[pct-l] Kennedy Meadows, Drop Box, Pack List

Sun Mar 15 09:47:19 CDT 2009

Good morning, Phil,

Many years ago boots and shoes invariably had leather soles which were slick
and provided poor traction.  To improve the traction for anyone who walked
outside cobblers installed nails through the soles – nails that had big
heads on the outside and points that were clinched on the inside.  These
were called hobnails.  Loggers had a similar arrangement on their boot soles
called caulks – pronounced “corks” -- which are pointed steel spikes a
half-inch or more long, and they screw into the sole rather than being
driven in.  As soon as moldable rubber and plastic became available the
whole industry changed – Vibram is a good example.  Today hobnails are no
longer seen but loggers’ “corks” are still  used by loggers here in the
Pacific NW.

Molded rubber or plastic lug soles are pretty good overall, but they don’t
have a lot of bite on a relatively smooth, slick surface.  Vibram can be a
real hazard on those surfaces, particularly on wet rocks.  Using sheet metal
screws in rubber shoe soles is just a way to provide some extra “bite”.  It
is very much like using studded tires on a vehicle.  They aren’t perfect,
and they won’t substitute for deep, aggressive traction lugs when the going
gets bad, but they are a definite improvement under slick conditions.

Most PCT hikers walk over the snowpack without any traction aids, just
whatever tread pattern happens to be on the shoes.  There is some slipping
and sliding but we just have to slow down a bit and be really careful on
certain smooth and slick places.  Those are the places where shoe-screws can
be helpful.  If conditions get measurably worse – as with steep, drifted,
side hill snowpack without previous tracks -- neither shoe lugs or screws
are sufficient:  That’s where I like the instep crampons.

Instep crampons usually work OK because we are trail-walking not engaged in
steep alpine climbing. Steep climbing usually requires the 10 or 12-point,
full-platform crampons lashed to stiff, heavy duty, mountaineering boots.

I went through the Sierras in a low snow year and I didn’t carry any
traction aids. Almost every day I wished I had the screws, especially when
wading creeks over slick rocks.  I won’t over-sell screws; they weren’t
required, but I find that at my age I’m not as agile as I was a mere 50
years ago, so they would have provided a measure of additional security.

Maybe two or three times I wished for the crampons for a short distance, but
here was always a work-around available.  If there had been greater mileages
of snowpack I would have gladly used them.

If you do a net search for “shoe screws” you’ll find several sites.  Here’s
one:  http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm

I use ½ “ #8 slotted hex washer sheet metal screws which are very commonly
available. They can be installed with a screwdriver but doing so is a real
pain.  You probably already have a socket or nut-driver to try out.  I got a
nut-driver bit that is intended to be used in a drill, and I glued it in a
short wooden handle.  My driver bit has a little magnet in the socket to
hold the screw when you start  -- very handy.  The screws weigh 0.05 ounces
each and my driver weighs 0.76 ounces.  Screws are easy and cheap to try at
home, just don’t walk across a finished floor with them.

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT -- 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 5:29 AM, Phil Newhouse <newhoupa1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> SteelEye,
>
> Would the screw solution be an adequate substitute for crampons for the
> PCT?
>
> What size screw do you use?
>
> What driver do you take?
>
> I was thinking about carrying screws/driver if the screw solution would be
> adequate as a traction device for the major parts of the PCT.
>
> phil
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 6:45 PM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>wrote:
>
>> Good evening, Miles,
>>
>>
>>
>> I haven’t seen any “titans” on the trail.  Are you sure you didn’t intend
>> to
>> type “trash”?  Anything that looks as classy as a titan is probably a
>> day-hiker, but they smell funny.
>>
>>
>>
>> At Kennedy Meadows I would receive routine replenishment items like food,
>> Chapstick, DEET, sun block, new socks; a new set of maps, exchange SD
>> cards
>> and batteries for the camera; plus replacements for anything else that has
>> worn, such as shoes, shorts, shirt, etc..
>>
>>
>>
>> More specific Sierra gear would include a bear ‘can; possibly an ice axe
>> and
>> instep crampons if it looks to be a heavy snow year; screws for my shoes
>> and
>> a driver socket maybe; baskets for the trekking poles I don’t already have
>> them in place; and at least one heavy-duty compactor garbage bag to keep
>> stuff dry when fording.  If I didn’t already have a mosquito head net,
>> this
>> would be an excellent time to receive one.
>>
>>
>>
>> Steel-Eye
>>
>> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT -- 1965
>>
>> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 5:53 PM, Jon Sestak <milesjonathon at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > I feel honored to put my words on such a fabled medium, shared by the
>> > Titans
>> > of one of the most eloquent and pure forms of living.
>> >
>> > So first; thank you for freely sharing your honest help and advice.
>> >
>> > Second; I was interested in a survey; what is included in your Kennedy
>> > Meadow's drop box?
>> >
>> > Thanks again,
>> >
>> > Miles
>> > _______________________________________________
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>> >
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>