Pacific Crest Trail an Essay
A Pacific Crest Trail Essay, Hiking, PCT Entry for (November 15, 2005 at yahoo 360)
Experiance Verses Expertise
Among the obsticals encountered while hiking the PCT are the waterless stretches of the deserts, along with the intentional reroutes away from water and the mountainous regions with thier snow and ice. Hiking is an inheriently dangerous activity. Nature doesn't look kindly on unwise decisions. Every year you will see Hikers walking along the highway that lies east of the Sierras, while other Hikers will catch rides in cars, don't be hard on the lightweights; for a good man knows his limitations.. The following descriptions of actions are solutions that I have personally used while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Should you find yourselfe in a situation where you imitate these actions; you may worsen your situation by the improper estimation of the situation and/or through your improper attempted implementation and execution of these actions.
In the interest of making the trail dual use, that is accessible to both Hikers and the Horse People accommodations have been made in the Trail Routing. There is a PCT requirement of an elevation gradient be not more than fifteen percent in consideration of the Horse People. Often an ascent or decent distance is tripled in length from what is the norm on hiking trails; a sixty percent elevation gradient is not unheard of on hiking trails. There are many times where the trail will skirt a water source in order to prevent the Horse People from polluting the water source (A Picture of Horse People pollution at the yahoo picture link [http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/grysmn/album?]).. It is not uncommon to see the trails to a water source blocked off to prevent the Horse People from polluting the water sources. Often when the trail is rerouted away from a water source to a waterless section to prevent Horse People pollution, the Horse People will then refuse to use the rerouted section, leaving hikers with a dry hike, often with a view of the water source. The Great Divide Bicycle Route is more suited for horses. The Great Divide Bicycle Route is mostly comprised of forest service roads where there is vehicle access on ninety percent of the trail Horses will be more comfortable on the Great Divide Bicycle Route when compared to the waterless and snow covered stretches of the PCT. While on the Great Divide Bicycle Route, the Horse People can stay in contact with their Horse trailers and their Recreational Vehicles, with which the horse people appear to be so fond of.
Portions ofthe Pacific Crest are void of water. There is one fifty mile streatch that hasn't any water sources. It is not uncommen to go twenty miles between water sources. I have personally met one person who has suffered permenant vision problems as the result of the lack of water on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Pacific Crest Trail Administrators are fortunate that They have not been held civilly and or criminally liable for rerouting the trail away from water sources in tn order to accommodate horse use at the expense and determent of hikers.
A Metheod of surmounting obsticals is called "Crowning". That is as you approach the stream, pass, tree fall or any trail damage; You immediatel;y charge it and force your way past the obstical without giving the obstruction much thought. Should the Crowning be unsuccessful then lay Siege to the obstruction, that is take time to plan and develop strategies that will surmount the obstical, By first attempting Crowning before Sieging one can often save time that would have been spent planning. When traveling with a group it is important to reach a consensus before utilizing the crowning technique. Note Hiking Novices and armatures can encounter extreme hardship by improper application of this Crowning method.
