[pct-l] [John Muir Trail] When will the snow go?

[Erik Turnberg]

I want to echo what Ned is saying in regards to snow and skipping/flipping.
 I live up in Seattle and we've had an extremely high snow/late winter.  Our
snow line in most places is about 3500 ft.  The cascades are not a place you
want to be just yet.  Keep pushing through the Sierra and try to enjoy the
beauty.

Second, and this goes out to everyone who meets one of this years through
hikers.  Be nice, and be encouraging!  Last season Terrapin Flyer and I did
a no skip, no flip thru hike and finished October 9th.  September 20th to
October 9th was some of the most beautiful hiking of the whole trip.  One of
the worst parts of the whole trip is that from Northern California through
Washington just about every day we encountered another hiker or someone in a
town that told us within minutes of meeting, "You'll Never Make It."  For
over a month this happened literally every single day and was the single
worst part of the hike.

It was really, really discouraging and it came just as frequently from past
thru hikers as it did regular day hikers, folks in town who don't even hike.
 They knew nothing about our gear, skills, or hiking plans.  They only knew
that "people say you have to finish by mid september."  Well we finished in
early october and have friends from last years class who finished in late
october.  The trail didn't disappear and we had a great time without putting
our lives in danger.

Don't get down on this years class.  They can all have a great year.  Parts
of it might be hard, but they can make it.

Granite