[pct-l] Pct-L Digest, Vol 75, Issue 6

[Diane Soini]

This is the reason it was fondly called "The Book of Lies".

I especially loved how the book said with a straight face that the rest of the way to the Columbia River is mostly downhill, then immediately spent the next couple hours climbing.

Putting aside the book, the PCT is the only trail I have ever been on where you can reach a marker that says "Highest Point in Oregon/Washington" and the proceed to climb the rest of the afternoon.

Wait 'til you get to the switchbacks from hell down to Snow Creek. I think it's a rite of passage to have a meltdown somewhere not even half way down.

Ah, the memories…

On Mar 6, 2014, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 18:03:56 -0700
> From: Jeffrey Olson <jjolson60 at centurylink.net>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] PCT Elevation Gain / Loss Stats
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <5317C97C.10002 at centurylink.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> 
> Having used the guidebook for 20 years, I affirm the despair I feel when 
> tired and the 220' up and 220' down rules.  Just another test of mettle, 
> of being able to rise above lore and cursory understanding of the text 
> and land it describes, and others perceptions.  Your planning is going 
> to deconstruct in the first week... You'll learn SO MUCH...
> 
> We learn to read the topo map.  We learn how strong we are.  We learn we 
> need to go sideways and blatt our bowels every 20 minutes. When you have 
> diarrhea, do you always bury it???  Have any of you used leaves because 
> you're shitting so often and you want to keep your impacting footprint 
> to a minumum?  I found snow to be the best TP.  You don't have to bury 
> it...
> 
> What a great time of life!
> 
> Jeffrey Olson
> Rapid City, SD - retiring (what the hell does that mean?) in May...
> 
> On 3/5/2014 5:43 PM, Rob Langsdorf wrote:
>> I have gone through the WP guidebook and noted that often in a two mile section between mile and elevation marks it is not unusual for the trail to go up 200' and back down 200' while the elevation marks in the WP guidebook would have indicated no change in elevation. When you add enough of these into your calculation you end up with a much greater elevation change than you get by just adding up the numbers form the WP guidebook.
>> 
>>                  Mataguay Connector Rob