Stream Crossing
This writer makes no claim on expertise, only on experiance. The self proclaimed experts have much say on how to cross streams. Generally they all advise how to cross a stream without taking into account that there are many types of streams. There are for example variations in the stream depth, stream bed composition, the stream banks and the stream currant. There is great disagreement as to whether one should leave the hip strap of a pack buckled or unbuckled. Personally I leave the strap buckled, though at times I hike without the hip belt using only the shoulder straps. It is easier to swim by ditching a pack; though when you reach shore You will most certainly suffer from hypothermia and/or exposure on the PCT. Hypothermia will be aggravated from leaving your equipment on the stream bed. It is convenient to have fire starting gear and a sleeping bag, not to mention food after a ford attempt. Most of the streams along the unbridged sections of the PCT are less than hip deep. Almost all have small stones along the stream bed: Most of these stones a approximately the size of your head. It is a good idea to wear shoes while crossing streams, this will keep your feet from being pinched between the stones lying on the stream bed. Take note that hiking shoes that stay dry last longer. Generally there will be a strong currant which makes it difficult to maintain your balance. When I am swept off my feet I fall upstream, heading downstream feet first. The theory is that my shoe clad feet can stabilize my down stream movement and my feet can bounce off the rocks with the least amount of damage when compared with striking any other part of my body on the rocks. The most efficient method of propelling myself out of the stream is to roll toward that nearest shore. Keep in mind that the water depth is probably less than three feet deep; as you roll toward shore your feet will be down stream at a declined angle, Your feet should touch bottom stabilizing your down stream movement, these feet can help propel you toward a stream bank as you roll. In water less than two feet deep your arms should touch bottom, and as your arms strike the bottom use them to help leverage you toward a stream bank. The best time to breathe is when your mouth is out of water, at the topmost portion of the roll (sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious, taking into account the least common denominator of readers). When you are face down the pack will keep your head submerged under the water surface. As for water integrity of my pack, the gear stays dry in the pack as I don't linger mid stream. Concerning the use of ropes while stream crossing; Rock Climbers often use ropes when stream crossing as with every other activity, They will often attach the ropes to themselves so that while stream crossing and the rope is taught in a current, their heads will be kept submerged. On the plus side Rock Climbers do tie the ropes securely, which facilitates the recovery of their bodies. What can one say except; “Mothers don,t let your children grow up to be rock climbers”. Horse People while smarter than Rock Climbers will abuse horses by forcing the horse to cross these rocky stream beds while mounted.
To the present when I hear stones knocking together as they tumble under the surface of the water, the stream has been unfordable. So far these rolling stones haven't trapped my feet while attempting a ford. It's the currant that up ends me usually before mid stream. After an unsuccessful stream crossing attempt, I will head upstream; commonly within a few miles there will be a tree lying across the stream. Usually bears will have had the same idea of heading upstream to find a fallen tree to bridge the stream, meaning that there will be a path cleared along the stream bank and that the topmost branches of the fallen log will be broken off.
Snow and Ice
PCT hikers will usually encounter their first serious ice while climbing toward Idlewild. As the trail ascends toward Idlewild you will hike in and out out of ravines. At the inside of these ravines will be streams. These streams head down the slope and cross the PCT with an elevation a declination of approximately sixty degrees. At higher elevations these streams are frozen. When traversing a frozen stream it will be necessary to cross a stretch of ice up to twelve feet wide, which is sloping down hill at a sixty degree angle. Looking down hill it appears that this angle continues to the desert floor five thousand feet below. Should you slip while crossing these iced streams, there isn't any remedy of your situation short of finding religion on the way down before the ice gives way to a rocky stream bed.
There will be on the snow clad hillsides foot prints leading to two parallel vertical lines ending at a upward facing crescent etched in snow with foot prints leading away. These markings are made as bears lose their footing and slide rearward with their fore feet dragging as they slip down the hill. Some of the scratch marks disappear from sight as you look down hill.
A second section of snowfields will be encountered as you traverse the Angels Crest section skirting Las Angeles. The main hazards will be finding the snow covered trail and guessing which ridge the trail descends. There will be plenty of opportunities to loose your footing and slide a ways down hill.
The third section of major snowfields will begin at Kennedy Meadows and continue till you are even with the north shore of Lake Tahoe. This section will involve crevices, rock traps, and passes. On an average day you will have an opportunity to injure a leg at least twice a day. Take into account that the stress will be fatiguing.
The snow that remains in the Sierrias during spring will be have a hard surface. This surface will be more hard at night and at morning, during the afternoon the surface will be softer. With the afore reasoning I would time my pass crossing for the afternoon. When the snow is softer. It is easier to establish footing on the sloping snow in the evening hours. Half of the Earths atmosphere by volume, lies below ten thousand feet. The high altitude posed breathing problems at the passes; often I would take five steps and catch a breather while traversing the passes. The terrain between the passes did not require the exertions of the pass terrain. In other words the thin air was mostly noticeable at the passes.
