach snow skills to help 
people stay safe and have fun in the mountains. With experience comes wisdom 
and that is what we want to impart. We have been teaching since 1982.



Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
www.mountaineducation.org
-----Original Message----- 
From: Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 1:47 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] PCT questions: the variety pack


On Apr 17, 2013, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> From: Casey Mangnall <mangler06 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] PCT questions: the variety pack
>
> 1. Rivers: Where are some of the more treacherous river crossings
> in the Sierras? (i.e. crossings where the water is swift and deep)

A lot of these questions used to be answered in the Wilderness Press
guide books. Too bad nobody uses them anymore. Not that the books
were completely helpful. Just about every creek was potentially
deadly according to the book. That said, I believe that Bear Creek,
Evolution Creek and Return Creek were the biggies.

>
> 2. Calories: I'd like some feedback from female hikers regarding ?
> how many calories they consumed per day and how many miles/day they
> hiked on their PCT thru-hike.
I ate constantly. If I could hike, eat and breathe at the same time I
was eating. Just bring as many calories as you can and then eat big
when you get to town. I think I carried about a pound and a half of
food per day.

>
> 3. Snakes in a sleeping bag?: It sounds like a horrifying sequel to
> that other movie "Snakes on a Plane"...tell me it's an urban myth.
> Most of my time camping in the desert has been in the winter, so
> I've stayed in a tent. I prefer cowboy camping when I can, but I'm
> new to camping in the desert in late spring. It seems highly
> unlikely that I would wake up with a rattlesnake in my sleeping
> bag, but I've heard stories, so I just wanted to hear from others
> who cowboy camp that it is in fact perfectly fine to cowboy camp in
> the desert.?
The only snakes that have snuck into my bag have been trouser snakes.

>
> 4. Ice axe and microspikes: I saw a question sent out earlier
> regarding this topic, but I don't remember reading any responses.
> Are other hikers carrying one or both of these items through the
> Sierras this year? Any input from previous thru-hikers? (I know how
> to use both an ice axe and trekking pole for self arrest, but I
> feel more confident in my skills with an ice axe.)

Most hikers tend to carry ice axes but I have never seen an ice axe
in anyone's hands, just strapped to the pack where it will do no
good. I brought traction aides and found them helpful but I wasn't
wearing them when I needed them most. None of these items are of any
use if you don't know how to use them, don't know how to put them on,
or don't put them on or take them out when they are needed. I didn't
know how to use an ice axe so I didn't have one and I never felt I
needed one. I hiked in an ordinary snow year in 2008, not high, not low.



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