[pct-l] Creek Crossings

[Brian Lewis]

Gary said: "You should also undo your sternum strap and loosen your shoulder
straps a bit but not enough that your pack load shifts easily.  Wear your
shoes."

I think this stuff is situational.  Depending on multiple factors, I think
it can make sense to wear shoes or take them off, undo sternum strap or
leave it on, use poles or don't use poles ... I'm a bit uncomfortable with a
one-size-fits-all-stream-crossings solution.

For the stream crossings last year (Sierras and elsewhere), my sense was
that the most danger I encountered was self-inflicted when I elected to
cross via a log or balancing and maybe scrambling acros some combination of
logs, rocks, vine maple branches, etc (such as walking upright across the
log over the Suiattle River in the Glacier Peak area).   I.e., that the risk
of falling off a (sometimes slippery) log was perhaps greater than that of
walking through most or all streams at the particular height/flow they were
at when I crossed.

When crossing on a log, I typically wear my pack normally (sternum strap
snapped, shoulder straps at normal setting) --- it's a trade-off.  Yes, if I
fall in I'm safer with an easier exit from my pack, but if I wear the pack
loosely on a log crossing, I'm also more likely to fall in due to the pack
moving around and shifting my balance.   A similar conundrum sometimes faces
us in deciding to swap from trekking poles to ice axe.



Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
http://postholer.com/brianle