The transition from ground to snow is extremely hazardous. Often there is a steep elevation difference from trail to snow. When traversing this steep elevation difference it is possible to slip and knock your head on a hard surface resulting in extreme trauma. Another transition is from snow to ground; where the ground is steep up the snow level, there will often be crevices. These crevices are often covered with a thin ice crust. One side of these crevices is comprised of earth and/or rock, while the remaining side is comprised of snow; as the earth/rock side heats, the snow melts, forming an air gap, in the area that was formerly snow, this air gap the crevice. It has been my experience that when falling into these crevices, and as the back pack strikes the surface, my fall will halt. At this point I then securely wedge my legs between the crevice walls to prevent further sliding and remove my pack. Then I place my hands on the ice and lift my hips to a sitting position. It is now possible to scramble out of the crevice. Should You be in a position to assist someone wedged in a crevice, grab the pack and lift. It is counter productive to assist the person by lifting the person by their arm. The best way to avoid the crevices is to leap over the crevices during the transitions from ice to snow, in the areas where crevices may be present. Experience will enhance your judgment. Don't forget to inform the people behind you why you jumped, this will prevent the time delays of pulling them from the crevices..
Negotiating level snowfields sometimes involves the rock trap hazard. A Rock Trap is where a boulder lies under the snow field surface. These boulders absorb the blue light that is prevalent in the snow. (Stick your head in an ice crevice and you will see this blue light phenomenon). This blue light when absorbed by the boulder is converted to heat which melts the snow around the boulder. This melting action will leave an airspace around the boulder. When the roof of this airspace is in close proximity of the snow field surface, a hazardous condition called a rock trap is established (this lengthy description should cure people who always ask why). When falling into the rock trap there is a high probability of serious leg injury. It is beneficial to develop a sense of where these rock traps are and avoid the proximity of a rock trap and alert the people in your group.
While negotiating icy slopes, losing ones footing is another possibility. Crampons and an Ice Axe will be of service in these situations. Hold the Ice Axe across your chest with the tip pointing backwards out from under your armpit. Keep a secure grip with both hands on the Handle and on spade side of the Ice Axe. Should you slip; Slide on your back and gradually lean on the shoulder that has the pick protruding from under the arm pit, as the pick drags on the slope your slide will eventually halt. I have met one hiker who when his slide halted his cramponed feet were over a cliff edge and he was kicking air. There is more to this technique than has been described. You should not consider this description as training.
Another method to halt your slide is called tree slamming. While hiking note where trees are located down slope. When you lose your footing, slide down in a sitting position and slam into a tree so that the tree glances against your chest with your head leaning back. and your arms extended. As your chest glances off the tree, Leverage your arms forward wrapping them around the tree. If You are going too fast repeat this procedure on another tree. I have never slammed into more than two trees during a single slide. It is not a good idea to use your feet to halt your slide since it is easy to break them. Besides you will need your feet and legs to walk out on. People often slide to the bottom and survive. Keep in mind that it is often a long climb back up the slope. At the same time people often slide over a cliff or onto a rock field and get ripped to shreds. When you slide down a slope there are many choices, and none of the choices are fair to a Hiker. When tree slamming any equipment attached to your chest will be shattered, I know this from experience.
Glaciding is a technique for descending snow clad slopes that is similar to skiing, without the skies. To Glacide one starts moving downhill with small quick shuffle steps. That is your toes move no further forward than the other foots arch. When done properly you will soon be gliding (glaciding) down the slope in an upright standing position. Some people use staffs to steady themselves. Glaciding is a hazard as way to descend slopes, keep in mind that a good man knows his limitations and that this description is in no way a training manual.
Acquisition of Water
At times there will be only snow available for hydration. Ten inches of snow in a pot will when melted will yield one inch of water. A MSR Dormadary bag that is placed on top your pack in sunlight will heat the snow that has been placed within the bag, is one method to acquire water. Keep filling the bag as the snow melts, remembering that ten bags of snow will result in one bag of water . At times it will be necessary to sleep with the snow filled MSR Dormadary bag to provide water through melting the snow with body heat.
