[pct-l] Early PCT casualtis

[Paul Mitchell]

> THEY ARE  DROPPING  AS  EARLY AS  HAUSER  CREEK???

I've noticed this happen a couple times in past years around KO time,
usually to older fellas who unfortunately underestimated how much their
health/fitness has declined since the last time they were on a trail.  I've
also seen a lot of very fit young hikers suffer stress injuries in the first
50 miles by starting right from Campo with high mileage days.  I've seen
hikers with little/no experience, and hikers with moderate/high experience
run into trouble early on, typically by starting with high mileage days.  

> I am not at all surprised.

Nor should you be.  Hundreds of people start around the same time, a few of
them are going to run into trouble early.

> It used to be that a PCT thru was best left to be attempted by experienced
hikers.

Times change.  The PCT is a well-established trail, and although
collectively it's a huge distance, it's also ultimately just a series of
shorter stretches between roads/towns.  How much experience does one need to
follow an obvious trail for a few days, then resupply and follow it again
for a few days, and so no?  

Maybe back in the-good-old-day it was more difficult, gear was heavier,
resupplies were further apart, there weren't guide-books, etc ... but it's
physically and practically easier now, and that's just the way it is.  I've
personally met people who set out with little more than a week's notice and
no long distance experience who made it to Manning.

> This seems to have changed.

Indeed!  :)

> For some time now the trail has been romanticized and attracted an ever
increasing number of novice, inexperienced hikers with statements like...

Everything gets romanticized!  Nobody would take on a huge trail, now or
back in the day, if they weren't focusing on the great parts of the
experience.  We romanticize lots of things, not just a thru-hike.  

One reason the trail may attract more novice/inexperienced hikers is the
ages when people have the freedom to take it on.  I've hiked on the PCT with
kids just out of high-school with no real trail experience.  Good on them
for taking it on!  One of them got a stress injury 900 miles in, the other
three went on to finish as far as I recall.

> ooohhh, your safer on the trail than in your own home...

That's silly.  I've never heard anyone say this.  I've certainly heard
people say that the most dangerous part of the trail is the highway drive to
get there, which is likely true.  I've heard people say the trail is safer
than cities in response to friends/relatives expressing various fears, i.e.
dangerous people; also likely true.

> ooohhh, anybody can do it...grandma can do it....

Well, true enough, some grandma's could do it.  Mine couldn't now, but when
she was sixty-five she sure could have, she's always been amazingly fit!  I
don't think people are generally saying "ANYONE can do it" meaning LITERALLY
anyone, but anyone reasonably physically healthy can give it a try.  It's
just walking long distances, as we all know, it's 80% a mental challenge to
stay out there.

> you don't need any experience,...you will get experienced as you go.

Very true!  Doesn't mean you wouldn't stand a better chance of avoiding some
mistakes and making it all the way, but yeah, I've met quite a number of
very inexperienced PCT hikers who made it all the way.  Ultimately, it's
just walking, it's what our bodies were designed to do.  Check the data book
about the next water source, walk, cook a meal and set up a little tent, get
up the next day and repeat, make some mistakes, learn from them, etc.  One
has to generally make a series of very bad decisions to wind up in a really
serious predicament; e.x. John Donovan.  

> Don't worry about the snakes, bears or Mountain Lions.

Well ... yeah, pretty much.  Were old-time PCT hikers somehow better
prepared for these things?  Did they train for three years in
anti-snake/bear/lion martial arts before hitting the trail?  How prepared
can/should anyone be for those things?  How big a risk are they, really?
I've heard of one PCT hiker bit by a snake, I've heard of a brown recluse
bite - neither of these was fatal, nor were they avoidable.  Personally, I
had a rattlesnake slide across my bare foot (in sandal) when it crossed the
trail out of some tall grass, luckily wasn't bitten, but ultimately how
could any kind of preparation prevent an incident like that?  Shit happens.

If anything though, many of us, myself included, could certainly be more
careful about properly securing food in bear country.  

> They will not bother you unless you bother them....

With the exception of unsecured food in high risk bear areas, this is a very
true statement.

> You don't need a map or compass, 

Also, arguably, true.  I've met first-time-PCT hiking buddies using nothing
but the data book.  It's a very easy trail for most to follow, though I
personally wouldn't advocate hiking it with just the data book.  I've never
used a compass or seen another PCT hiker use a compass.  It's a very well
established trail.

> and if you get lost or in trouble you can always call 911....so be sure to
bring your cell phone and emergency beeper.

As with most things, if you dig into it, it's not such a simple thing to
debate.  I, personally, do not want to have that kind of technology with me
when I hike, it spoils my sense of being "out there" ... but others could
make pretty good arguments for why it might be irresponsible to not bring a
bit of technology that could save your life in the unlikely event of a
serious incident. 

> This is a recipe for a disaster in the making.

Bah! Humbug!  

> The more inexperienced hikers on a trail like the PCT,  the greater the
risk of failures and casualties .

Yes, it's true: the better prepared we are for ANY activity, the better a
chance we have of succeeding at it and avoiding failures, but: we all learn
best from mistakes, not all of us have the time or opportunity for extensive
training hikes, it's not even realistic to be prepared for all the things
that could but most likely won't occur, the trail is easier to take on than
it used to be, blah, blah, blah. 

Regarding casualties I've heard of on the trail, two were hit by a car, No
Way Ray was very experienced, another was suicide, one had a bad fall up out
of Hauser, John Donovan had experience but made very foolish choices ...
this notion that inexperienced noobs are a disaster in the making doesn't
hold up.

Not sure why some people seem to almost want others to fail when they see
them doing it differently than they did - I guess it is self-validating in
some way.

- Potential 178