[pct-l] Have had a hard time convincing my hiking partner...

[jason moores]

Catch Up,

This past summer my fiance did not feel comfortable with the condition of the Sierra when we arrived in early June. The weather was poor and she was still a little skittish on the snow. She had had a very rough time on Fuller Ridge and had lost her confidence moving across snow. Not wanting to sit around for 2 or 3 weeks, we flipped up to Northern California. We traveled south from hwy 299, near Burney, to Sierra City. After three weeks we returned to Horseshoe Meadow to pick up where we had left off. We entered the Sierra on July 1st.

I found the experience of flipping around a bit of a drag. It broke my momentum. There was a lot of down time involved in traveling back and forth from Lone Pine (a lot of money too). Too many town days, bus rides and hours spent hitching. I was quite anxious to be back on the trail. But, due to our situation we would have had quite a bit more time away from the trail had we stayed put for three weeks. While your experience would likely vary greatly from ours, I can at least relay a few observations:

In 2009 the snow in Northern California was minimal (from Sierra City to Burney) during the second half of June.
Water was plentiful, the weather near perfect, the mosquitoes only an occasional nuisance.
You can catch a bus ride most of the way. (Reno and beyond)
You'll have the trail all to yourself.
Trail angles were willing to help even though we were weeks ahead of the pack. (call before dropping in)  

The snow in Sierra passes was very doable in July. 
The mosquitoes were brutal.
Almost no thru hikers around, but 2-3 dozen JMT hikers per day. It was crowded in some areas.
The scenery was phenomenal. 
After comparing pictures, we had it easier, by far, than all those who chose to push through the weather and snow.
Hitching seemed more difficult once away from the pack. People know when thru season is and are willing to stop for a hiker. Away from the pack you're just a couple of dirty homeless people on the side of the road. 

Keep in mind that you have 700 miles to work things out before it's an issue. That gives you a long time to think, communicate. Plans are fluid when your out there. Hiking as a couple will pose so many different obstacles that by June you'll know what you'll need to do. Stay together, split up, jump north? Leave yourself set up, gear wise, in case of separation.

All that being said, I have absolutely no plan on skipping ahead when we hit the trail again next year.

Jackass


> Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:34:00 -0700
> From: marccerniglia at gmail.com
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] Have had a hard time convincing my hiking partner...
> 
> Hey everyone...
> 
> We are planning a northbound trip for 2010....and I have had a hard time
> convincing my hiking partner about how to go about a thruhike on the PCT.
> She has one trail under her belt, the Colorado Trail, which she did this
> past summer.  She loves the high country, wildflowers, and lush green alpine
> tundra.  She has been very weary of entering the Sierra's when it is not the
> best time to be there.  To her, the best time to be there is when its fully
> melted, with the flowers and bunnies and butterflies.
> 
> She thinks entering the Sierra's anytime before mid July is doing a
> dis-service to it.  She wants to hike the Sierras in late July-August after
> the snow melt.  Her plan would be to hike to Kennedy Meadows from Campo, and
> then skip around past the Sierra's (she is not sure where to, Sierra City
> maybe?) and hike north to Canada.  Then return to do the Sierras last in
> September.  Or, skip the Sierras in mid June and hike to Ashland.  The
> return to hike the Sierras.  Then get back to Ashland and hike north to
> Canada.
> 
> I cant say she is wrong, because everyone should hike their own hike.  But,
> when I even mention beginning with the intention of doing a straight thru
> northbound hike I can see the tension fill the room.  It spells disaster.  I
> am all for adjusting as you go, with the circumstances presented to you at
> the time.  I am not the speculative type, who plans around unknowns.  If I
> get to KM, and its June 10, and it was a high snow year, I am either taking
> some time off or skipping ahead.  But, I cant justify trying to piece the
> trail together in one year based on the optimal time to be in each different
> section.
> 
> To make the matters worse, she is a vegan and needs to plan all her
> maildrops up till Ashland.  I am not worried about it, but she sure is.
> 
> Another complication is the perceived section D closures, which put hikers
> at KM even earlier.  Without wanting to start in mid-May, she thinks there
> is no way for us to slow down enough to leave KM by June 20-25, which is my
> preference....
> 
> I know thats a lot, so sorry about that....but any talking points or
> opinions of how to convice her that the Sierra's are beautiful from the end
> of June through July, would help out immensely!
> 
> Catch Up
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