Re: [pct-l] Distance/Time

Peter Haskell wrote: 
> In a recent PCT List message I noticed that you took 9 days between Indep.
> and VVR.  That set off an alarm for me.  Craig's PCT Trip Planner pegged
> that section (using my critera of 2.1 MPH and 8 hrs. of hiking per day) at
7
> days.  Can you shed any light on how I should be reading his data or using
> his program?  Or, in general, estimating time between stops? 
> My aim is to do the CA part of the PCT, 4/15-9/10/2000.  I'm a slow hiker.

I consider myself a slow hiker as well.  I did that stretch as part of a
section hike in '98 in eight days.  That's counting a round trip slack
pack from Kearsarge Lakes to Onion Valley for resupply as day 1.  I
think Craig's Planning Program is a terrific first step, but it cannot
substitute for defining my personal comfort zone.  The high elevation
and daily elevation changes made that stretch difficult for me.  Next
time through I may just take a day longer to really enjoy what is
arguably the best 100 miles of the PCT.  My advice is to do enough
backpacking to be able to determine your comfort zone and plan
accordingly.  Study the guide for terrain and elevation, in fact study
the elevation profiles in Craig's Planner.  While 16 or 17 miles a day
may be right some places, maybe 14 is right in the high sierra, and
after all, this is about enjoyment.  No one is keeping score.

See you on the trail,  Tom
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