[pct-l] Never underestimate the heat

[cvlabrenz at sbcglobal.net]

I've read a lot of posts here about what time to start hiking in SoCal, and it seemed that the replies always came down to discussions about heat and water. The effect of the heat CANNOT be emphasized enough. We're section hikers, so we always picked our times & locations well  - except for my recent brain-fart.

On Fri 6/20, we took the Palm Springs tram to the top and hiked over to Willow Creek carrying 20-25#; then on Sat 6/21 hiked to Saddle Junction & took the PCT to Fuller Ridge Trailhead - great weather. On Sun 6/22, we left FR at 7am with 1 1/2 gallons each, thinking that a 16 mile downhill to Snow Creek Canyon would be no big deal. NEVER, EVER, underestimate the heat. Once we got into the canyon NW of Snow Creek Canyon, it was like a furnace (112-114 air temp). I made the 1st 11 miles by 1 p.m. (which I underestimated because of the tough downhill on my knees) and then had to rest under whatever shade I could find or make because I was baking. Because of the frequent stops and the heat, we ran out of water around 5 pm with 3 miles to go. My son went on because he's a much stronger hiker, got refreshed & came back for me. I ended up a mile from the end and could not go on because of heat exhaustion and dehydration. By the time my son came back with water and we both got down to the SCC drinking fountain, it was 9:00pm. Not a fun day, but real learning experience!  If ONLY, I had another 1/2 gallon of water (that I didn't want to carry), and had started 3 hrs earlier (that I didn't want to do because I was lazy).  And to think, I got passed by a guy going UPHILL that morning with a sun-reflective umbrella - looked silly to me at the time, but guess who was smarter!

By the way, the stream at Deer Springs was running good, and the N Fork SJ River was still in waterfall mode.  Happy hiking - wish I was about 300 miles N of here!

Oneatatime