[pct-l] Solo Hiking

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

I've been reading this particular thread with great interest. The person who's writing the article had asked why someone would have reservations about hiking solo. I had assumed that she was a PCT hiker, or someone who is familiar with recent events in the southern segment areas.

So I responded with:
****
We've lost eight people in the mountains this winter. Another two illegal immigrants were found dead a couple weeks ago on the PCT (I was on the very section of trail, the same day they were found on, and passed the Boy Scout Troop that found them). Various factors came together to make the conditions unusually dangerous.
We just endured the most devastating fire season on record. We're beginning to get something closer to "normal" precipitation. Erosion is making whole mountainsides unstable. Along with the rain follows periods of cold weather that freezes ice and then layers soft snow on top, creating death-trap ice chutes that will drop a hiker hundreds of feet in a fall. "Urban Sprawl" and a population increase in wildlife have resulted in more human/animal interactions.
We've had people inexperienced in hiking go up in winter conditions without proper gear or basic trail skills, or they go out and buy the gear and go up without knowing how to properly use it. Even experienced hikers are dying due to the unusually dangerous conditions (I mentioned the SAR member that died. The "tram" I referred to is the tram that runs from Palm Springs to 9,000 feet up in the San Jacinto Mountains. Desert to Alpine in 15 minutes!
And you may want to research the incident in Whiting Ranch, where a guy was killed and partially eaten by a mountain lion which attacked a girl BEFORE IT WAS FINISHED EATING IT'S FIRST VICTIM. Now, wildlife attacks are extremely rare. Or they're supposed to be...
One of the illegal immigrants found on the PCT described above had his body cavity hollowed out, mountain lions will eat the soft tissues first...
We now have to string up our food in the San Bernardino National Forest. Bear populations have been on the rise for the last 20 years. Bear canisters will soon be required for anyone seeking a wilderness permit here.
What makes the wildlife problem notable is that, Whiting Ranch is a park almost completely surrounded by suburban residential tracts in Orange County, CA. The mountain range that the San Bernardino National Forest is in isn't a contiguous wilderness area. It's got the Los Angeles and San Bernardino basins to the west, The San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys to the north, Palmdale, Victorville and Hesperia to the east and the Coachella Desert to the south. All heavily populated areas.
The gal who was attacked in Whiting was mountain biking with another guy. The cat knocked her off her bike, clamped down on her head, and dragged her off into the bushes (toward where it had stashed the body of the first guy it killed). I think she just now got out of intensive care.
When she was attacked, her partner tried to fight off the cat with his bike, then managed to throw rocks at it until it let go of the girl. Even when the guy managed to get the girl back, the cat kept stalking them!
So. Even hiking with others doesn't necessarily mean you're safe from predators. As a hiker, we're just another animal in an environment that is not only unfamiliar to us, but we're simply not physically equipped for it. There are many creatures out there that have long, sharp teeth and claws, and they use them on a daily basis. We don't have to be in Alaska or Yellowstone to be concerned with dangerous animals, we have them right in our backyards...in Southern California!
The dangers of hiking solo are compounded by physical exhaustion after putting in a 10+ mile day. It's one thing to be fresh, fed and light on your feet on the first few miles of the trail. It's quite another situation when you've put big miles between yourself and any possible help, head-down dragging towards your planned campsite. A slip or fall injury, a rattlesnake bite or even an animal attack can probably be survivable within a couple hours of help. But if help is a day away you could be seriously screwed. Throw in a sudden change to adverse weather...
I've considered getting a portable ham radio (and learn how to use it). I do carry a cell phone, but service is almost always non-existent in the mountains. I also carry a GPS unit that has both FRS and GMRS capabilities. I also know how to signal for help using mirrors, whistles, smoke/fire, etc. But I'd imagine that having a partner with you is the most time effective way to get help if you need it.
There are many reasons NOT to hike solo, but from what you've read from others, there are just as many (and sometimes more compelling) reasons to seek the solitude of solo hiking. I still want to try it as an overnighter, but a wise person would weigh all the variables.
Bottom line: Have the skills necessary for wilderness exploration (It's not simply walking a trail). Have the proper gear (ALWAYS carry "The Ten Essentials"). Make a plan and stick to it, share that plan with others so they know where you should be and when you should be expected back. And probably most important, be aware of your surroundings at all times (something that is just about instinctual when solo hiking anyway).
Wow. I didn't plan on writing so much. And now that I re-read this, it sounds like I'm saying that solo hiking is a death defying stunt. But it's quite the opposite! I've never felt so ALIVE when quietly walking down a trail, or sitting in a quiet place, taking in all the sounds, sensations and sights that only a place far removed from human impacts can have. These places are what the world really is, whether it's a mountaintop or a desert island. It's a special feeling to know you're there as a part of it, not as an intruder. Few people bother to experience it. The down side is, if we convinced more people to try it, we'd lose a bit of the solitude we seek.
****
In essence, there are considerations whenever we go out onto the trail. As backpackers, we've learned what to expect and how to deal with the unexpected through trail and error, or if we were smart, through learning from another experienced hiker. Beyond the personal preferences of hiking alone or with a partner/group, one must consider what's appropriate for each hike. Somewhere between the extremes of mountaineering solo in some far flung mountaintop and marching 50 Boy Scouts through a wilderness meadow is the happy medium we find our enjoyment and go about doing so responsibly.


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