[pct-l] Sarah Bishop or death of a hiker

[waynekraft at verizon.net (Wayne Kraft)]

I am mostly a reader of this list and not a contributor.  After the reaction to my last post, I am sort of inclined to go back to just reading.  I don't think I have never before in my life participated in a pack weight discussion.  I don't care about the weight of anyone's pack but my own. If you grow weary because yours is too heavy, I'll switch with you for awhile. Just ask me.  I mentioned the weight of Sarah's pack because the SAR director mentioned it to me.  I am probably a little dense, but until it was mentioned in relation to this incident, I had not even considered pack weight as a saftey issue. 

I don't personally know how heavy the pack was. I relied on information from the SAR director who said  the pack "probably weighed in at about 60 lbs. dry weight."  We exchanged emails and those were his exact words.  He's a straight-up guy and he doesn't make statments you can't take to the bank. I specifically asked his permission to share these three bits of information (pack weight, straps on and trekking poles present), which weren't mentioned in the general media accounts of the tragedy, with the participants in this list. He thought it was a good idea. 

I do not desire to participate in a debate about trekking poles either. I don't know if Sarah was using the poles to cross the river or, if she was using them, how she was using them. All I know is that she had them.  Someone contacted me off list to suggest it is a bad idea to use the wrist straps on poles while fording because they are hard to get off if you fall in.  Seemed like a reasonable comment to me, but I've never tried to take them off in an emergency.  

Wayne Kraft