[pct-l] leaving the trail

[brian.robinson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Brian Robinson)]

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JoAnn M Michael <jomike@snowcrest.net> wrote: I bought the DVD. As unbeliev=
able as it sounds he came off trail with 62 miles left due to being cold an=
d bad feet. I cannot imagine...3 to 4 days left and he quit. It stopped sno=
w/rain the day he left trail if I remember correctly. I fault NO ONE for no=
t completing the trail. You guys have guts I do not know I could ever muste=
r up but, come-on, only 62 miles left!?? I guess when you've had it you hav=
e really had it.

JoAnn

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1997 was the first year I thruhiked the PCT. The cold rain in Washington ha=
d to be experienced to be believed. It was unrelenting for days. I met Myle=
s several times that year and I can assure you he is no quitter. He bought =
a new pair of boots in Portland Oregon that didn't fit right. He couldn't a=
fford another pair, so he walked over 400 miles in pain before that and the=
 cold rain eroded his resolve. Don't judge too harshly unless you've been t=
here.
Other accounts of Washington in '97 are around. Karen Berger's account can =
be found in the famous PCT coffee table book. She and her party didn't make=
 it to monument 78 either. They took an alternate route to Manning. My acco=
unt from '97 is online as well. I've copied some of it below. The entire jo=
urnal can be found at:
http://www.accesscom.com/~kkbunya/pct/index.html
Flyin' Brian
Monday (9/15/97) (3:30 PM) Milk Creek near Glacier Peak, WA.
Mileage: 2,537. Rain, Cold Rain. It just keeps coming down. Saturday (9/13)=
 was nice until evening; then it started raining. It let up long enough to =
pitch camp and then it poured all night. Sunday (9/14) was the forecasted r=
ainiest day. It rained on and off all day, but the sun came out strongly a =
couple times. Today was forecasted as a day of showers, and its not rained =
continuously, but with all the wet brush you can't tell. And the sun has no=
t been seen at all. Its also been very cold. Going over Red Pass yesterday =
and Fire Creek Pass today it was sleeting a little. Brrr. Fortunately today=
 I met Michelle and Kevin, a couple of "weekender" backpackers, who were ea=
ting lunch just over Fire Creek Pass. They were cold. I was cold. Their sto=
ve didn't work, mine did. They shared their food with me. Yum! Since they'r=
e leaving today they also gave me the rest of their fuel. Now I certainly h=
ave enough to get me to Stehekin. I was getting worried about food because =
in this cold I've been eating more than I planned. I didn't want to run out=
. Mileage is also tough. The terrain is very steep with what are usually su=
perb views. Just fog and clouds now, though. The short days and rain also c=
ut into the hours walked. I've been gettin in low 20's each day instead of =
the 25+ I hoped for. I may not get to Stehekin until Wednesday at this rate.
I also passed Batch, a 76 year old, today. He was cold and tired but there =
was nothing I could do to help. If he finishes, he will be the oldest hiker=
 to finish the PCT in one year. I wish him luck.
Tuesday (9/16/97) (10:30 AM) Gamma Creek, Glacier Peak Wilderness, WA.
Mileage: 2,548. I saw the sun for a few minutes this morning! Its the first=
 time in a day and a half that seems like a week. I guess I'm initiated now=
 - I've been snowed on in Washington. As I noted before, there have been a =
couple times in the last few days that it sleeted a little going over the p=
asses, but yesterday on the ridge above Milk Creek it was really snowing. I=
t didn't stick, but it was falling slowly and hitting with a lighter touch.=
 Then this morning at the Dolly Vista Campsite (what view?) I thought it ha=
d stopped raining when I couldn't hear the little drops anymore, just the b=
ig drops out of the trees. But when I got up it was snowing hard! It was st=
icking for just a few minutes in some places. Since it has cleared, the whi=
te above me shows that had I camped any higher, I'd be slogging through sno=
w this morning.
So how am I doing through all this? I'm okay. I'm alone. I'm about 60 miles=
 from anywhere resembling a town. There are a few trailheads closer, but wh=
o would be there on days like this? I'm on my own. I've been cold. I'm cons=
tantly wet. My body heat dries out the inner layers as I hike. Everything I=
 have is wet. If you were reading the original of this journal, you would s=
ee the smeared ink and the wet places that I'm not writing on. Even my prec=
ious maps are wet around the edges. I've been cold enough to wear every sti=
tch of clothing I have with me, even while hiking. I've been wearing everyt=
hing but my raingear to bed and I've been a little cold in bed just before =
morning. I've set up camp in the rain. I've broken camp in the rain. I've s=
tarted a campfire with soaking-wet wood. I've hiked through wet brush that =
is chest-high and the source of most of my wetness. I've been through it al=
l=2E I'm alive. I'm well. I'm not having much fun, but I'm in no real dange=
r=2E I've seen the rainforests of Washington at their wettest and finest. I=
 now know that I CAN survive out here. Its a nice comforting feeling. After=
 its all over, I will be REALLY glad I went through it because everything e=
lse in life will be EASY.
Oh, lest this diatribe sound too mushy, I'm now a day behind schedule getti=
ng to Stehekin. I sure can't average 25+ miles per day in this mess.