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[pct-l] Getting Into Trouble on the Trail
- Subject: [pct-l] Getting Into Trouble on the Trail
- From: Billjensen1957 at aol.com (Billjensen1957@aol.com)
- Date: Sat Jun 4 17:39:01 2005
In a message dated 6/3/2005 6:00:55 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
pct-l-request@mailman.backcountry.net writes:
However you answer this question regarding ultra-lighters and
their margin of error I think there is a group of hikers that is
more at risk: day hikers.
I would have to agree with this thought. I am always amazed at how
under-prepared some of the day trippers are that I encounter. My favorite are those
that are still headed up the trail at dusk with just a bottle of Aqua-Fina in
hand. And of course, they always seem to ask for directions.
Then again, maybe I am over prepared. More than once I have gotten back to
the car after a long day hike with extra water, extra food, a number of
pieces of clothing that were not worn (including dry socks), along with the ten
essentials, a map I never needed to refer to, and a large first aid kit that may
have been needed only for moleskin and wondered - "why I was carrying so
much crap compared to everyone else?"
This same thought has also occurred to me at the end of many overnight
trips. I consider myself to be an "ultra-light wannabe" and have gradually been
reducing my base weight. But I always have an insurance-factor built-in
(clothes/food/shelter), even when it is probably not necessary. This will
probably limit by ability to become a true ultra-light hiker.
This mind-set is the result was established in my youth. I was in a scout
troop that was totally focused on backpacking and spent many a cold wet night
in the Columbia River Gorge and Oregon Cascades. We did 50-milers every
summer, and snow camped in the winter. Even though I was only 19 when I did the
PCT, I had a lot of experience to draw upon to help me decide how much gear
was appropriate.
There isn't a year that goes by without several people a year getting lost
in the Gorge or near Mt. Hood that helps reinforce the "be-prepared" mind set I
have. Just last summer, I was doing the Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood
when I tripped and did a full gainer off the trail - tumbling head over heals.
I thought for sure that I had broken my ankle. The good news was that it
could have started to snow that very moment, and even with a broken bone, I
had the gear that would allow me to survive for a week or more, even though it
was just a 2-day trip.
Which brings me to the conclusion of this rambling message. Ultra-light is
not the root cause for getting into the trouble on the trail. What is?
In-experience - plain and simple. Mix that in with ultra-light and the
consequences could be deadly. My fear is that the PCT is being romanticized by on
line journals. Mix that in with the trend that light is better (even REI is
marketing this concept), and it is only a matter of time till someone gets
killed. (This is not meant to intimate the current lost hiker was inexperienced -
it sounds as though he was a seasoned hiker).
At its core ultra-light is a great concept. I wish that someone had been
talking about it in 1977. But making sure that one has the right stuff, not
just a low base weight, is what really matters.
Bill Jensen
"Portland Trailblazers"
PCT '77