[pct-l] Ray Day Pluss

[Jim & Jane Moody]

Amanda, 

I used to think Ray Day was an important guide for safety, but after my attempted thru this year, I conclude that it's misleading, even worthless.  I'm over 60 and a non-mountaineer.  My total experience in Sierra conditions was 2 hours on a glacier in Alaska (tourist excursion) and a weekend at Ned's Snow School.  In other words, I am way below average in snow skills and experience.  However, being old, I am more cautious and take fewer stupid risks.   



We left KM around 2 June and crossed Forester Pass on 13 June.  Our group had a wide variery of experience and equipment, but we all got through safely.  Mather was scary, and we camped several nights on snow and/or rock islands, but we made it and had a ball doing it.  The most dangerous part was the creek crossings. 



Get with a group that mutually pledges to stay together, and you'll be fine.  In fact, if you can do the early Sierra when it's cooler, the surface will be harder and the hiking easier.  

Good luck, 

Mango 



---- Original Message ----- 
From: "Amanda L Silvestri" <aslive at sbcglobal.net> 
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 6:40:55 PM 
Subject: [pct-l] Ray Day Pluss 

I have been section and multi-day hiking my way up the trail and will be doing Kings Canyon this year.  I have previously hiked from Muir Pass through to Tuolume Meadows and have always appreciated being able to hike in the snow using the footprints of through hikers who have blazed a trail before me.  This year I will likely be out there a bit earlier than in years past, depending on how much snow there is.  My question is, If June 15th is Ray Day at Kennedy Meadows, when does the first wave of hikers reach Kearsarge Pass and then Muir Pass? I guess I could do the math, number of miles divided by the average number of miles hiked per day.  I am guessing the lead hikers do around 15-20 MPD from Kennedy Meadows to Wallace Creek them maybe 10-15 MPD through this section?  Is that about right or are people hiking strong and going faster than that even in the mountains? 

Shepherd 
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