[pct-l] Heights

[Peter Necarsulmer]

Dear Tom,

Your post is very interesting and useful!!  Of all my peculiarities, happy to say fear of heights is not among them. BUT, my spouse has "the fear" (5-8 on your scale) from time-to-time. 

I am sure your post is an important read for all PCT hikers whether or not you experience fear of heights.  Thanks Tom!

Escargot
Peter Necarsulmer
necarsulmer at mac.com

> On Mar 15, 2016, at 12:51 PM, Tom Grundy <caver456 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I have vertigo problems too, or whatever you want to label the general fear
> of exposure-to-fall, i.e. "if I stumble or significantly misplace a foot
> here, it would be somewhere between bad and fatal" compounded by the 'fear'
> that leads you (or at least me) to walk in an unsafe manner, i.e. with any
> unnatural gait and/or with your feet as far as possible from the drop,
> which is generally not smart cause the footing is often worse, more
> outsloped, less trodden, etc on the side of the trail farthest from the
> drop.
> 
> Apologies in advance for all the numbers: I'm an engineer...
> 
> A hiking partner and I both had a similar 'rating system' of zero to ten as
> to how freaked out we were on any given stretch of trail.  For me, ten
> would be nearly hyperventilating where you have to take whatever measures
> necessary to hold it together and force yourself to focus (usually in the
> form of sternly saying out loud "step, MFer, step, MFer, step, MFer... "
> (addressing myself of course) with pressure-breathing, hand up beside your
> face for 'blinders', etc.   Good stuff.  Probably not real reassuring for
> others in the area...
> 
> Anyway the highest I've hit on the PCT (section hiker, and have not done
> all of it, but have been in all of WA and north OR and many small sections
> in the high Sierra) was in Mokelumne Wilderness in the crumbling lava-type
> slopes a few miles north of Kinney Lakes.  We both and individually gave it
> an 8 out of 10 after we got through that stretch.  "Crazy Eights" is the
> name we gave that stretch, though the worst was only a couple of yards
> long.  We took a few pictures afterwards, and sure enough the trail was not
> really visible from 100 yards away even though there was no vegetation.
> 
> I've been at 5 or 6 many times on sloped snowy patches.
> 
> Eagle Creek approaching Cascade Locks was probably 6 or so, but they have
> cables.  (Not sure how this is affected by the current bridge-out
> situation.)
> 
> The Knife Edge in Goat Rocks was probably 4 for me most of the way, with
> not much crosswind and clear skies.
> 
> There were many more 3,4,5,6 places scattered throughout, but, they are all
> brief moments in the grand scheme.  Overall average of all miles, if you
> could invent such a bogus number, is probably 0.001.
> 
> A few notes in retrospect:
> 
> 1. I'm pretty sure that crazy-eights section is a lot better now, but I
> couldn't swear to it.  That was about 10 years ago.
> 2. In general, picking your timing to avoid snow will definitely help.
> Traction devices, used appropriately, can be like instant courage on snow
> if you need it.
> 3. I never stumbled in the 'zero' sections.  Why would I stumble in the
> 'five' sections or the 'eight' sections?  Focus on a keeping smart normal
> gait all the time.
> 4. The bark was usually worse than the bite.  Kendall Katwalk, for all the
> hype, was a zero or one for me cause the trail quality is so dang good.
> The 'washouts' around Glacier and Woods passes in WA last year were a zero
> or one - the sideslope angle of the area was MUCH less than I had
> imagined.  Granted, the trail crew patched it up just a week before we were
> there so we missed the 'full' experience.
> 5. remember that the trail is used by horses and by hikers of ALL sizes and
> ALL ages.  If my grandma can do it, or if those yahoo hikers in front of us
> could to it, then it can't be that big a deal.
> 6. The trail crews do an awesome job and they are aware of all this.
> 7. It almost goes without saying, but keep your eye on the prize: all the
> incredible places and views that this short section of
> mental-challenge-trail is going through and taking you to.
> 8. Some things that helped me in those 'special' moments; your results WILL
> vary:
> - tilt your hat to block your view of the drop, or even hold your hand up
> vertically beside your eye on the drop side; i.e. 'blinders'.  You can
> admire the view when you stop moving for a few seconds, then go back to
> blinders when you are moving.
> - focus on normal breathing and normal 'intelligent' gait, and work towards
> a 'normal' pace instead of creeping
> - make sure you are going with a partner who understands and is patient,
> within reason that you can both work with; but, at the same time, always
> work on improving as you go so as to be a 'good steward' of their
> understanding and patience.
> 
> 9. I always have been and always will be envious of folks for whom this
> whole topic is a non-issue and/or seems silly.  If you've read this far,
> you are probably not one of said folks...  but if you are, thanks for
> acknowledging that everyone has a different experience on the trail, and
> that a simple "Howdy" as you pass on the trail can be pretty reassuring
> and comforting.
> 
> Enjoy the trail!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>>> On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 9:43 AM, Scott Bryce <sbryce at scottbryce.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> On 3/14/2016 6:21 PM, Jim & Jane Moody wrote:
>>> 
>>> Yes, parts of the PCT are not vertigo-friendly. It starts early, in
>>> the San Felipe Hills
>> 
>> I have slight vertigo problems, though not as bad as the OP. I did not
>> find anyplace in the San Felipe Hills difficult.