[pct-l] RE: pct-l Digest, Vol 26, Issue 4

[pfreiman at ucsd.edu (Freiman, Paul)]

I think flagging the trail would be inviting more accidents.  As it
stands, only a handful of hikers have gone over Fuller Ridge.  If the
route was flagged I think that number would have increased, and that
would be asking for trouble. Flagging would imply that the route was
safe.  You know how we strive to be purists. In the same way Arizona has
more people getting lost with the utility of more GPS machines.  More
hikers would be injured if the area would have been flagged.
Capt Bivy




Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 15:57:28 EDT
From: Bighummel@aol.com
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Lost Hiker
To: jeffmoorehead1@cox.net, pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Message-ID: <dc.27b6a409.2fd0bea8@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

jeffmoorehead1@cox.net writes:
Maybe it is time to start a discusiion/data series concerning 
the southern ranges and not just limit the prognosticating to the
Sierra. 

Tying trail marking ribbons high on trees and establishing a Sth Calif. 
mountain snow conditions discussion/data collection/reporting website or
such . . . 
would all be fine if these were common conditions, however, as Donna
pointed 
out, these are not common conditions at all, but abhorations of
conditions 
once in every ten, twenty or perhaps even 100 year occurances.  

Reports on the snow conditions in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and
San 
Jacinto mountains are already available if you look deep enough into the
web.  
Yep, they might not be specific to the PCT but they are to general
conditions.  

If conditions warrant in the mountains of Sth Calif. and/or the Sierra, 
simply start later or consider a SoBo hike instead.  Hikers simply
should not 
attempt to travel in snow conditions unless experienced and equipped.
Ultra-light 
does not compute in snow conditions, for the most part.

Whether any of this has contributed to the recent missing hiker
situation is 
yet to be seen.  It may turn out that circumstances not yet considered
may be 
at work.

IMHO,

Greg