[pct-l] Jonathan Breen's 1998 journal now online

[steve_peterson at sbcglobal.net (Steve Peterson)]

I am very pleased to report that the journal describing Jonathan Breen's snowy 
northbound 1998 trek is back on the air! Find it at:

http://www.jonh.net/breen/public_html/index.html

He is willing to answer questions. You can email him at

     ghostman2651@earthlink.net


The journal is images of handwritten pages, so modem-users may find this a bit 
slow. Some of the links don't work and the photos and recordings aren't there. 
There is some chance the photos may get there eventually.

A couple of interesting notes: He left campo May 7, 1998 and experienced cool, 
misty, cloudy and sometimes rainy weather most of the way to Tehachapi, after 
which the weather was pleasant all the way to KM which he reached on 14 June. He 
used crampons to get over the passes in the early mornings (6am) rather than 
wait for softer snow. He chose the pass east of Forester rather than attempting 
Forester itself and apparently had little difficulty. Mather was hairy; he 
didn't mention Glen Pass as being a problem at all.

  He resupplied at Independence (via Kearsarge) and was the first guest at VVR 
for the season, arriving there on 28 June.

His entry for July 20th, in Sierra City reads in part: "Wow! Roughly 500 miles 
of snow hiked through. Finally the trail is 85-90% clear and miles/day are back 
in the low 20s." This is from a guy who eventually did a 42-mile day in Oregon.

Warning for JoAnn: he keeps a running tally of rattlesnakes seen

I'm a bit of a journal junkie, but I as it happens, I haven't read many journals 
before about 2001, so it's been a real treat reading something from "way back" 
in 1998.

Enjoy!
--Steve