[pct-l] Washington conditions

[kahley@ptd.net (kahley)]

At 01:57 PM 7/23/02 -0700, David hiking PCNST in bits wrote:
>Wenatchee probably.   Frightening story!
>
> > He said all the SOBOers
>are ripped up from falls.
>
>Southbounders?   How many are there this year?    A lousy year for it
>compared to last year.

Just talked with him.....he fell from somewhere near Katy pass.
Started in snow and ended in mud and then trees.  Anyway you look
at that, that's a looong way down. His first concern was that he
couldn't breathe because his nose was full of mud.  He didn't
have a spare pair of glasses and no way was he gonna be able to
find the ones he was wearing.  He was very near the river and followed it out
for three days essentially hiking blind or at least severely seeing impaired.
He stumbled onto a Ranger who brought him the rest of the way
He is not hurt, miraculously beyond being banged and scrapped up.
He can't hike cause he doesn't have glasses and has to be back in MI
for National Guard duty beginning next week so there is no way to get new
glasses and still have enough time to get to Manning.  Seventy five days and
2500 miles.  He is pretty bummed.
He said the snow is down past 4000 feet despite the heat.  He said where
there isn't ten feet of snow the bugs are unbelievable.  He knows he tried
to go too fast, too early for the heavy snow year.  He also knows he could
have done it in 80 days as was planned if he had left later or if there were
fewer 100 degree days .
He had to catch a bus so that's all I have.