[pct-l] newbie sobo

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Miles,

A thru-California hike vs. a thru-Washington will be markedly
different.  First,
Washington has about 500 miles of PCT compared to California’s 1700 miles.  Two
months would be a leisurely Wash. hike, but two months in Cal. would
require 30-plus mile days.

Sept. and Oct. can be incredibly beautiful at the higher elevations, with
clear, crisp days and frosty nights … maybe.  In general, Cal. will have
less rain compared to Wash., but there is the potential for considerable
early-season snow in the Sierra.  Most of what people read about PCT snow
conditions relates to spring and early summer travel in the Sierra, but
that travel is over residual last-season snow which has coalesced into
walkable “snow-pack”.  http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=264464

A hiker can typically walk on snow-pack while one must slog through the
soft, fresh, un-coalesced snow.  Fresh snow – often many feet in depth –
does not require crampons and an ice axe, it favors snowshoes or wide
Nordic skis.  Greater concerns over fresh snow are route-finding, the
possibility of avalanches, the probability of having to camp in the snow,
and the mind games associated with the knowledge that conditions will
likely get worse as days pass and delays are encountered vs. spring hiking
when every day brings improvement.

In the desert regions of S. Cal. water will be in short supply, and it’s
unlikely the water caches will be maintained.

Any hike is better than no hike, and there are never guarantees.  If the
weather is good a substantial portion of Cal. can be hiked in two months.  If
less-favorable conditions prevail one can always bail-out at some
convenient point having enjoyed the experience.

Enjoy your hike,

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/


On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 12:30 PM, miles brown <e.milesbrown at gmail.com>wrote:

> I'm planning a shorter hike in early Sept. (2012) beginning in Northern CA
> and finishing in Southern CA.
> Because I think I'll encounter better weather and water conditions.
> Thoughts, comments, concerns, critiques, criticisms...
>
> --
> Miles
>
> *Find your passion.  **Pursue it with fervour.  *Have something to fall
> back on.
> (Like, your ass.)
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>