[pct-l] Choices and Completion Rates

[Sean 'Miner' Nordeen]

I think that people do need to prepare before their trip as much as possible.  Doing so should increase one's chances at completing the trail by at least some small margin. 

One example is people should be training their bodies more ahead of time to reduce on-trail injuries in the 1st month (doing more training certainly would have helped me avoid some of my early troubles before Idyllwild and would have certainly helped another friend who had a painful descent down to the I-10).  

Also testing out the gear you want to use in similar conditions you expect to be in is invaluable.  I met several hikers who had brand new gear that was never used before until they hit the trail.  In bad weather or strong winds, they were learning for the first time how to properly pitch their shelter with bad results or found that their layers were somehow lacking in cold temps.  Though in conflicting results, another friend was on his first backpacking trip when he hiked the PCT and somehow was able to finish the entire trail despite the odds being against him.  But, he admits that he would have done things very differently if he knew what he does now.

I took my potential gear out on a test run in late November on a 10.5K ft. ridge in a snow storm with temps around 20F and 30-50mph gusts (actually the snow storm was a surprise as I was just looking for cold temps).  Surviving and being happy with the results, I was pretty confident that my gear was ready for whatever I was likely to encounter on my thru-hike (though I learned to add some waterproof mitts to go over my fleece gloves as my fingers froze when the gloves got wet).  In contrast, a friend discovered that his (never tested in hard prolong rain) shelter was prone to really bad condensation in rain and had a miserable time when we got hit by 3 straight days of rain just before Washington and he had to find a get a new one by getting a ride into Portland from Cascade Locks.

I carried a 13lbs baseweight consistantly for the entire trail (not counting bear can) as I didn't drop or mail forward any of my gear as I considered it all essential.  I've never felt comfortable not being able to handle below freezing weather in the western mountains even in summer months (though some would argue against the 2lbs that made up my camcorder, cell, and mp3 player as being essential) so I never was tempted to mail things ahead like so many do in NorCal.  I still carry the same types of things I did when I use to carry 45+lbs in the early 90's.  It's just that I stopped carrying the extra stuff I never used (with the exception of some emergency items) and looked for lighterweight alternatives to replace my heavier things.  Sure I now carry things like a tarp/bivy instead of a tent, but I slowly introduced things and tried them out in different conditions until I was confident that they would serve me just as well.  I certainly wouldn't want to try tarping for the 1st time in a wet Washington as it took me time to learn how to properly pitch it for bad weather and to identify campsites that wouldn't pool water.  But that is why one should take the time to properly prepare before setting off on such a long journey.

Having hiked the PCT once, if I was to do it over again, I'd probably go a little lighter, but that is because some of the unknow has been removed and I would be more comfortable making some different choices.  But that is the thing.  When something is unknown, you can't make an intelligent informed choice and should error on the side on caution.  You can do research to remove some of the unknown (a friend called me Mr. Google since I had read so much about the PCT), but nothing replaces actual experience.

-Miner



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Check my 2009 PCT Journal out at http://www.pct2009.lifesadventures.net/Journal.php