High Sierra Topix

That's the problem with our nanny state society which thinks that we should all be protected from ourselves. I'm a strong supporter of personal rights and choices. We take risks and should be prepared to accept the consequences of our actions and not whine and sue because someone did not stop you from being an idiot.

I think Sierra activities give more then enough breathing room for a persons own common sense to come into play. If this fails then it's natural selection IMO. To explain I mean that if you tell someone to take a route they do not have the skill to do they should know long before they get hurt that this is way outside their comfort and skill zone. It's not like the ground just drops out from underneath you and if it actually does it's no ones fault.

Many on this board had similarly harsh words for Rogue last year when he asked for advice on his plan to spend 100 days in the Sierra, including "you are going to die". Yes CoL's plan is even more "unusual" but it seems to me he isn't the person who needs to be more considerate in what he is posting. If Rogue hadn't been so stubborn he might well have given up on this forum, but I don't think I'm the only person who thinks his input and trip reports are extremely valuable.

the difference is Rogue planned out his food. Rogue's was not a foolish plan, other than what to do with all the weather last year. He still had resupply and food. I've no problem with people who state a plan and execute with proper contingency based on what we all know it's like up there. If you're just gonna suck water for 2 weeks.. well, I guess that's open to interpretation. You'll faint out in 20 miles if that far..

Would you please post a link to a video explaining your position with respect to UV light ?
I will for sure comment it !

circusoflife wrote:... as the UV rays that enter our system can purify our blood (which is 80% water) better. It's called UV transmittance. UV light kills viruses / bacteria INSIDE our body...
[...]
Besides, much "science" has been corrupted by commercial interests. Like all the anti-UV advertising [...] the anti-UV hyperbole

I particularly liked that one :

circusoflife wrote:...
The presence of iron and other trace metals in our body is what causes sunburn (and red blood). It has to do with (electromagnetic) properties of these metals in our body reflecting the UV rays...

The ppm concentration of iron (which by the way is in the form of ions in our body) would reflect UV light... That's a really good one for a scientist (even a corrupted one).
You may have a business degree but I bet you did not attend your physics classes.

But I told you I was a scientist, so I am always eager to learn more, so please explain or post a link to one of the "40+ documentaries" you have seen.
Thank you

I think I missed some stuff in this thread. I can certainly say going for two weeks with no food while hiking is crazy at best. I have suffered greatly in the mountains from eating too few calories and not having any energy. Going without any food will leave you in a world of hurt in a hurry.

Last year when people warned me and I wouldn't listen I knew what the dangers are and accepted the consequences if I got hurt or died. I had consciousness of the issue. I think that is a big difference between people.

Frankly, I don't think anyone's in danger of following his example.

All I have to do is think about the cataract surgery I had, the skin cancer removed from my back, the paint jobs on various cars I've had to had redone, the ruination of seat covers in those cars, plus the furniture on the patio dying a disintegrative death, plus the wreckage of various tents, plus the ongoing sunburn I get, and then there's the time my friend nearly went blind in high elevation granite and had to make herself some cardboard slot redneck "sunglasses" - and know that anyone who thinks UV works the way he says it does is in for a real wake up call.

We use UV to sterilize little single celled organisms so they can't reproduce in our gut - it doesn't kill 'em, it nukes their genetic material. We use UV to sterilize equipment. We don't expect it to do anything healing because it doesn't.

Fifteen minutes of sunshine a day helps your body generate its own vitamin D. More than that without protection and I am in pain... ignoring that pain and I'll be racking up medical bills AGAIN.

As for "nanny state" comments - everything is a reaction to some perceived need in society. When people stop ignoring the fact that what they are attempting to do entails risk and adequately address that risk, there'll be less "nannies". I suppose we should let the ignorant pay the ultimate price for being uninformed?

I think the the post is an attempt to get attention. Fine. He asked a basic question about Sierra water. It is primarily on the acidic side of the pH scale. Question answered. All the rest is ranting. There are other forums where his "theory" can better be discussed. I do not feel any personal compulsion to disuade him from his plan, because his ideology is set in stone. I am sure he has heard everything we have said, a million times before. He is probably smirking about all our efforts. I am more interested in reading an acutal trip report (but still skeptical of fabrication). END THIS. Let's just wait and see if he actually does it.

I am not going guess what the intentions of the OP were. But Daisy is right. He asked a question, and got a lot of information in return.

And then he shared the reasons for his question, and his philosophy. And that's where it got a little strange.

But what the heck. One of the first trips I ever attempted was early in a snowy year in the high country of Yosemite. The rangers were pretty careful and tried to dissuade me from the attempt, and I was too young and foolish to know what I didn't know. One freezing night with inadequate equipment was all it took to send me scurrying back to Yosemite Valley, feeling sheepish.

I suspect a similar story here. I doubt that the OP will get far enough along on his quest to do himself any real damage.

And let's be fair here. The human body CAN survive without food for far longer than it can survive without water. If he keeps hydrated he'll come back after a few days sunburned to a crisp and skinnier that he can imagine. But alive.

There's no reason to lock this thread or sic the nanny police on this poster. He asked a question, got some informed replies. Whatever you think of his plan, it's been said here. The thread will end on its own when you stop posting to it.

Going without food for a week or two sounds pretty uninviting to me too, but if he is set on this "vision quest," let him alone. The science he references, and the seriousness with which he embraces it, alarms us -- many of us are much older than he is and have seen such foolishness come and go. Reminds me of posts here about hiking barefoot in the Sierras. I wouldn't do it -- sounds crazy to me -- but peace and goodwill to those who want to try.

Mike

Mike M wrote:
sic the nanny police on this poster

Who you referring to as a nanny?