[pct-l] mountaineering types

[CMountainDave@xxxxxxx (CMountainDave@xxxxxxx)]

As a mountaineer, I think I see where John is coming from. Mountaineers are
worry warts.(What exactly IS a worry wart?) Or at least they shoud be if they
hope to survive. They are surrounded by a myriad of dangers, from approaching
thunderstorms to gravity, to crossing crevasses. Numerous life or death
decisions are made. Mistakes can kill you. It's easy to carry that mind set
into just plain old backpacking on a trail, where the physical dangers truly
are minimal, mostly of the annoyance type (except for Marge, of course).
Storms pose no real danger. If you get wet, hike out 5-10 miles to a
trailhead. And now with GPS you can't even get lost. Bear danger? Hah!
 Some things I do carry over, such as carrying a parka (1 lb) even in the
Mojave.  I do so mainly because of fear of not enjoying myself if I get cold
or wet. And if I'm not enjoying myself, I'll be tempted to leave. I don't
want to leave.  Ditto for my feet, so I carry a pair of socks that I only
wear in a dry camp or to bed
 One of the most satisfying things for me is to weather out a big storm,
waking the next morning to go on as if a storm had never even occured - warm
and dry. It means I did something right - like breaking into a boy scout
cabin! ( if it rains for week straight, there's not much hope of staying dry)