[pct-l] Subject: Subject: 2 Questions

Tue Apr 23 18:08:55 CDT 2013

Ann Marie brings up a critical point.

If hiking as a couple and, hiking alone as a couple at times, follow her advise as BOTH of you need to carry maps, know how to read a map,have land navigation/compass skills and communicate intentions  for the days' hike.

It's a guy thing to take the maps and compass/gps gadgets, just to hike on up the trail at a faster pace than our partner, only to expect them to figure out that we went "that-a-way", as we didn't get lost for some strange reason. 

Hey, we got there with all the maps and stuff, what happened to them? 

Mostly, communication is the key. 

Terry

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Marie <dbanmrkr at yahoo.com>
To: pct-l <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Tue, Apr 23, 2013 3:29 pm
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Subject: Subject: 2 Questions

Wow. A very important topic that hasn't arisen until almost too late before 
kickoff !

I third (or fourth) the comments: do not leave the trail without leaving a 
visible trace, OR veer off a trail junction without knowing, and verifying two 
times, that your partner has seen you veer off. As one half of a couple, I 
implore you to heed this simple advice that has taken me three years to learn 
and consistently re-learn.

As a couple, we've had scares where we've lost contact with one another and it's 
has taken long minutes to reconnect. Even worse, as the female I've stupidly 
allowed him to carry the maps and GPS, while I just followed without any. He 
just turned at an obvious turn (yes, they were obvious) and I just didn't notice 
since I frequently hike within myself, hearing only nature sounds when I hike 
out of sight of another person (my personal happy space.)

What has already been spelled out about being off-trail at times is right on. 
Communicate. If you hike apart (we do) make sure that no more than 5 minutes 
have passed since you last caught sight of one another (which can be a quite a 
distance....), or be really sure you are headed to the right meeting place.

Unfortunately, although I carry a whistle, I learned its sound does not carry 
far or clearly. I've learned this three times, once in snowy Sierra conditions 
and twice in desert conditions.  Really, I have to keep re-learning this lesson, 
which is quite ridiculous. Just communicate beforehand.
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