[pct-l] When to Ask For Help

Wed Oct 17 15:23:31 CDT 2012

Good afternoon, Joan,

On the PCT the average the time between common resupply stops is about 5
days.  Without a cell phone I only called home from resupply stops, and I
call when I arrive because I always knew when I would depart.  Some hikers
get sucked into the tempting vortex of trail-town activities, and maybe
will extend their stay an extra day or so.  Any such extra days are
additive to the anticipated time till the next phone call.

Given a high-probability arrival date the home support person must remember
that estimates can be poor or delays can happen.  On some of the more
moderate sections of the PCT, an experienced hiker should be able to
estimate arrival within about a half-day, but on longer, more difficult,
sections – for example through the Sierra – estimates can be unreliable.  Even
an experienced hiker can’t be certain how the highly-variable surface
condition of the snowpack may slow progress; how much a hiker may have to
delay waiting for a troublesome stream flow to drop; or how many downed
trees must be climbed around, through, or under.

I almost always “under promised and over performed” to the point that
one-day-early became the norm, and if I arrived on the specified day the
question was, “What held you up?”

Where I live in the Pacific NW I often take 2-10 day hikes between the
various highway passes where I will have arranged for my wife to meet me.  I
have to be very conservative in estimating such arrivals because when she
arrives she wants to see me there, not only out of concern for my safety
but also because she doesn’t have much recourse to spending the night
waiting for me.  Many times I’ve camped about a half-mile short of the
arrival trailhead and had to sit around for hours the next morning waiting
for her.

A few simple things can be done to obviate a few sources of your concern:

1  Hypothermia – As an ultra-lite hiker I carry a minimum little tarp for
shelter, and I sleep in a more-than-adequate down bag.  A more conservative
approach might be to carry a slightly heavier combination of an enclosed
tent and a more dampness-tolerant synthetic insulated bag.  Where I live on
the “wet side” of the Cascades cold rain is likely to cause more
hypothermia than traveling over miles of snowpack. For rain I like to use
well ventilating – not Goretex – waterproof rain gear with a layer or two
of synthetic fleece beneath.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=265651  Eating is important to
avoiding hypothermia and for sleeping warmly, particularly eating fast-fuel
like candy.  When hiking, at the first indication of a shiver I eat a
handful of Peanut M&Ms.  Based upon how much I like Peanut M&Ms I’ll have
to admit that the bar is set pretty low defining a shiver.

    Stream crossing is a concern for most hikers but there are things that
can be done to ease the concern and provide better results.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=265511  One of the best plans for
anyone concerned about crossings is to arrange to cross when other (sane,
sensible) people do.  Crossing in a small group is measurably better than
crossing alone and, in the event of a mishap, help will be immediately
available.

  Much the same can be said for crossing ice-axe terrain:  Just take an
extended snack-break and wait for others to arrive with moral support.

   One thing I greatly appreciate for safety and security – much more
important in my view than any electronic trinkets – is a set of trekking
poles.  I’m considerably older than your husband and I’ve found that I’m
not quite as quick and agile as I was even a mere 50 years ago.  Those 2 or
3 additional points of contact on questionable ground make considerable
difference.

Enjoy the planning and avoid letting your imagination run wild,

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, Oct 16, 2012 at 11:31 AM, <bluetrail at aol.com> wrote:

> Thanks, Chuck.  Jon is retired Army Special Forces (20 years), so I know
> he's got the skills.  He's got the experience.  He's backpacked about
> 16,000 miles since I've known him.   I have enough experience hiking and
> packing to be relatively unconcerned about things like snakes, bears, etc.
>
> What does concern me?
> 1.  hypothermia.  Jon is particularly prone to hypothermia.  On his '97
> PCT he bailed out of snow, sleet, rain mix and went down the western side
> of the slope.  Ended up in an Indian reservation, from which he eventually
> got back to town.  IMHO, the fact that he bailed on the western slope is
> probably an indication that he was hypothermic enough to not be thinking
> well.
>
> 2.  On that same PCT hike, he fell in a particularly bad stream crossing
> and gashed his leg in such a way that it took months to really heal.  (But,
> of course, he finished the hike.)
>
> 3.  He also had to self arrest with his ice axe.  At that time, there were
> other hikers near by.  My concern here is if there hadn't been anyone
> nearby and he ended up in a broken heap at the bottom of the slide.
>
> Guess that's about it for my concerns.  Which still leave me wondering how
> many days should go by before I call for a rescue??????
>
> thanks,
> Joan
>
>
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
> To: PCT listserve <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Tue, Oct 16, 2012 9:29 am
> Subject: [pct-l] When to Ask For Help
>
> Good morning, Joan,
>
> There’s no easy answer.  I suppose there could be situations where a
> 10-minute response time would be too long, but:
>
> First: There really aren’t many dangers out there during the hiking season.http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=167914
>
> Second:  It’s rare that there isn’t help within some reasonable time and
> distance.
>
> I once broke a bone in my foot on the PCT in N. California and I had to
> backtrack about 3 miles before taking a side trail another 3 miles to get
> out.  In that first 3 miles I encountered 6 other hikers whom I knew, and
> each offered to help in any way they could.
>
> Steel-Eye
>
> -Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/
>
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