Experiance Verses Expertise
Among the obsticals encountered while hiking the PCT are the waterless stretches of the deserts, along with the intentional reroutes away from water and the mountainous regions with thier snow and ice. Hiking is an inheriently dangerous activity. Nature doesn't look kindly on unwise decisions. Every year you will see Hikers walking along the highway that lies east of the Sierras, while other Hikers will catch rides in cars, don't be hard on the lightweights; for a good man knows his limitations.. The following descriptions of actions are solutions that I have personally used while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Should you find yourselfe in a situation where you imitate these actions; you may worsen your situation by the improper estimation of the situation and/or through your improper attempted implementation and execution of these actions.
In the interest of making the trail dual use, that is accessible to both Hikers and the Horse People accommodations have been made in the Trail Routing. There is a PCT requirement of an elevation gradient be not more than fifteen percent in consideration of the Horse People. Often an ascent or decent distance is tripled in length from what is the norm on hiking trails; a sixty percent elevation gradient is not unheard of on hiking trails. There are many times where the trail will skirt a water source in order to prevent the Horse People from polluting the water source (A Picture of Horse People pollution at the yahoo picture link [http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/grysmn/album?]).. It is not uncommon to see the trails to a water source blocked off to prevent the Horse People from polluting the water sources. Often when the trail is rerouted away from a water source to a waterless section to prevent Horse People pollution, the Horse People will then refuse to use the rerouted section, leaving hikers with a dry hike, often with a view of the water source. The Great Divide Bicycle Route is more suited for horses. The Great Divide Bicycle Route is mostly comprised of forest service roads where there is vehicle access on ninety percent of the trail Horses will be more comfortable on the Great Divide Bicycle Route when compared to the waterless and snow covered stretches of the PCT. While on the Great Divide Bicycle Route, the Horse People can stay in contact with their Horse trailers and their Recreational Vehicles, with which the horse people appear to be so fond of.
Portions ofthe Pacific Crest are void of water. There is one fifty mile streatch that hasn't any water sources. It is not uncommen to go twenty miles between water sources. I have personally met one person who has suffered permenant vision problems as the result of the lack of water on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Pacific Crest Trail Administrators are fortunate that They have not been held civilly and or criminally liable for rerouting the trail away from water sources in tn order to accommodate horse use at the expense and determent of hikers.
A Metheod of surmounting obsticals is called "Crowning". That is as you approach the stream, pass, tree fall or any trail damage; You immediatel;y charge it and force your way past the obstical without giving the obstruction much thought. Should the Crowning be unsuccessful then lay Siege to the obstruction, that is take time to plan and develop strategies that will surmount the obstical, By first attempting Crowning before Sieging one can often save time that would have been spent planning. When traveling with a group it is important to reach a consensus before utilizing the crowning technique. Note Hiking Novices and armatures can encounter extreme hardship by improper application of this Crowning method.
