Forum Index > Trail Talk > PCT hikers at risk this weekend due to lack of information and winter gear
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treeswarper
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treeswarper
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PostTue Oct 08, 2019 4:06 pm 
It is blustery and snowing in the hills. A friend and I took our bikes out for probably the last day of biking in the hills. We did not get snowed on, but could see it on the way. The wind was blowing pretty good. When we got back to the valley, it looked pretty dark and stormy to the North and East. I want to hibernate for the rest of the day.

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
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Brushwork
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Brushwork
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PostTue Oct 08, 2019 6:53 pm 
No kidding it was cold today. As I was driving though Lake Hills, there was an area of “snow/hail “ covering lots of lawn, roofs... even on the pavement! Crazy.

When I grow up I wanna play.
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BigBrunyon
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PostWed Oct 09, 2019 8:02 am 
It's that time of year where you gotta pre-eat for a few days before getting out. Bulking up is very important in these type conditions

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Seventy2002
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 12:50 pm 
Lost PCT hiker rescued in Oregon SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Robert Campbell was thoroughly soaked, shivering, his wet sleeping bag covering him in the only shelter he could find -- a pit toilet in a closed campground -- after getting lost in a snowstorm in Oregon while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

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Chief Joseph
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 5:53 pm 
Right....and he said he’s going back out to finish the pct...”persistent “ or?

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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neek
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 6:09 pm 
Chief Joseph wrote:
Right....and he said he’s going back out to finish the pct...”persistent “ or?
Hopefully not this year! Really curious about the "app didn't help" part. Miles off the trail while following gps?

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bk
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 6:19 pm 
Portland's KGW news report. Rob's Instagram.

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Nancyann
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 7:28 pm 
RolyPoly shared this with me yesterday, taken from the PCTA fb page. Quote from Elgin Shaw: “I’m a Chelan County Sheriff’s Deputy. Our SAR/Mountain Rescue Unit has been busy rescuing stranded hikers between Steven Pass and Stehekin. I highly recommend you stop at Stevens Pass. Take a week’s worth of zero days and let the weather front pass through.” This was in response to a post from Martina Urbaskova, Class of 2019, who was at Stevens Pass asking for help resupplying because she was running out of food. Such a deja vous for me that I actually had nightmares about dying and stranded thru-hikers last night. frown.gif

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treeswarper
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treeswarper
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 7:56 pm 
I see the guy and his dog who were thought to be missing returned to Mazama and are OK.

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
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Chief Joseph
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 9:16 pm 
neek wrote:
Chief Joseph wrote:
Right....and he said he’s going back out to finish the pct...”persistent “ or?
Hopefully not this year! Really curious about the "app didn't help" part. Miles off the trail while following gps?
On the news interview I saw he said he was going to rest for a few days and complete the hike. They also reported that the fog and snow caused his gps to malfunction, thus leading him off course...so much for technology.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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RumiDude
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 10:26 pm 
Here is something to chew on. I really don't know if it is even part of the solution but let me draw a picture for you. This thread started on September 26 in anticipation of a cold front and possible snow showers. People were concerned about hikers safety. Yet most hikers did just fine finishing their hike ... until now. On the PCT Class of 2019 FB group there was some outright hysteria from people that clearly did not know about the relative dangers of weather conditions. Every time I looked at the forecasts for the trail corridor I could not see a great danger. People that had good layers, good rain gear, and good shelter should do just fine. Obviously they were going to travel slower and it would not always be pleasant but they would be OK. Still the hyperbolic predictions of winter storms kept up and still photos of happy hikers at Monument 78 showed up pn the group pages. In other words, so many of those who proclaimed themselves Washington alpine experts were shown to be merely fearmongers. They have "cried wolf" for all these 25 days and hikers were still making it through. Now that a real dump of wet winter snow comes the hikers don't believe them. Surprise! Surprise!! There are too many armchair hikers out there telling the thru-hikers what to do. Instead we should give good accurate information and maybe some advice gently couched to help the thru-hikers make good decisions. Of course thru-hikers don't tune in to NWHikers, but they do read stuff on the PCT Class group pages. Anyway, I don't like being "told" what to do and most of us here don't either. Neither do thru-hikers. It's almost inevitable that some people will make poor decisions despite everything. I am not sure what any of us can do about that. With the explosion of numbers of thru-hikers on the PCT, this sort of thing might have tragic results more than we would like. Rumi

"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."
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pipedream
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PostSun Oct 20, 2019 10:40 pm 
Here's what I don't understand... thru-hikers are shipping themselves supplies along the way. If they know they won't be coming through the N. Cascades until Oct. why wouldn't they ship themselves some appropriate layers and equipment? You don't have to ultra-light the whole way. Then again, most of them are using maps that don't even show them nearby landmarks if they're over a half-mile from the trail. I used to think I wanted to thru-hike the PCT, but now I think there are many other things I'd rather do with that amount of time.

