[pct-l] Tents, southbounding and heat of the desert

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

1. Regarding not finding a place to camp big enough for your tent:

What happens sometimes is you think you can go a few more miles but  
what you didn't realize was that you were about to start a huge  
descent or traverse or some 5 mile section where the trail is  
clinging to the side of a steep hill and there's just nowhere to  
camp. Your choice is to a) hike another 5 miles, b) hope for a  
switchback that has a spot big enough for your tent in the turn or c)  
sleep on the trail. I always went for a) or b) and never had an issue.

I also had a non-free-standing Gossamer Gear One tent and had no  
trouble with being able to stick stakes in the ground. Usually the  
ground was too sandy and soft and required the placement of very  
large rocks. I have also learned how to stake my tent without relying  
on any stakes. It can be done. Look up how to use "deadmen".

2. Southbouding:
I've read a few journals of southbounders. They usually start in a  
lot of treacherous snow in Washington. They usually get very lonely.  
They seem to quit often because of both of these.

What seems to work better for those with scheduling issues is to  
start in Agua Dulce or Kennedy Meadows or somewhere between and hike  
north with everybody else. Then return and finish your hike SoBo. You  
get two glorious finish lines that way at each border. You'll be a  
seasoned hiker so being alone won't bother you. You also get to enjoy  
So Cal in the fall. It's really quite exquisite in the fall.

3. The heat of the desert:
It's not always that hot. Really. In 2008 on the Mojave crossing day  
we were freezing cold and had to sit in our sleeping bags in the  
middle of the day under Cottonwood Bridge. It was very windy. In 2009  
crossing the Mojave it rained, the air was fresh and moist and lovely.

So Cal is a very dry, low humidity (single digits sometimes) climate.  
If there's a little breeze it will cool you off. You can soak your  
clothing with water at creeks such as on the day you hike through  
Deep Creek or Whitewater and Mission Creeks. The nights always cool  
off so you have several hours at the beginning of the day that are  
still cool and comfortable and some hours in the evening that are  
pleasant. It's not like back east where the humidity makes heat  
miserable and long-lasting. It's also not even as bad as Northern  
California. I think that was actually the hottest part of the trail.

A large number of people fear So Cal but when they come see what it  
is really like, they tend to really love the climate. Now that I'm a  
section hiker, I ask people all the time how they are liking the  
desert and I haven't had anybody tell me they don't like it. They all  
LOVE it. I have read a few journals of people who didn't like it and  
quit, but that seems to be the minority.

Good luck all you lucky people!!!