Stream Crossing
This writer makes no claim on expertise, only on experiance. The self proclaimed experts have much say on how to cross streams. Generally they all advise how to cross a stream without taking into account that there are many types of streams. There are for example variations in the stream depth, stream bed composition, the stream banks and the stream currant. There is great disagreement as to whether one should leave the hip strap of a pack buckled or unbuckled. Personally I leave the strap buckled, though at times I hike without the hip belt using only the shoulder straps. It is easier to swim by ditching a pack; though when you reach shore You will most certainly suffer from hypothermia and/or exposure on the PCT. Hypothermia will be aggravated from leaving your equipment on the stream bed. It is convenient to have fire starting gear and a sleeping bag, not to mention food after a ford attempt. Most of the streams along the unbridged sections of the PCT are less than hip deep. Almost all have small stones along the stream bed: Most of these stones a approximately the size of your head. It is a good idea to wear shoes while crossing streams, this will keep your feet from being pinched between the stones lying on the stream bed. Take note that hiking shoes that stay dry last longer. Generally there will be a strong currant which makes it difficult to maintain your balance. When I am swept off my feet I fall upstream, heading downstream feet first. The theory is that my shoe clad feet can stabilize my down stream movement and my feet can bounce off the rocks with the least amount of damage when compared with striking any other part of my body on the rocks. The most efficient method of propelling myself out of the stream is to roll toward that nearest shore. Keep in mind that the water depth is probably less than three feet deep; as you roll toward shore your feet will be down stream at a declined angle, Your feet should touch bottom stabilizing your down stream movement, these feet can help propel you toward a stream bank as you roll. In water less than two feet deep your arms should touch bottom, and as your arms strike the bottom use them to help leverage you toward a stream bank. The best time to breathe is when your mouth is out of water, at the topmost portion of the roll (sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious, taking into account the least common denominator of readers). When you are face down the pack will keep your head submerged under the water surface. As for water integrity of my pack, the gear stays dry in the pack as I don't linger mid stream. Concerning the use of ropes while stream crossing; Rock Climbers often use ropes when stream crossing as with every other activity, They will often attach the ropes to themselves so that while stream crossing and the rope is taught in a current, their heads will be kept submerged. On the plus side Rock Climbers do tie the ropes securely, which facilitates the recovery of their bodies. What can one say except; “Mothers don,t let your children grow up to be rock climbers”. Horse People while smarter than Rock Climbers will abuse horses by forcing the horse to cross these rocky stream beds while mounted.
To the present when I hear stones knocking together as they tumble under the surface of the water, the stream has been unfordable. So far these rolling stones haven't trapped my feet while attempting a ford. It's the currant that up ends me usually before mid stream. After an unsuccessful stream crossing attempt, I will head upstream; commonly within a few miles there will be a tree lying across the stream. Usually bears will have had the same idea of heading upstream to find a fallen tree to bridge the stream, meaning that there will be a path cleared along the stream bank and that the topmost branches of the fallen log will be broken off.
Snow and Ice
PCT hikers will usually encounter their first serious ice while climbing toward Idlewild. As the trail ascends toward Idlewild you will hike in and out out of ravines. At the inside of these ravines will be streams. These streams head down the slope and cross the PCT with an elevation a declination of approximately sixty degrees. At higher elevations these streams are frozen. When traversing a frozen stream it will be necessary to cross a stretch of ice up to twelve feet wide, which is sloping down hill at a sixty degree angle. Looking down hill it appears that this angle continues to the desert floor five thousand feet below. Should you slip while crossing these iced streams, there isn't any remedy of your situation short of finding religion on the way down before the ice gives way to a rocky stream bed.
There will be on the snow clad hillsides foot prints leading to two parallel vertical lines ending at a upward facing crescent etched in snow with foot prints leading away. These markings are made as bears lose their footing and slide rearward with their fore feet dragging as they slip down the hill. Some of the scratch marks disappear from sight as you look down hill.
A second section of snowfields will be encountered as you traverse the Angels Crest section skirting Las Angeles. The main hazards will be finding the snow covered trail and guessing which ridge the trail descends. There will be plenty of opportunities to loose your footing and slide a ways down hill.
The third section of major snowfields will begin at Kennedy Meadows and continue till you are even with the north shore of Lake Tahoe. This section will involve crevices, rock traps, and passes. On an average day you will have an opportunity to injure a leg at least twice a day. Take into account that the stress will be fatiguing.
The snow that remains in the Sierrias during spring will be have a hard surface. This surface will be more hard at night and at morning, during the afternoon the surface will be softer. With the afore reasoning I would time my pass crossing for the afternoon. When the snow is softer. It is easier to establish footing on the sloping snow in the evening hours. Half of the Earths atmosphere by volume, lies below ten thousand feet. The high altitude posed breathing problems at the passes; often I would take five steps and catch a breather while traversing the passes. The terrain between the passes did not require the exertions of the pass terrain. In other words the thin air was mostly noticeable at the passes.