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Pahoehoe
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PostMon Oct 21, 2019 6:19 am 
Chief Joseph wrote:
neek wrote:
Chief Joseph wrote:
Right....and he said he’s going back out to finish the pct...”persistent “ or?
Hopefully not this year! Really curious about the "app didn't help" part. Miles off the trail while following gps?
On the news interview I saw he said he was going to rest for a few days and complete the hike. They also reported that the fog and snow caused his gps to malfunction, thus leading him off course...so much for technology.
He also said he wasnt going if there was any chance of snow. And he was just rescued. Give him a minute to get warmed and fed and get his bearings straight. When hes back hiking in a blizzard, you can criticize him. And I agree with Rumi on the wolf cries.

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treeswarper
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treeswarper
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PostMon Oct 21, 2019 6:42 am 
This story is by the guy that showed up at Mazama. His dog got them out by smelling the trail that was under the snow. Yup, some dogs will do that. I had one that did. Anyway, this was posted on facebook. CARTOGRAPHER AND SUSIE Q'S TALE OF SURVIVAL... (Remember folks... He is a seasoned hiker and went prepared...) “So Suzie Qstringall and Steve Stringall aka Cartographer on the fourteenth tagged the PCT north terminus, likely one of the last dozen this year. I'm 55 and have hiked since I was seven. Geographer, cartographer, avid hiker and mountaineer, yet I found myself quite scared, even an experienced explorer gets humbled. When the first Winter storm and a lost tent had me mildly hypothermic and a bit crazy from that and the thru hiker pheonomina Terminus Fever put myself at risk, but my senses came back and found a bug out to replace my tent and recover, then after getting to the last section, I played it safe, helping others stay warm and fed and back country trail angel-ing left me to complete alone. Up here there is no cell signal not even good GPS on half mile or gut hook, I needed to spread my wife's ashes in the Pasaytan so my loop to Canada was up the PCT and down Frosty Pass to the low Robbinson Pack Train Trail. Frosty was snow clad and only a few prints in the snow, lots if down trees, taking a day to get to the upper Pasaytan River , fortune be it an unlocked guard station warmth and even better a set of 7.5 minute topo quads showed better detail if this very remote region. After a day rest I headed down the Pasaytan only to take a wrong turn at an unmarked fork losing the horse path. By this point SAR and fb alerts for me hit the media. I knew where u went wrong but needed to get to town, so Suzie and I climbed the high road over Slate Pass which is more of a col or notch. Knee deep snow and since after the big snow it had hailed corn snow leaving ball bearings under the accumulating wet snow. Carefully I looked for the traverse, verified the route with map n compass, and let Suzie Q take the lead, she was following a hunters tracks that went from Slate Lake up Buckskin Ridge. Amazingly she took the traverse not cutting the switch backs which would be potentially dangerous because sheet avalanches. We made it through waist deep snow just as sunset we created spotting the Hart's Pass Road. We walked till 4 am as no one was going up there in the white out. Camped above deadhorse point and around nine got a ride to Mazama where trail angel of the year Carolyn Ravensong Burkhart had been coordinating with others to make sure we were ok. Lost Cartographer, how ironic. I wasn't lost but nonetheless had I not had lots of food, gear, maps, and compass potentially doomed. At the terminus it's so awesome to have places like the roost. This place is a great base, and education resource , a place to regroop and even a transition back to the rat race or not. Trail angels and hiker huts are so important for the PCT and here at the terminus a safety net. Thank you folks of Mazama! Ravensongs Roost is clearly here because Carolyn's love for the wilderness , she does this not for profit but because she is Tramily and part of her community. Please if you can help by donation of money, time and resources. Outdoor recreation is big here and the PCT, PNWT and other trails both summer and winter are getting more and more use. The conditions here are mountaineering extreme and used as training for places like Nepal or Patagonia, please help this community any way you can. A employee from REI picked up a n experienced PCT thru hiker that chose to bug out today, Sir let REI know the roost provides gear to those I'll equiped many because it's the end of the trail and bottom of the piggy bank with terminus fever we go anyway. Corporate donations would help, local work parties to ramp up the faculty would help, even pocket change. Please go to Ravensongs web page or Facebook or call to contribute.206 238 5904”

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
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Roly Poly
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PostMon Oct 21, 2019 11:29 am 
It seems awfully late to me to have thru hikers attempting the Glacier Peak section and beyond. All it takes is one unexpected storm, rising creek levels, gusty winds, soaking rain, unconsolidated snow hiding an ankle twisting terrain trap, and all of sudden things get serious. Yes, the ones that have made it to the terminus during the last two weeks have been lucky. I don’t think the warnings are crying wolf at all. Would you consider a November terminus date a prudent goal? We are only 10 days left in October and there still seem to be thru hikers intent on pushing on, per the FB page.

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