[pct-l] Desert Night hiking

[Sir Mix-a-lot]

Ha, 700 miles.  We hear that all the time.  You can expect some hot days,
but also some cold days and frigid nights.  I heard about a small group this
year that mailed their sleeping gear up the trail because it had been hot
enough for the past few days that they were convinced that they were really
in the desert.  That same night it cold and humid that night and they
couldn't even sleep through the night.  It was bad enough that they got up
and started walking back towards town before the sun came up.

As for your plan of hiking early and late, that's a good one.  Make that
call on the trail.  It will definitely help if you're a fast enough hiker to
be able to take off a few hours in the middle of the day.  You could hike at
night, but you face the risk of tripping and getting lost more easily, so
hopefully you have plenty of experience with night hiking before you try
that on your thru hike.  I do a lot of night hiking right now down here in
San Diego, but I've been finding snakes on the trail at dusk lately, so I'm
backing off of night hiking for a while.  I don't like the idea of night
hiking on the PCT because of the risks of tripping and snakes, but I would
carry a good light if I did.  Fyi, headlamps don't create shadows like a
handheld flashlight does.

Sir Mix-a-lot

On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 9:57 PM, Nathaniel Morse <alwaysanguine at gmail.com>wrote:

> Just the Thru-hiking season. I've heard different starting dates from
> different people. but anywhere in late april to may, to as late as June (If
> you're fast or crazy) :)
>
>  Isn't about 700 miles, desert?  And I guess weather and temp depends on
> the
> year...
>
> On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 7:29 PM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <
> diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:
>
> > When? Now?
> >
> > If you're talking about during the regular thru-hiking season,
> > a) It's not that much desert.
> > b) It's really not that hot. Sometimes it's downright freezing ass
> > cold and snowing.
> >
> >
> > On Sep 7, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> > > Thoughts about hiking in the desert at night?.... Is it safe?
> > > Recommended?
> > > Or not...? I've heard that it can get pretty hot and nasty from 11
> > > til 5...
> > > so what about starting early, 5am and hiking til 11, sleeping, and
> > > then
> > > hiking from 5 til 1 am.... good idea? or not?
> >
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