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[pct-l] Into Thin Air and the PCT
While the PCT may not have the magnitude of difficulty that Everest has, it
is quite possible to lose your life while hiking along it, either through
error or accident.
I had an experience several years ago on a group hike that is relevant --
though it turned out well. I went on a Sierra club trip to Thousand Island
Lake. It was just a weekend trip - 7 hours to drive to Agnew Meadow on
Friday night, hike in 12 miles on Saturday, bag Davis Peak on Sunday
morning, hike out that afternoon and drive home Sunday night. Trouble was,
that was a lot of hike for a group. On Sunday morning, part of the group
started the climb, while the rest stayed behind, with the intention of
starting back for the cars mid-morning. We climbed through snow to a small
tarn behind Banner. Some of us realized that as slow as we were going given
the conditions, we were unlikely to make it back to the cars before dark, so
we turned around. The leader and assistant leader were both determined to
bag the peak. They weren't sure how far it was, probably another 3 miles or
so, but they were out there to climb that mountain, and the fact that there
really wasn't enough time wasn't going to stop them. So they told us to go
back without them while they went ahead to climb Davis. The problem was,
this was a group hike, they were the leaders, and they left us to make our
own way cross country through soft snow to Thousand Island Lake and then on
to our cars 15 miles away. This was my first snow climbing experience. None
of us had ice axes or even ski poles. And the leaders apparently felt no
responsibility for getting the group safely back to the trailhead. We were
lucky, the three small groups stuck together and no one got hurt or lost.
The ones who didn't try the peak got back to their cars mid-afternoon, we
got back to our cars about 5:00 and the leaders got back to their cars about
8:00. That was my last trip with that leader, and he stopped leading trips
soon after. Good thing. His focus on the goal at the expense of the group
was dangerous - we were just lucky.
Ginny
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