[pct-l] Getting Into Trouble on the Trail

[rmoak at sixmoondesigns.com (Ronald Moak)]

Eric Writes >> The biggest problem, I think, is that some people think that
going ultralight means that they don't have to carry gear that's appropriate
for the conditions.  Every year there's PCT thru-hikers who hit the trail
carrying no rain gear, or no shelter, or no ice axe on icy sections, or no
water, or some combination thereof.  Just read the journals. <<

Ignorance is a trait limited to ultralight hikers. Read the journals AT
hikers, Cindy Ross's, or go down to Springer on the AT in March and hang out
for a few days. Even more ridiculous was Bill Erwin, the blind hiker who
showed up to start hiking the AT with a pistol to shoot mice. Do you want to
sleep in a shelter with a blind hiker shooting at mice? Not me!

Brian writes >> 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.<<

Well there's cold and there's cold. Most of us feel cold long before the
temperature is low enough to start the process of hypothermia. In fact much
of what we feel as cold is more a state of mind than a reality. With a
minimum of effort you can train yourself to sleep comfortably in a cool
environment (mid fifties) with no clothes or covers. 

Tibetan monks occasionally sleep on 14,000 foot ledges in 30 degree weather
wearing nothing more than a thin cotton (yes cotton) robe. 

Is an unprepared guy carrying a 20 pound pack in cold weather in any more
danger than an unprepared guy carrying a 60 pound pack in 100 degree heat?
On the PCT you're likely to get far more of the latter than the former. 

You just can't draw conclusion simply from the weight of one pack if they
are likely to be in more or less danger. Nor is ultralight limited to mild
and temperate conditions. While I certainly wouldn't carry and ultralight
pack in the Antarctic, my 10 pound pack services me quite nicely in temps
from 20 to 100 or more degrees. And with a few changes in my camping style I
can sleep comfortably in nighttime temps well below 20 degrees if needed. 

Fallingwater