[pct-l] What to do when bad weather looms?

[Sean 'Miner' Nordeen]

>GO TO BED!!!  STAY THERE UNTIL  THE STORM PASSES

>Now that's a good choice, one that any hiker out for more than a month 
>can appreciate.  And it's a matter of looking forward to bad weather so 
>that you can hunker down for a while.  "Oh boy, a storm is coming.  It's 
>11AM and I've got 12 miles in, but it's starting to rain and the wind is 
>blowing 30 mph + and I get to HUNKER DOWN!!!"

If I wanted to look foward to hunkering down, I'd stay in a hotel where I have cable TV.   I don't have the temperment to stay still inside a small shelter for more then a few hours unless safety requires it.  But this isn't going to be the case for everyone.  Some are prepared for worse conditions then me and others less so.  So there are no hard fast rules on what those conditions are for everyone.

The only reason to hunker down is because you lack the gear/clothing to stay warm or the weather is creating unsafe trail conditions to hike in such as mud slides or avalanche danger.  As for what is unsafe depends entirely on the individual, his skill, his gear, and his experience in getting the most out of that gear.

The best thing a person can do is test their gear out in a variety of conditions when its relatively safe to do so (say backyard or near the trailhead) and get a feel for how you and your gear handle adverse conditions.  If things don't work out as you thought, gear can always be changed or adapted and you can learn ways of improving how you use it to better handle it next time.

-Miner


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Check my 2009 PCT Journal out at www.postholer.com/Miner