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[pct-l] Re: pct-l-digest V1 #423

>>The following basic concerns preoccupy PCT through hikers most of the time
>>above all else; water sources, feet, food, and pack weight.
>
>Andy, I think prior planning can help the first two too.  Training can give
>you a very good idea how to manage water. . . .

I could not agree more that it is an excellent idea to get in as much
training as possible before setting out to through hike the PCT, but
nothing is going to totally prepare the average feet for such an endeavor
IMHO. I had blisters migrate around my feet until they finally hardened up
after about a month. My feet literally throbbed each night during the
entire trip and for about three weeks after I was done. It was deeper than
skin, more like bruised muscle and bone. I don't think there is a way to
get around this entirely however there is one trick I learned from Wolf
after the fact. If you alternately soak and dry your feet in rubbing
alcohol it will help harden them considerably.

On the water issue, well that is a day to day, hour to hour, type of
process. You don't want to carry more water than you need but you don't
want to run out either. On hot days you will require possibly double or
triple the amount as on a cool one. Hills or difficult terrain will also
affect your water consumption. So you must constantly monitoring your body
and gauging your distance to and the reliability of the next water source.
It probably won't be as critical this year, but last year it was fairly dry
and I ended up getting pretty dehydrated a couple of times. I would
recommend a platypus bag with a drinking tube to enable drinking on the go.
Gatoraid or Tang keeps you drinking as well.

Some hikers do large sections of the desert by night hiking--with
headlamps. While I admit that the occasional full moon hike can be a great
change of pace, it defeats the purpose most of the time if I couldn't see
where I am. It so often happens that we through hikers become so obsessed
with mileage that we forget to smell the roses.

			Andyman


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