[pct-l] The foolish things hikers do on Mt. Whitney

[AsABat]

Riiiight...

First, it wasn't a "broom", it was what was called an alpenstaff. I got the
plans from an old mountaineering book. It worked well going up, breaking
only when I used it for a purpose it wasn't designed for, and it wasn't
needed going down given that the "chute" was a square two feet wide and two
feet deep (from the external pack frames cutting into the snow, I'm sure you
remember external frames), so I wasn't going anywhere but down to a clear
runout.

As for "foolish things," I've heard some on Whitney have:

- got caught in the hut, during a white-out, on the eve of a JMT fast-packs
and could not find the way back to the hut, having to criss-cross the summit
half a dozen times to finally find their way back to the hut through sheer
dumb luck......

- during a violent thunder storm abandoning the hut (good move) and seeking
refuge in a cave like crevice 100 - 200 feet from the hut (bad move)
...reasoning was,  for sure the lightning would strike the metal roof and
the lightning rods before it would strike me, huddled in the cave, as all
literature written since the lightning rods were installed recommend NOT
going in caves and overhangs during a thunderstorm

- spent hours sitting on the "Throne" admiring the view and pretending to be
King Arthur, King of the mountain, sitting on my  "Throne", selfishly
preventing anyone else from using the facilities, resulting in the area
becoming a cesspool and finally resulting in the requirement to use a wag
bag.

Ok, I'm done and out of here for a couple weeks.

AsABat