[pct-l] Prepared for weather

[Gary Wright]

On May 2, 2010, at 8:04 PM, abiegen at cox.net wrote:
> 
> P.S. Unless you have a time machine, don't bother trying to preach to those who have already learned their lesson. It annoys the person who has learned the hard way and bores everyone else on the list.

I hope my posts haven't come across as an attempt to 'preach' to those who ran into problems on the trail. That certainly wasn't my intent.  Those who have 'learned their lesson the hard way' can help future hikers by sharing the details of their incidents. I think the details are important as it is very easy to discount general statements like "be prepared" or generic warnings about hypothermia, dehydration, or hazardous snow conditions "in the desert".

Maybe there needs to be more 'testimonials' in Yogi's handbook or at the kickoff about preparing for bad weather. Maybe we need a section on the PCT FAQ, maybe we should collect the details of these events and post them somewhere for others to read and for us to point to when questions about bad weather come up on PCT-L.

It seems clear to me that some hikers have been unprepared for even some of the moderately bad weather (cool and rainy) never mind the more severe cold and snowy weather.  If we can better understand how they came to be in those situations we may be able to help future hikers avoid a similar situation.

Radar