[pct-l] SOBO 2007

[Tom Griffin]

Just wanted to add what Reinhold said about Scott Williamson and his 
wife-to-be, Michelle. They will be starting after their wedding in  
early June on a southbound PCT hike and Scott promises to slow down from 
his yo-yo pace so that Michelle can keep up. You should contact them 
about their starting date. Maybe you can follow their footsteps in the 
Washington snow?

You won't be alone on the trail as you get closer to highway crossings, 
because day hikers in Washington (like me) will be out in force as soon 
as the snow melts.

However, I would start as late in June as possible. Not only will 
traveling in the snow slow you down, but fording rivers can be tough. 
When I talked to Scott about his plans for the southbound trip, he said 
he was going to take the original PCT rather than the detour around 
Glacier Peak. The Suiattle River crossing is only four miles from the 
detour junction if you are heading southbound. So if you find that you 
can't cross that river, it is only four miles back to the junction and 
the alternate route. Last year there was a log that most people used to 
cross the Suiattle, but chances are it was washed away in our December 
floods.

The detour won't let you off the hook, since you have to ford the 
Napeequa River, and that can be a real challenge early in the season. If 
the conditions are extreme, there is always the road walk to Steven Pass 
that avoids any fords (but is boring). Here is a link to the Forest 
Service pages on the detour 
<http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/conditions/pct/>.

Tom Griffin
Seattle
PCT pages: http://griffinte.home.comcast.net/pct.html

>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subject:
> [pct-l] SOBO 2007
> From:
> "Barbara Sobota" <bmsobota at ucalgary.ca>
> Date:
> Tue, 3 Apr 2007 19:06:35 -0600 (MDT)
> To:
> pct-l at backcountry.net
>
> To:
> pct-l at backcountry.net
>
>
>Anyone out there planning a sobo hike this year?  My masters is taking
>longer than expected (booo!) and the earliest I could get out would
>probably be first week of June...
>
>I'm trying to get a feel for how "solo" I would actually be going
>southbound.  I've hiked the AT so I know the basics of thru-hiking, but
>from what I've read it sounds like Washington can be quite challenging
>when there's snow on the ground.  I'm all up for challenge and adventure,
>but navigating by myself through remote snow-covered mountains with no
>trail in sight and having to wait until California to meet another
>thru-hiker - to be completely honest - is intimidating to me.  I'm not
>necessarily seeking out a partner (but not opposed to one either) but it
>would be nice to know that there's someone else out there.
>
>Anyone?
>
>Any insight from past solo sobos would be great too!  Thanks!!!
>
>Cheers
>Barbara
>  
>