[pct-l] Lesson to be learned

[Reinhold Metzger]

Diane,
You say  "no real lesson here"?
I disagree....seems to me the lesson to be learned from this is..."be 
prepared for the conditions you might encounter on the trail."

The desert, like the Sierra are unpredictable.
Just like you can get snowed on in the Sierra in the middle of the 
summer, the desert can be cool one day and boiling hot the next day.
I never venture into the Grand Canyon in the spring or summer expecting 
cool weather....I prepare for 100+ degrees in the shade.
Neither do I venture in the Sierra in the summer without being prepared 
to hunker out a snow storm.

Being prepared for the conditions you might encounter on the trail is 
key to a safe and successful hike.

JMT Reinhold
------------------------------
Diane wrote:
Last year in July my boyfriend decided he would hike Section C in 
Southern California.
That section starts in the desert near Palm Springs.
It had been unseasonably cool for a long time before the weekend he 
planned to go so it didn't seem like a crazy idea at the time.
However, it was 102 degrees at 8pm when we got to the trailhead.
The next day after I was home, there were messages on my phone.
First there were happy ones.
Then there were alarming ones.
It was around 125 degrees and he didn't sound well at all.
I drove all the way back to the trail. It's about 3 hours from my house.
Cell service on the trail is spotty. I was unable to reach him.
He never called me again after his alarming phone call where he sounded 
kind of out of it.
The cellphone had terrible reception and the only thing I could 
understand was he was going to wait next to Mission Creek.
So, knowing the trail well from my own hiking, I knew he had cool water.

A few months prior some local hike leaders did some stupid stuff and 
ended up being rescued.
I weighed in my mind whether to start a rescue or to wait a little longer.
It was hard to wait. I didn't want to embarrass him. Really, he was 
simply uncomfortable at this point.
I second-guessed my decision often, but I had to go with my gut and wait.
By the evening he managed to call me. He sounded so much better.
He had managed to survive the heat of the day hunkered down in a lean-to 
he made with his poncho next to Mission Creek.
He soaked all day in the cool water.
In the morning I picked him up at the trailhead and that was that.

NO  REAL  LESSON  HERE.

Just know your hiker well, know a little something about where they are 
going to be (is it desert, is it full of dangerous snow or swollen 
creeks, etc) and know what they are capable of.
Then trust yourself.