[pct-l] Up date on Lost Hikers

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

I heard that at least one of the fatalities WAS an experienced and equipped hiker.
Not ever had the experience of wearing snow/ice gear, I wouldn't even WANT to go up San G.
Heck! I'm not a big fan of the Vivian in the summer!!!
I'm a Fish Creek sort of guy ;)

On another note, I WAS on the PCT between Morena Res and Mt Laguna last weekend.
We passed the scout troop that found the body (one of two) on the trail. We passed them going North as they were headed South, about a couple miles north of the 8 freeway. One of my partners talked to one of their leaders who told him about the body. I though they said they "heard" about a body, but my partner confirmed that they found it.
Funny thing though: the weather wasn't really that bad. It was suppose to rain in the afternoon on Saturday, but it held off until about 7pm that night. We retired to our tents and continued up to Mt Laguna the next day. The rain stopped about 7:30am and by the time we ate breakfast, packed up our wet gear and got on the trail at 10:30 am, the blue sky was peeking through the clouds here and there. Later in the day, the sky kept getting better and better. By the time we got to Horse Meadow, it was sunny...
And we didn't see anything out of the ordinary up to the point where we left the PCT at Burnt Ranchiera campground.
I DID see a helicopter flying low while we were about 1/2 mile from our finish, but that in itself didn't seem strange considering Mt Laguna has an airfield.

So there were two... and one was partially eaten (ugh). By what could have been a mountain lion (yikes!)
I wonder if they were illegal immigrants.... I didn't see ANY trace of illegal immigrants from the southern terminus to Mt Laguna, except for a couple discarded sarapes (those rug-ponchos you can buy in TJ) off the trail, and those could have been tossed by anyone.

BIG COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT: Damn if there isn't a ton of trash on the trail between Morena and Mt Laguna! I started to pick up bits here and there at first, but if I picked up everything, I'd have doubled my pack weight! I even saw a child's daypack in Long Canyon near the ford.
It was in good condition, so I left it, thinking that the owner might be nearby. It was empty, though...
We saw everything from EMPTY WATER CONTAINERS, wrappers, beer cans, even women's underwear!!! No kidding! There was a bra hanging from a bush and a couple pairs of panties with some shorts and what may have been the rest of her clothes on the trail just east of Yellow Rose Spring (there was a fork in the trail just north of here, but I can't find it on any map).

M i c h a e l   S a e n z
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e    P l a n n i n g    I n t e r i o r s
w  w  w  .  m  v  e  -  a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s  .  c  o  m

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	CMountainDave@aol.com [mailto:CMountainDave@aol.com] 
Sent:	Tuesday, January 27, 2004 1:52 PM
To:	pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject:	Re: [pct-l] Up date on Lost Hikers

It would be interesting to know if any of them carried any crampons. I'm 
betting not. Very few people in S. Cal would own them. Would be one of those 
anticipation things, since most of them had most likely hiked those trails before 
not thinking that ice would be a problem. Gotta be versatile and anticipate 
problems before hand and LISTEN when experienced rangers warn you about potential 
problems. They weren't saying not to go, but to consider the conditions. 
Crampons, even instep ones, would most likely have saved their lives. But hey, 
Monday morning quarterbacking is easy
   David C
_______________________________________________
pct-l mailing list
pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
unsubscribe or change options:
http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l