[pct-l] PCT questions: the variety pack

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

On Apr 17, 2013, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> From: Casey Mangnall <mangler06 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] PCT questions: the variety pack
>
> 1. Rivers: Where are some of the more treacherous river crossings  
> in the Sierras? (i.e. crossings where the water is swift and deep)

A lot of these questions used to be answered in the Wilderness Press  
guide books. Too bad nobody uses them anymore. Not that the books  
were completely helpful. Just about every creek was potentially  
deadly according to the book. That said, I believe that Bear Creek,  
Evolution Creek and Return Creek were the biggies.

>
> 2. Calories: I'd like some feedback from female hikers regarding ? 
> how many calories they consumed per day and how many miles/day they  
> hiked on their PCT thru-hike.
I ate constantly. If I could hike, eat and breathe at the same time I  
was eating. Just bring as many calories as you can and then eat big  
when you get to town. I think I carried about a pound and a half of  
food per day.

>
> 3. Snakes in a sleeping bag?: It sounds like a horrifying sequel to  
> that other movie "Snakes on a Plane"...tell me it's an urban myth.  
> Most of my time camping in the desert has been in the winter, so  
> I've stayed in a tent. I prefer cowboy camping when I can, but I'm  
> new to camping in the desert in late spring. It seems highly  
> unlikely that I would wake up with a rattlesnake in my sleeping  
> bag, but I've heard stories, so I just wanted to hear from others  
> who cowboy camp that it is in fact perfectly fine to cowboy camp in  
> the desert.?
The only snakes that have snuck into my bag have been trouser snakes.

>
> 4. Ice axe and microspikes: I saw a question sent out earlier  
> regarding this topic, but I don't remember reading any responses.  
> Are other hikers carrying one or both of these items through the  
> Sierras this year? Any input from previous thru-hikers? (I know how  
> to use both an ice axe and trekking pole for self arrest, but I  
> feel more confident in my skills with an ice axe.)

Most hikers tend to carry ice axes but I have never seen an ice axe  
in anyone's hands, just strapped to the pack where it will do no  
good. I brought traction aides and found them helpful but I wasn't  
wearing them when I needed them most. None of these items are of any  
use if you don't know how to use them, don't know how to put them on,  
or don't put them on or take them out when they are needed. I didn't  
know how to use an ice axe so I didn't have one and I never felt I  
needed one. I hiked in an ordinary snow year in 2008, not high, not low.