High Sierra Topix

I browse the PCTA blog aggregator because every now & then a trip report comes up that captures the moment, tells a good story and provides good trail intelligence. Today, a new blog post came up that I think everyone should read. It covers practically every topic of conversation - including survival - that gets discussed @ HST in the most harrowing terms.

(There's another good account of the hike from Horseshoe to Onion posted here: http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... 34&t=15948 that I had considered tacking this report on, but seriously, this TR deserves its own thread.)

https://www.cheasequah1126.com/single-p ... ncertainty

Here are some highlights:

AMS?
Something was wrong with me that evening, I could feel it creeping up on me but wasn't sure what it was! Something was wrong with my body! It wasn't sickness but a weakness! I guess that's what I would call it! I simply felt weaker than usual, much weaker and also felt something that I had only felt a few times before, my heart skipping a beat but now doing so more frequently than ever before! Once again I failed to listen to my body and to my instincts to maybe just call it and turn around.

Recognizing danger, but not taking action
My body feeling even weaker than before I simply could not keep up and so they too moved on without me and once again alone there I was! I should have known to turn around and revaluate the entire situation from that point on but of coarse with my stubborn self I kept going believing nothing could stop me!Here is the thing, if your body breaks down you can't function and if you know little to nothing about what you are getting into and what it takes to survive ON YOUR OWN!!!!' Well then you should not be out there in the first place.

Slip & fall
Wallace creek was deep with a strong current! Half way through I thought I had made it when suddenly my footing slipped and I was torn down stream to a point I no longer recognized! I hit an island in the middle of the stream hitting a smaller log than passed smaller brush which I was able to hold onto and pull myself out! I can't tell you how long I was in the water afterall I did not time it nor can I tell you how bad it all really was for I wasn't there to film the entire incident. What I can tell you is that yes I did swallow some water being forced down stream, yes It was very very unexpected and cold, yes I went into immediate survival mode, yes I was alone, yes it was a really bad situation

Survives potential hypothermia
I thought was the best thing to do and that was to find a dry spot, pitch my tent and build a fire pronto before it got even colder than it was. Everything In my pack in exception for what I always keep in my dry sack such as all my electronics was soaked! It took all day to dry it all! What I had also figured out was that the stream took me far enough down stream to where I was far enough away from the trail that even by yelling off the top of my lungs with an entire group standing on trail about to cross not a soul would have heard me! I recognized nothing at all! Thankyou !!! I was dry, my clothes were dry and yet the entire night I was just not able to keep warm even with the fire and sleep was a far cry from home! As soon as the sun came up I knew that If I did not move I never would

Lost without maps or compass
my charger had also suffered from the water damage having put it in my pack where it did not belong and therefore with a dead phone and no paper maps memory is all I had to go off! I found tracks over the hill and once again I was on my way!

Finally is able to hike out ... over Whitney Trail crest (harder than Forester)
they would hike me out of there and agreed to do so going back towards Whitney over and down the Portal! It took us 2 days and as we got back to the California Hostel I was once again ignored! So that is it! I was in need of help, I was lost, at times alone, unprepared. I met some amazing people and some who are if now thought about not even wourth talking about for they are not wourth anyone's time but just had to! Now I will take some time for me and rethink everything and take it from there

Dude is lucky to be alive.

Very lucky indeed.

Wow... With the unpreparedness of a lot of the PCT hikers I'm honestly surprised that no one has died as of yet. Touch wood that doesn't happen, but just reading that account and a few others makes you wonder..

I'd love to know what would be acceptable preparedness so thru hikers aren't simply all "lemmings"?

I would say accepted preparedness, is at a minimum studying maps (and bringing them along) for more than just the narrow corridor of the trail. You need to know every bail-out point and have maps to get there. In another PCT journal the guy skips the Sierra and is up north heading to Shasta. He sees Shasta and wonders if the trail climbs over it!

