[pct-l] worries about not worrying

[mgeis@yahoo.com (Matt Geis)]

Hi Erin,
If you feel the need to keep yourself busy until next
April (that'll come up fast, so don't worry), you may
want to do the following.

1.  Make sure you know how to actually use your ice
axe.  If you don't know already, take a short course
in basic ice-axe safety so you can learn how to self
belay and self arrest.  We were pretty fortunate this
year (2002) in that none of the sections were totally
impassible w/o an axe.  However, there were some
sections that were essentially bulletproof ice in the
early morning.  A couple of those sections (I'm
thinking of the descent from Glen Pass down to Rae
Lakes) would have been pretty dramatic, if anyone did
happen to fall.

I'm not trolling to start the endless "do I need an
axe" debate.  I'm just saying that the total risk is
made up of two components -- the likelihood of a fall,
and the severity of a fall should one occur.  If you
do fall, having an axe is of no value if you don't
know how to use it.  It sounds like you haven't yet
bought an axe.  There are some really lightweight ones
available for only about $70.  I do a fair amount of
mountaineering, so I had a pretty heavy Black Diamond
Alpamayo (I wasn't going to shell out for a new axe),
but I'd have enjoyed a lighter axe.

2.  Depending on how comfortable you are with your
resupply strategy, or how much work you want to do
before your trip, you may consider finding ways to
resupply from the trail.  I know that if I were doing
the PCT again (this is just my opinion), I'd have a
lot more fun if I did more resupply from the trail
(shipping boxes ahead during my hike, as opposed to
preparing all my boxes before the hike).  There's a
good page on the PCTA site about it.

Good luck!
Matt Geis ("Iron Chef")


--- Erin Brown <ernbrn1218@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>    I have been hanging out on the list for awhile
> but haven't introduced
> myself. I am Teatree, and I am in Baltimore MD. I am
> planning a PCT
> thru-hike in 2003. I have thru-hiked the Long Trail
> and AT in recent years
> as well as some other short but sweet hikes(Anyone
> ever done the
> Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway?). My comment/question is
> reguarding planning. I
> am concerned that I am not doing enough of it.
> Before the AT all I thought
> about was the hike. It took me months to figure out
> maildrops and gear. I am
> finding that since I already have my gear (minus my
> ice axe) and maildrops
> planned thanks to the help of Yogi's town list on
> her journal(Thanks!!), and
> the town guide, that I am spending almost no time
> (other than the time I
> spend reading this list and your great journals) on
> my long, upcoming trip.
> This is concerning me. Am I missing something here?
> Is there something else
> I should be doing? By the way, I found my California
> guidebook through
> calling REI's 800 number. They were able to direct
> me to a store that had
> ONE copy left. There may be other stores that also
> have one copy, couldn't
> hurt to try.  Also, are there others out there that
> had never hiked on the
> West Coast prior to your PCT hike? Nice to meet you
> all,
>
>    Teatree
>
>
>
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