Forum Index > Trail Talk > When to call it quits on the PCT
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
kbatku
Questionable hiker



Joined: 17 Sep 2007
Posts: 3330 | TRs | Pics
Location: Yaquima
kbatku
Questionable hiker
PostSat Oct 28, 2017 2:06 pm 
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Chico
Member
Member


Joined: 30 Nov 2012
Posts: 2500 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lacey
Chico
Member
PostSat Oct 28, 2017 3:44 pm 
Like
Quote:
“Isn’t that their job?”
In the SAR section. I sincerely hope hikers know better and that SAR "workers" are not paid to put their lives on the line to save sometimes stupid people.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Windstorm
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Dec 2014
Posts: 288 | TRs | Pics
Windstorm
Member
PostMon Oct 30, 2017 1:57 pm 
Chico wrote:
In the SAR section. I sincerely hope hikers know better and that SAR "workers" are not paid to put their lives on the line to save sometimes stupid people.
Well, at least SAR knows they're not paid to put their lives on the line. You'll notice that in last week's search for the two hikers on the PCT, SAR teams from two counties evaluated the conditions and decided to turn around because the risk was too high.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
asdf
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 274 | TRs | Pics
asdf
Member
PostMon Oct 30, 2017 3:40 pm 
It is definitely true that many are not experienced hikers. They may be experienced hiking the PCT, but many of them lack the wide variety of experience that you might find among serious hiking populations (and which may be necessary to draw upon, with unexpected weather in a remote location). But that's not to completely generalize, many of them are extremely knowledgeable and practiced as well.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
thunderhead
Member
Member


Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Posts: 1511 | TRs | Pics
thunderhead
Member
PostTue Oct 31, 2017 8:43 am 
Inexperienced hikers from benign climates just have no idea how much snow and hypothermic rain is waiting for them in the North Cascades once winter arrives(and it arrives early). North Cascades are pretty high on the list of snowiest places on earth, especially by mass. Its not unusual for the great rocky mountain ski areas to get TEN TIMES less snow mass than the high terrain around here.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
joker
seeker



Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Posts: 7953 | TRs | Pics
Location: state of confusion
joker
seeker
PostTue Oct 31, 2017 11:19 am 
thunderhead wrote:
Its not unusual for the great rocky mountain ski areas to get TEN TIMES less snow mass than the high terrain around here.
That said, I've been tentbound in nasty hypothermia weather (snow/rain edge) for a few days in CO in August. Same deal in a few New England states. The 1-4 foot dense snow dumps we can get seemingly "all of a sudden" (typically forecasted though...) are unlike what I've experienced in those places during fall trips.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostTue Oct 31, 2017 12:10 pm 
I would say that The Heavy Dump Of Snow That Is Here To Stay happens around the elk rifle season opener. But here is not there.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
thunderhead
Member
Member


Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Posts: 1511 | TRs | Pics
thunderhead
Member
PostTue Oct 31, 2017 12:15 pm 
Oh ya, they certainly don't have a monopoly on bad storms when compared with other big mountains. The North Cascades are simply going to get them more frequently than other locations in the 48 states. I don't think many years would allow an October to pass without at least one heavyweight storm for the high Cascades, that is well beyond the worst winter storm in the entire history of most inhabited places.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Pyrites
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Sep 2014
Posts: 1880 | TRs | Pics
Location: South Sound
Pyrites
Member
PostTue Oct 31, 2017 4:08 pm 
I remember meeting two persons north of Snoqualmie Pass. We were all on snowshoes. They were headed S on the PCT. They said they were four or five weeks behind schedule. They talked about storms on the famous White Mountain, but couldn’t believe mile after mile, day after day of truly deep snow. They’d made it that far, and still seemed in shock and denial. They said they’d read about the snow, but they’d winter camped the worst New England had to offer. How could it be worse than that? I couldn’t understand why their reaction was to back out and get snowshoes, instead of backing out and buying Greyhound tickets to the southern end of the trail. Best. PS I guess the Donner party had a hard time believing that snows in the Sierra weren’t like snows back home.

