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[pct-l] Getting Into Trouble on the Trail



Generally speaking, ultra-lighters seem to rely on minimal
amounts of clothing and lighter sleeping bags, so that it is 
accepted practise to expect to spend many nights on the trail 
wearing all one's clothes inside the bag at night in an effort
to stay warm. Cooler nighttime temps can be foreseen as a 
normal and usual event. If you are using all your resources 
to stay warm within the context of the normal and usual, then
you will have a hard time coping with the unexpected and
unusual.

I grant you that any hiker with matches is able to call on
more resources to stay warm than just their clothes and
sleeping bag. But in order to call on those resources you
need to be clear-thinking and react more quickly and surely 
to a low temperature situation. You have to foresee the
need, gather the fuel and start the fire before you are
hypothermic and losing your capabilities.

My point would be that an ultra-lighter is going to be pressed
into that situation more rapidly than a hiker who can pull
another layer out of their pack and stay warm with minimal
effort or foresight. They just need to be more aware that
the edge of hypothermia is always close when they pull their
last layer out and put it on nearly every day. A wise
ultra-lighter knows this and factors it into their knowledge
base, so they do react appropriately when the edge of safety 
moves unexpectedly.


> What do you think, specifically, ultra-lighters are missing in their gear
> to deal with emergancies out there?
> 
> Paul
> 
> > That said, what ultra-lighters often fail to realize is that they are
> > habitually placing themselves much closer to the edge of survivability
> > on a daily basis, and as a result, need to be even more vigilant for
> > dangers and more far-seeing and quick-reacting to them than others.