[pct-l] SOBO

[dsaufley at sprynet.com (dsaufley@sprynet.com)]

Two things generally drive the motivation for a sobo hike -- snow conditions and schedules.  If there's a lot of snow up north, there are fewer sobos.  And, as we saw this year, if the snow is piled up down south and less snow up north, we see more sobos.  In '97, we had about two dozen southbounders, mostly because it was a good year for going south weather-wise.  This year may come close to those numbers, we'll see.  But every year there is at least one hiker that defys the weather and convention, and just hikes south because they want to.  

By the time sobos reach Agua Dulce, they're cruisin' at mind boggling speeds and with complete ease. They are like hiking machines -- quite a contrast from the majority of the nobo crowd at our mile marker.  The only thing that has stopped sobos that I know of has been forest closures (thankfully this year they didn't shut the forests down).  Sobos have no trouble finishing, and don't seem to lack any motivation whatsoever.  Water has been less of an issue than you might think, and this year has been quite unique, it is absolutely incredible how much water has continued to flow, even before the storms this week.  

We generally know about the sobos out there from the nobos who call or write to us.  The percentage of finishers amongst sobos who get through the Sierras is very high; I'd venture 90% at a minimum, excepting the forest closures.  Once they're in striking distance of the finish, they just motor on through.  

My strangest sobo encounter was with Otter, who showed up in February (right around Valentines Day).  I saw him down in town with his massive "finishing beard", and thought he was a section hiker.  When I asked him where he'd started from, and he responded,  "Canada," I just couldn't compute the information.  It was inconceivable that someone had come through the Sierras in winter (he went over Forrester on Nov. 17).  

L-Rod



-----Original Message-----
From: Junaid Dawud <jdawud@yahoo.com>
Sent: Oct 18, 2005 9:43 PM
To: pctl pctl <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Subject: [pct-l] SOBO

Hey all,

I know lots of folks flipped this year and did big
pieces of the trail SOBO because of the weather. 
During a normal year though, what is the motivation to
go SOBO instead of the 'standard' NOBO?  

------junaid #41PCT2006
keeper of pandoras box
(wow switchback these tags are fun!!)


		
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