[pct-l] Trouble on the Trail

[willis.p at comcast.net (Peggy Willis)]

I agree that often the biggest danger is often the decisions we make, and 
not fully assessing the risks, not the gear we take.   One example ended 
tragically here in Washington a couple of weeks ago when two people died on 
Mt Ranier at 8,000'.  They were carrying cold weather gear, food and a tent 
in their packs.  When found neither had on waterproof gear or thermal 
layers.  Everything was still int heir packs.  One was wearing shorts.  They 
apparently got caught by a storm and became hypothermic.  The theory is that 
they became incapable of having good judgment.

Marmot (section hiker)

Some hikers nearly died recently in the Yukon when they continued their
ascent up Canada's tallest peak in the face of increasingly severe weather
which turned other, arguably wiser hikers down off the mountain.

 It seems to me that nine out of ten times the real danger out there is the
situation we put ourselves in when we should have known better.