There seems to be a real lack self sufficiency in most PCT hikers. The "shared economy" I guess. This reminds me of the comunes of the 1960's and 70's. It just took me about a month living in a group arrangement to realize that there were a lot more "takers" than "givers". After cleaning up and bailing out numerous irresponsible people, I left and never again had any desire for "shared" group living. Up at LYV a gal came around in the morning, asking for hot water for her coffee, since she had run out of fuel. I had just enough fuel for my own trip and did not feel that I could "share" the remaining fuel. After all, morning joe is hardly a necessity. I went on a day-hike and that night noticed less gas than I had thought there should be. I really think she got out my stove after I left and made her hot water for her coffee. I ened up having to buy more fuel in Yosemite Valley before I continued the next day.

There is a pervasive assumption on the PCT that "someone" will take care of you and bail you out. All the "trail angels" that they encounter in the desert section gives them a false sense of security. There will be no "trail angels" in the middle of the Sierra at 12,000 feet. Preparedness is accepting that you are on your own and able to handle that. Preparedness is having done enough stream crossings to better judge what is possible. Preparedness is knowing the symptoms of exhaustion, AMS, dehydration, etc, and KNOWING what to do about it before it becomes critical.

The conditions in the Sierra are well known before each PCT hiker enters. If they have no experience at such conditons, they are NOT prepared, no matter how much equipment they buy. They then should jump forward to lower elevations farther north and return to the Sierra later.

Preparedness boils down to good judgement which is gained by experience. If you do not have the appropriate experience, you are not going to have the appropriate judgement to stay safe.

What Daisy said.

I get a lot of this in meetup groups. I have to explain repeatedly that no, we aren't taking one stove for six people, or one filter. We want at least two or three. Especially if two of the three are items with high failure rates... AND everyone has to have a map, period. SAR teams look for accidentally separated people a lot.

Doesn't surprise me these folks are unprepared for the conditions. There are those who take classes and study the trail journals and the maps and everything -- and then there are those who separate themselves into "very lucky" and "should have known better."

Wandering Daisy wrote: Preparedness boils down to good judgement which is gained by experience. If you do not have the appropriate experience, you are not going to have the appropriate judgement to stay safe.

Totally agree, and with you as well AT..

Example. "Hey, russ. I stepped on your filter and broke it. " I wasn't upset, as we had a spare..

Ned Tibbits has/had a good program where he meets hikers coming from Kennedy meadows @ Chickenspring. They form up a group of 4-6 people, then take 6 days to get over Forester & Kearsarge. During that time, they spend lots of time practicing all the basic snow travel requirements. This includes walking with crampons, self arrest, glissading, reading snow lines, kick stepping, hacking out steps with an axe, etc. At $900/person, It's pretty expensive, but he seems to have a full load:

thttp://mountaineducation.org/5-day-snow-advanced-course-pct-thru-hiker-cottonwood-to-kearsarge/

When I went up to Whitney two weeks ago, I spent the night @ the Portal to acclimate. Since I had a few hours of down time before dinner, I drove up to Onion to see if any hikers had come through. There was a group of 4 that was part of Ned's tour - he had (re)injured a knee below Kearsarge @ the big Pothole, so they hiked down by themselves. I drove them down to Indy & then took off back to LP.

While they felt they got a lot of value + moral support from the program, I suggested they check around first with respect to Glen/Mather before they were ready to head back out on their own. I feel Forester gets a lot of hype - rightly so - but apparently no one tells anyone that the scariest passes are still to come.

Here's Glen pass from 3 weeks ago:



Here's what happened to a hiker with skis 2 weeks ago who got caught in an avalanche and barely made it to Cedar Grove:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 0947040635

I am not disagreeing individuals should be prepared as best they can from map skills to more. Its just that sometimes things get quite a bit sanctimonious around these parts when hearing the missteps of others. It is most certainly one way many people often learn. It is simply not always feasible to always "know" what you need to know.

I guess I am reading a lot of posts about people ill equipped for snow travel and water crossings. And no doubt, many on PCT are definitely ill-prepared. So my question - what should one do to become prepared? What practical steps, skills, training, etc does one take? What do you actually recommend if anyone says that their goal for 2018 to hike the JMT or hike the PCT, etc? Or even 2017 do a trip like the High Sierra Trail w/ no bailout points, etc. What do you practically tell them? That may be a bit more beneficial than always staring down the end of one's nose.