Re: [pct-l] gear, weather, attitude

[Karl Brandt <brandt@snf.Stanford.EDU>]

On Wed, 7 Apr 1999 suebee@cybergrrl.com wrote:

> From: Montedodge@aol.com
> >Each person can hike their own hike, but with
> > proper gear, the weather doesn,t tell you when 
> >and where on the trail.
> 
> Everybody probably has different ideas of what proper gear is :-^
> Can I add to that "with experience and attitude"? 
> 
> Thinking good thoughts isn't really enough to get through 
> a real emergency, but realizing a hike can't always 
> be ideal helps minimize the shock factor of disappointing 
> weather or trail conditions. I've found it's easier to cope 
> with deep snows or rain when you're resigned to it in advance, like
> on the high Sierra JMT. It's the unexpected snow flurries in the
> desert or a couple inches of new snow where you expect dry trail
> that is often a stumbling block for people new to backpacking
> especially.
> 
> We all try to get our trip down to a science in prehike planning,
> but unless we can mentally cope with the unexpected, we might find
> ourselves hopping all over the trail looking for the perfect way to
> outwit Mother Nature. That could become exhausting and expensive. It
> could put a damper on the adventure too.
> 
> Just a thought from a Y2K hopeful.     sue  (JMT '97)

I think Sue's spot on here. We all get caught up in gear issues and
hiking styles in general when mental attitude is much more important.
You're much more likely to achieve success or failure, whatever that
means to you, based on how you deal with the problems along the way. 

June 30, 1997 is a day I'll long remember. I was hiking with a fellow
from Finland named Pekha just north of Sonora Pass. Within 15 minutes
of our starting in the morning, it began to snow on us. At the worst
point, I remember the snow blowing horizontal as we crossed a saddle.
I was well and truly ready to start dealing with summer weather and
was not at all happy with the temperatures around freezing. When we
stopped for a break sometime mid-afternoon, I turned to Pekha and
said, "I'm not having much fun right now." He looked at me quite
incredulously and said, "Why not?" At that moment, I realize that my
misery was purely my own doing. Despite having less warm gear than I
had, Pekha had simply decided not to let it bother him and was his
usual happy self. We continued to get snow off and on for the a couple
of hours after that but I don't remember being upset any longer

Now, I'm not suggesting anybody carry less gear than they need to be
be safe. Use your own judgement there. My point is that you do kind of
have to accept what the trail throws at you and simply deal with it
the best you can. If you find that your ultralight strategy didn't
allow for enough rain gear on one stretch, call your home support team
and ask them to send you some better rain gear. If you find your pack
is oppressively heavy, try to find somethings you can safely do
without and send them home.

-Karl

*********************************************************************
Karl "Birdman" Brandt PCT97 LT98                       (650) 725-3686
http://gump1.stanford.edu/kbrandt/

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