The transition from ground to snow is extremely hazardous. Often there is a steep elevation difference from trail to snow. When traversing this steep elevation difference it is possible to slip and knock your head on a hard surface resulting in extreme trauma. Another transition is from snow to ground; where the ground is steep up the snow level, there will often be crevices. These crevices are often covered with a thin ice crust. One side of these crevices is comprised of earth and/or rock, while the remaining side is comprised of snow; as the earth/rock side heats, the snow melts, forming an air gap, in the area that was formerly snow, this air gap the crevice. It has been my experience that when falling into these crevices, and as the back pack strikes the surface, my fall will halt. At this point I then securely wedge my legs between the crevice walls to prevent further sliding and remove my pack. Then I place my hands on the ice and lift my hips to a sitting position. It is now possible to scramble out of the crevice. Should You be in a position to assist someone wedged in a crevice, grab the pack and lift. It is counter productive to assist the person by lifting the person by their arm. The best way to avoid the crevices is to leap over the crevices during the transitions from ice to snow, in the areas where crevices may be present. Experience will enhance your judgment. Don't forget to inform the people behind you why you jumped, this will prevent the time delays of pulling them from the crevices..
Negotiating level snowfields sometimes involves the rock trap hazard. A Rock Trap is where a boulder lies under the snow field surface. These boulders absorb the blue light that is prevalent in the snow. (Stick your head in an ice crevice and you will see this blue light phenomenon). This blue light when absorbed by the boulder is converted to heat which melts the snow around the boulder. This melting action will leave an airspace around the boulder. When the roof of this airspace is in close proximity of the snow field surface, a hazardous condition called a rock trap is established (this lengthy description should cure people who always ask why). When falling into the rock trap there is a high probability of serious leg injury. It is beneficial to develop a sense of where these rock traps are and avoid the proximity of a rock trap and alert the people in your group.
While negotiating icy slopes, losing ones footing is another possibility. Crampons and an Ice Axe will be of service in these situations. Hold the Ice Axe across your chest with the tip pointing backwards out from under your armpit. Keep a secure grip with both hands on the Handle and on spade side of the Ice Axe. Should you slip; Slide on your back and gradually lean on the shoulder that has the pick protruding from under the arm pit, as the pick drags on the slope your slide will eventually halt. I have met one hiker who when his slide halted his cramponed feet were over a cliff edge and he was kicking air. There is more to this technique than has been described. You should not consider this description as training.
Another method to halt your slide is called tree slamming. While hiking note where trees are located down slope. When you lose your footing, slide down in a sitting position and slam into a tree so that the tree glances against your chest with your head leaning back. and your arms extended. As your chest glances off the tree, Leverage your arms forward wrapping them around the tree. If You are going too fast repeat this procedure on another tree. I have never slammed into more than two trees during a single slide. It is not a good idea to use your feet to halt your slide since it is easy to break them. Besides you will need your feet and legs to walk out on. People often slide to the bottom and survive. Keep in mind that it is often a long climb back up the slope. At the same time people often slide over a cliff or onto a rock field and get ripped to shreds. When you slide down a slope there are many choices, and none of the choices are fair to a Hiker. When tree slamming any equipment attached to your chest will be shattered, I know this from experience.
Glaciding is a technique for descending snow clad slopes that is similar to skiing, without the skies. To Glacide one starts moving downhill with small quick shuffle steps. That is your toes move no further forward than the other foots arch. When done properly you will soon be gliding (glaciding) down the slope in an upright standing position. Some people use staffs to steady themselves. Glaciding is a hazard as way to descend slopes, keep in mind that a good man knows his limitations and that this description is in no way a training manual.
Acquisition of Water
At times there will be only snow available for hydration. Ten inches of snow in a pot will when melted will yield one inch of water. A MSR Dormadary bag that is placed on top your pack in sunlight will heat the snow that has been placed within the bag, is one method to acquire water. Keep filling the bag as the snow melts, remembering that ten bags of snow will result in one bag of water . At times it will be necessary to sleep with the snow filled MSR Dormadary bag to provide water through melting the snow with body heat.
posted by Gary Samano at 3:26 PM
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