[pct-l] Planning and start dates

Sat Jul 25 10:44:52 CDT 2009

I would further add that consolidated snow is your friend -- melting,
rotting out, suncupped snow is simply awful (and scary).  IMHO, leaving KM
in mid-June puts you in the worst of conditions in the average year.  You
may face snow storms in June.  Sure, there's generally less snow on the
ground, but the snow that's there is rotting out under your feet, creating
post-hole and sun cup conditions. The streams are swollen with all the melt.
So, the warmer it gets, the worse the conditions when you do have to walk on
snow.  High season fair weather for the Sierras is universally considered to
be August, well past the time the thrus are there.  

I say this with the caveat that from what I'm told (certainly not from my
own experience) if you leave too early, you risk avalanche danger. Those
types of conditions are only for the real experts.  Know your limits and be
prepared.

Some folks just want to have a nice walk without big challenges. They don't
want to be in bad weather, and they don't want to route find. Getting those
kinds of conditions does require a later start, but it also compromises the
chance of completing a thru hike in a single season.

To walk 2,650 miles through wilderness conditions will at times be a great
challenge.  If that the goal, and one should expect, be prepared for, and be
ready to face those challenges. To approach the trail with any less leaves
the individual and rescue personnel at risk.

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of ned at pacificcrestcustombuilders.com
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 11:14 AM
To: Postholer; pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Planning and start dates

Starting earlier than mid-May, while increasing your chances for encounters 
with snow, enables a longer schedule and shorter daily mileages with the 
goal of reaching Canada before the snow flies in earnest, enough to stop 
your trip short.

All of this is based on weather and precipitation averages. The year a hiker

attempts to complete a thru hike the snow pack may be heavy or light. This 
is one of the chances you take when deciding to do the trail and beginning 
your planning a year in advance. You deal with what you get. Just be 
prepared for what may lie ahead, snow and creek crossing issues, should 
things be bad. If you do find a lot of snow to deal with, some of the skills

learned through "mountaineering" can literally save your life, at least 
prevent injury. Yes, we all prefer a dry trail to have a comfortable hike 
and make the miles.

However, if leaving late enough to make certain of dry trail throughout 
means that you have a narrower window of completion (to when Canadian snows 
can stop your trip), thus impelling you to hike faster or longer days to 
make the distance, then that is your choice. Who knows, maybe you can't take

the time for a longer trip or you like the challenge of long, fast days. 
HYOH.

We are simply showing that if you leave earlier than the accepted optimal 
date, you might be able to reduce your daily mileages and have an easier 
trip. It's highly likely that you're going to run into snow no matter when 
you leave, so you'll have a little more to deal with each day in the high 
country. If you get a late winter season storm, or find snow in SoCal as 
well, since you decided to leave early, you are prepared for it with the 
right gear and experience.

It is in the best interest of the PCT thru-hiking community to be informed 
of the realities of the trail. Who starts such an expedition without finding

out what the obstacles and hardships will be? A thru hike is backpacking to 
the max! If you wish to have a safe and fun journey, you'll want to know 
what it takes to do it, what food and gear is available, and what you need 
to learn how to do to pull it off.

For me, I wanted to go slower than hikers do today, so I started "early." I 
could take the time. I postponed starting college until January. I graduated

High School early (in December). By doing these things, I opened up the 
entire time period to stay on the trail. It was important for me to have the

time in my schedule for leisurely morning starts, exploratory hikes to 
lateral lakes during the day, and sunset dinners in camp in my sleeping bag,

hot tea in hand, thanking God for every minute of this thru hike experience.

I knew that I might hit snow, so I took a Sierra Club winter outing course, 
did weekend trips of my own around Donner Summit during the winter preceding

my start, and geared up for inclement weather. Of course my pack was heavy 
at first; I couldn't even pick it up by myself. I started with low daily 
miles and grew stronger as I went. By the time I reached Weldon and the Kern

Plateau, the weight of my pack didn't matter. Taking on snowshoes and ice 
axe was no big deal. That was how I wanted to hike the trail. My "style" of 
hiking was my choice.

For everyone contemplating planning a thru hike sometime in their future, 
take all the advice given and apply it to your needs and desires for your 
"style." First, do a lot of hiking to find out what your "style" is, how you

want to do your own hike, what you want to get out of each and every day. 
Only you can decide what your priorities are.

You can be fairly certain that the Canadian snows will begin sometime after 
September. They have stopped quite a few hikers in their tracks. Many, being

frustrated that they are so close, try to regain the trail and push north 
only to find the cold and wet too much. The rough terrain of northern 
Washington is no place to be slogging through snow. As I said in a post 
yesterday, pick your "last-ditch" end date, decide how many miles per day is

right for your style, and backtrack to your start date. Be realistic about 
expected weather and snow and creek conditions. If you don't know what 
"realistic" is, start reading the Trail Journals of the realistic 
experiences of those who have gone before. How you'll deal with what they 
encountered is your choice. When thoroughly informed, you are armed with the

knowledge upon which to make your own decisions for what you want for your 
trail experience. Don't romanticize the trail. Don't go into it blindly. 
Read up. Talk to those who have done it. Speak up with your questions on 
this Forum.

Mtnned
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Postholer" <public at postholer.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 10:11 AM
Subject: [pct-l] KM Date, Ray Day, snow hiking

> Thru-hiking is not about mountaineering. Most thru-hikers are not trained
> for that nor do they need to be.
>
> Hiking big miles on early season snow is exhausting, time consuming,
> requires more gear, food and good route finding skills.
>
> The concept of "Ray Day" or June 15th is not arbitrary. Based on an 
> AVERAGE
> snow year, departing KM on the 15th implies a hiker will have to deal with
> MINIMAL or TOLERABLE streches of snow travel, ie, traveling across 6 miles
> of snowy Muir Pass as opposed to an exhausting, winter wonderland, all day
> route finding excursion.
>
> Further, the earlier you start you increase the probability of dealing 
> with
> late winter weather. Starting in March or early April pretty much 
> garuntees
> you'll deal with snow in the SoCal mountains as well as the Sierra, not to
> mention colder temps, more rain and snow.
>
> Why are earlier start dates being promoted? Most folks are not prepared 
> for
> this. Is this really in the best interest of the PCT thru-hiking 
> community?
>
> -postholer
>
> ------------------------------------
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