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FW: [pct-l] Re: El Nino

> A comment on a comment
> Route Finding.
>=20
> "You would think that the High Sierra would be the most
> difficult when snowbound but it really isn't because the route =
finding
> is
> fairly easy. Hike up one drainage till you hit the snow. Take a
> compass
> sighting to figure out which col is the pass you want to go over, =
then
> hike=20
> down the other side until the trail peeks out of the snow."
>=20
> This is not that easy in the southern Sierra's.  (Note:  this is for
> an average year)
> Forester Pass:  you can do that on.  The Pass can be seen buy the =
time
> you get to Tyndel Creak.
> Glen Pass:  you twist and turn into and you will not see the pass
> until your just below it.
> Pinchot Pass:  you will hit snow buy the time you get to Twin Lakes
> and the pass is back to your left behind a hill.
> Mather Pass:  no big deal, you can see it from the top of Pinchot.
> Muir Pass:  this pass is another one that twist and turns.  you will
> not see the pass until you are on it.  In '96, this is the pass that
> most people got a little lost on.  You just want to follow that river
> all the way up, but its under snow.
> The rest of the passes are not much of a problem.  Remember that
> Silver Pass is on the high point to the right of what we would normal
> call the pass.
>=20
> Tim and Ann
> The Ravens PCT '96
> 			JMT '87 '91 '93 '95
>=20
>=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Brick Robbins [SMTP:brick@ix.netcom.com]
> Sent:	Monday, October 27, 1997 8:59 AM
> To:	pct-l@saffron.hack.net
> Subject:	[pct-l] Re: El Nino
>=20
> I would like to add my perspective to the "too much snow"/El Ni=F1o
> discussion.=20
>=20
> I through hiked CA in 1995, which had one of the latest snowmelts on
> record
> (second i think). I had snow above 11,000 feet starting near Whitney,
> and
> it dropped down to 8000 feet by the time I was north of I-80. I often
> hiked
> 20 mile stretches on snow without setting foot on solid ground. Have =
a
> look
> at my home page to see Forester Pass when I crossed it. That picture
> wast
> taken 15 July. I hiked in running shoes with REI gortex inner socks.
> Several times I wished I had boots, but many others I was glad I had
> the
> running shoes. The gortex socks worked great at keeping my feet warm
> and
> dry. I used a Ramer self arrest skipole handle instead of an ice axe,
> which
> was a big mistake. I often wished for the real thing.
>=20
> COMMENTS:
> First of all, by that late in the season, the snow has compressed, =
and
> generally you can walk on top of it.=20
>=20
> If you choose to use snow shoes, I would reccomend the MSR or the
> Ramer
> shoes (small and light), but I doubt they are worth the weight.=20
>=20
> Crampon are useless, except for a couple of hours in the morning, and
> you
> can chop steps then. I wholey agree with Jardine's comments on
> crampons in
> his book.
>=20
> Skis would be worse than useless because the snow will probably be so
> sun-cupped by then that you will have to carry skis up the passes,
> then
> back down the other side.
>=20
> Your three problems will probably be speed, routefinding and high
> water.
>=20
> SPEED. You will go slower than you expect. On dry trails I averaged
> about
> 30 miles a day. In the 200 miles of snowcover I walked on, I averaged
> 20
> miles a day in the snow country, about 33% slower than I was =
planning.
> I
> ran out of food twice. This can be overcome by hiking out a lateral
> trail
> and resupplying, but odds are there won't be any traffic to the
> trailhead
> because of the snow, so you will have to walk the extra 10-15 miles
> down to
> the main highway. Many days I would look skyward, bone tired and legs
> sore
> from walking on the sun cups, and say "Will this ever end?!?!?!" I
> couldn't
> stop and rest because food was low.
>=20
> ROUTE FINDING.  You would think that the High Sierra would be the =
most
> difficult when snowbound but it really isn't because the route =
finding
> is
> fairly easy. Hike up one drainage till you hit the snow. Take a
> compass
> sighting to figure out which col is the pass you want to go over, =
then
> hike
> down the other side until the trail peeks out of the snow.  Further
> north
> where you are following wooded ridges with no clear "natural line" =
the
> route finding is much much harder. If there is snow cover north of
> I-80
> plan on being lost alot. (been there - done that)
>=20
> DEEP WATER. By far the most dangerous part of hiking with excessive
> snow
> cover is the runnoff durring  full melt. The rivers may be
> un-crossable at
> the normal fords so you will need to hike upstream or you may have to
> wait
> till morning when the water is 12"-24" lower before you can cross. =
You
> may
> get swept away and drown (almost happened to me). When it warms up =
and
> the
> creeks start running under the snow you need to worry about falling
> through
> a thin spot into a creek. I did this, and it scared the crap out of
> me. The
> water was only knee deep, but there was a big void between the bottom
> of
> snow and the top of the water. I was up to my chest in the snow when
> my
> feet hit the creekbed. If the water had been a little deeper, the =
void
> had
> been bigger or I had fallen all the way through I could have been
> trapped
> under the snow in freezing water until I died of hypothermia. As it
> wasI
> couldn't feel my feet for a very long time after I managed to get out
> of
> that hole.
>=20
> IMHO a PCT trip is do-able with abnormally deep snow, it just becomes
> much
> harder to do a end-to-end through hike, and a trip partner becomes
> more
> important (I travelled alone). The trip is still worth taking even if
> you
> have to jump around, flip-flop, or skip sections.
>=20
> DISCLAIMER: I am an experience mountaineer, and backcountry
> skiier/snow
> camper. My opinions of difficulty may be significantly different from
> the
> normal summer backpacker.
>=20
> --
> Brick Robbins
> San Diego, CA         =20
> brick@ix.netcom.com             =20
> http://www.netcom.com/~brick=20
>=20
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