[pct-l] Early Season Fording Techniques?

[kdpo at pacbell.net (Ken Powers)]

I tried the crossing about 10-15 up the creek. It was still way to wild for
me. I had trouble just standing in the water. It was nearly impossible to
walk. There was no chance I could carry a pack. I think you were several
days behind us at that point. It had probably started to subside.
Ken
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marshall Karon" <m.karon@comcast.net>
To: "Ken Powers" <kdpo@pacbell.net>; <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>;
<RBALCORN@cs.com>
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 5:12 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Early Season Fording Techniques?


> We probably saw that note in 2000. Said not to cross there  (right where
the
> path was) - too deep.
>
> But, if you started at that point and waded just a bit upstream (like 10
> feet), it was easy and not deep. We laughed at the note and wondered who
> would ever attempt to go through the deepest part when a few feet away the
> water was obviously not as deep. However, we could have been a day or two
> later or earlier and at a different time of day. It was swift though and
we
> didn't really know what we doing - good thing, I think.
>
> Marshall Karon
> Portland, OR
> m.karon@comcast.net
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ken Powers" <kdpo@pacbell.net>
> To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>; <RBALCORN@cs.com>
> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 4:51 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Early Season Fording Techniques?
>
>
> > Here is a link to a few pictures in the high sierra taken early in 2000.
> > http://home.pacbell.net/kdpo/pct/high_sierra.htm
> > At the bottom of the page is my picture. I am wet up to my arm pits and
> > crossing Evolution Creek (really a lake) for the 9th time. We tried to
> cross
> > the creek at the normal crossing. Semper Fi left a note saying the water
> was
> > to fast to cross there and to go back up the trail to the meadow. The
note
> > was 2 days old so I thought maybe the creek had gone down.
> >
> > I tried the creek with no pack. It was to swift and cold. The bottom of
> the
> > creek was washed out so it was just boulders. No way I could carry our
> packs
> > across there. We walked up stream along the banks. Nothing looked
better,
> so
> > I crossed back and we went up stream.
> >
> > I crossed over and back 2 more times before finding slower and shallower
> > water. Even then Marcia stepped into a hole that put her eye deep in the
> > snow melt. As I crossed the creek for the last time with my backpack I
> > thought I would like a picture of this. The camera was in the top of the
> > backpack on top of my head. I had to dump the pack on the creek bed.
> Marcia
> > got the camera out and handed me the backpack again. I waded back into
the
> > creek and Marcia took the picture.
> >
> > After I finally got out, we put on our fleeces over our wet shirts, ate
> what
> > snacks that were handy, and started walking briskly to warm up. In a
short
> > time our shorts and shirts were dry.
> >
> > We had so many water crossings (what is a creek?) that we usually just
> > plunged into them. Marcia was asking "Where are all the log crossing we
> did
> > last year on the John Muir Trail?" They were buried in the snow. We just
> > wore our trail runners thru the water. Our feet were wet from all the
snow
> > and snowmelt anyway. As long as we kept walking our feet were fine. But
if
> > we stopped they got cold pretty quick.
> >
> > This is the only picture we have of the stream crossings. We had
probably
> > 6-8 other that were at least as scary. Usually the water was moving lots
> > faster. And the mosquitoes were fierce. As we finished a crossing we
would
> > look down at probably 100 mosquitoes drawing blood from our arms. One
> > memorable one is Bear Creek, a few hours south of Edison Lake. It was
> really
> > fast and scary.
> >
> > We learned not to cross the creeks late in the day. We crossed the
> Tuolumne
> > River just north of Donahue Pass just before dusk. We immediately set up
> > camp and crawled into our sleeping bags to warm up. That didn't work as
> well
> > as hiking to warm up. We were cold for much longer even though we ate a
> hot
> > dinner.
> >
> > I have seen pictures from of other hikers who were a week or less behind
> us.
> > The authors of your book were just probably within a week behind us. The
> > snow levels and water levels a week later were considerably less than
what
> > we had. You can see in the pictures the weather was quite warm. (SF had
> > temps in the 90's that week.)
> > Ken
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: <RBALCORN@cs.com>
> > To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
> > Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 3:39 PM
> > Subject: [pct-l] Early Season Fording Techniques?
> >
> >
> > > I'm reading Blistered Kind of Love.  They talk about stream crossings
in
> > the
> > > Sierras chest high.  This is early season - cold, snow melt water,
etc.
> > They
> > > don't say how they dry off.  My assumption is they are hiking in quick
> dry
> > > synthetics and walk till they are dry.  For those of you that have
done
> > it, how do
> > > you avoid hyperthermia? Do you take your boots off, etc?  I hike this
> area
> > in
> > > summer, and take considerable effort to stay dry - boots off, switch
to
> > > lightweight river shoes, but water never more than thigh high, so
> > wondering how you
> > > early season pct hikers do it?
> > >
> > > Ralph Alcorn
> > > www.backpack45.com
> > > Shepherd Canyon Books
> > > Publisher of We're in the Mountains, Not Over the Hill: Tales and Tips
> > from
> > > Seasoned Women Backpackers
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