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
BigBrunyon
Member
Member


Joined: 19 Mar 2015
Posts: 1450 | TRs | Pics
Location: the fitness gyms!!
BigBrunyon
Member
PostWed Nov 01, 2017 10:51 am 
Every couple years you hear these stories of groups having to eat eachother up in the north cascades

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
ale_capone
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 717 | TRs | Pics
ale_capone
Member
PostFri Nov 03, 2017 7:15 am 
Several years ago my off leash dogs found a pct hiker sitting on a large boulder near Valhalla lake. We went to smithbrook to try to stomp in the new snow up to the lake. Snow was too deep, so we turned back at the saddle. We found him at the junction on the way back, very near dark. He was Going north to south and he hit a fall snow storm. One very cold ultra night out, and a difficult day keeping on the trail.. very near hypothermia. He had no idea how far from the highway he was, or that another 6-12"s where forecast that night. He knew he was only a day away. Two days away from boarding a plane to be best man at his brothers wedding. After very little discussion, he was more then happy to shortcut back with us and get a lift to the trail angel in skykomish. On the way we gave him a beer. He started to get emotional and told us he seen our tracks, and sat hoping we would return... As he began making his peace. Knowing he couldn't make another night.. sorry he wouldn't make his brothers wedding. He was probably right. He was sitting on a cold rock, near dark, in wet trail runners, seeming a little dazed. And he was making no attempt to set up camp. We dropped him off, and he thanked us for being his real "trail angles". I drove him to Seattle the next day, he made his brothers wedding, and planned to return to finish. All he had left was Stevens to Snoqualmie. Bobcat, wild cat? Some kind of cat. From the south east. Maybe class of 08 or 09.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Brucester
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jun 2013
Posts: 1102 | TRs | Pics
Location: Greenwood
Brucester
Member
PostSat Nov 04, 2017 12:51 pm 
I almost quit the AT in Georgia..... Just wasn't feeling it, as simple as that. A stranger suggested a good nights sleep, a hot meal, shower, laundry.... And as simple as that- I was back on track, renewed spirit. Second chances..... Grateful for that person's advice. I was lucky. I've seen injured, burnt out, sick, and inexperienced hikers leave the trail. Snow can be a pain but you sometimes have options. We've hiked around sections on the CDT buried in snow. Do what 'cha gotta do. No judgements. Just don't get in over your head and try slogging through deep snow in running shoes. Slower pace means you will run out of food faster and also run the risk of injury walking on uneven ground without ankle support should you veer off trail. It's a whole different trail when there's snow on it!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostSat Nov 04, 2017 1:36 pm 
Too bad they don't have a trail finding dog. Yes, they exist and I was lucky enough to have had such a dog.
I found out he had this talent when I drove up to White Pass and decided to walk a ways north on the PCT--just a day hike. The snow was hard as it was spring. We weren't lost but I lost the trail and started looking for blazes. The footprints from any snowshoe or ski traffic had melted and the trail blended in with the rest of the snow. The Used Dog started walking his way. I went over and he was on the trail--there were blazes. I let him take the lead and he stayed on the trail the rest of the way. I guess he could smell all the boot tread molecules underneath? I had no idea he would do that.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Chico
Member
Member


Joined: 30 Nov 2012
Posts: 2500 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lacey
Chico
Member
PostSat Nov 04, 2017 10:39 pm 
One of my late dogs appeared to have an excellent sense of direction. While at my mothers place in Roslyn she took off up a trail. Didn't follow her but after a bit of a wait here she comes up the street, having apparently gone around the block of properties.She also had a good nose but # 1 dog had a nose to beat most any.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trail Talk > When to call it quits on the PCT
  Happy Birthday noahk!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum