[pct-l] watches

[CMountainDave@aol.com (CMountainDave@aol.com)]

The battery on my Casio Altimeter watch went dead about 3 weeks into my trip 
and no one on the entire length of the PCT had the expertise to replace it. I 
got very used to not having it around. I just camped when I had my mileage 
quota in, usually about 18. If I happened to be caught by darkness, I just 
used my flashlite to make camp and eat. It was no big deal. Actually, I did 
pick one up when October came around because I wanted to break camp about an 
hour before dawn and would have had no Idea when to get up without a watch 
because 2A.M. looks the same as 6A.M. in October. This fact and because I 
lost my cheapie watch near Stehekin  may have saved my life because I got up 
one morning thinking dawn was near and put in 8 miles before it got light 
enough to see. If I had gotten up at 6 A.M. I would have been caught in a 
raging blizzard whiteout 4 hours from the nearest road. Because I put in 8 
miles before dawn I JUST made it to Harts Pass and its exit road before this 
enormous storm hit ( 24 inches in 36 Hours and 90 MPH wind) I'm with Strider 
on this one: it's kind of liberating not to be on a daily time schedule.