[pct-l] Prepared for weather

[Edward Anderson]

Diane,  This is another excellent post from you. In riding the PCT I had to take many "alternate routes". I have called them detours. To reach Fobes Saddle, for example, I was able to eventually find a detour route, partially cross country, that ended up taking a day and a half.. The obstacles were down trees that barely delayed my hiker friends. I carried a saw but there was far too much to cut, At other places I found shorter ways around down trees and boulders and had to cut dozens of trees that the hikers could easily get past. In other places I had to leave my horse in good care and hitch ahead to get my trailer rig where I last parked it - then load my horse and trailer around fire closed areas and, once again, find someone to care for Primo while I drove north, cached, parked rig and hitched back to Primo so I could continue riding north. Lots of research and logistics required. It's much more difficult to solo ride the PCT than it is to
 hike it. If the weather changes for the worse, unexpectedly, I had fewer options - even as to where I could camp.  I simply had to be prepared for pretty much anything that might happen since Primo and I mostly lived on the trail.
 
MendoRider

--- On Mon, 5/3/10, Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com <diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:


From: Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com <diane at santabarbarahikes.com>
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Prepared for weather
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Date: Monday, May 3, 2010, 9:21 PM



On May 3, 2010, at 12:12 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

>
> There are limits to the ultra-light philosophy. Somehow, ultra- 
> light has morphed into the only way to travel in the mountains. It  
> is accepted as gospel, and is never questioned on this list, for  
> example.
>
> One thing that doesn't get mentioned is that UL makes you, in a lot  
> of cases, a PCT avoider. I read in journals of people skipping  
> beautiful sections of the trail because of their gear.

The ultralight philosophy is more than gear. It also includes  
strategies for dealing with weather and snow. People really should  
read Ray Jardine's PCT Hikers Handbook. I found it very helpful.

It's easy to go to backpacking light and read the gear lists and  
spend money and get a bunch of really light stuff that's even lighter  
than what Ray Jardine himself would take, but that is missing the  
other half of ultralight philosophy which includes things like  
choosing a good start date and yes even taking alternate routes if  
the conditions are such that your gear or lack thereof might put you  
in danger. I have no problem with alternate routes myself. It's all a  
good adventure to me.

Books I've written:
~ Piper's Flight
~ Adventure and Magic
~ Santa Barbara Hikes
http://stores.lulu.com/dianesoini

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