I am writing this from the comfort of my recliner at home. Let’s catch up. In my mind the PCT is really like 4 hikes blended together. First is the 700 miles of desert, followed by about 300 miles of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Then about 1400 miles of northern California, Oregon and southern Washington. And finally, the Cascades in northern Washington. In a hike this long, weather plays a huge role. And as I approached and entered the Sierras, the weather was a major factor. This year, the snows came late, but then they kept coming. Back in April when I started at the border with Mexico it looked like the Sierras were going to be particularly easy. However, the late snows changed that. Most hikers attempting to get through the Sierras were carrying ice axes and crampons, along with cold weather gear. Then there were a couple of tragic deaths caused when hikers slid over precipices.
So I arrived at Lone Pine planning to get my gear and press on. But I was feeling uncomfortable with a couple of things. One, my right knee has been tender. Yes, for hundreds of miles. I feel like I can continue to hike on my knee, but I was sure that ‘postholing’ would seriously injure my knee. Postholing is caused when the upper crust of the snow is so soft it collapses under the weight of a footstep, and you essentially drop hip deep in snow. Not only is this laborious, but it can easily lead to injury. Also, I had the good fortune of having a discussion with a woman that works as a guide on Mt Whitney. She confirmed that there is more snow and ice that expected at this time of the year, and that the snow and ice were tricky because there have been fresh snows every couple of weeks for the last couple of months. And more is expected. She also suggested that carrying an ice axe and crampons were only helpful if you know how to use them. Further she pressed the point that such gear is actually dangerous if you don’t have experience. A case in point is the recent fatality of a hiker who cut his own neck while trying to self-arrest with an ice axe. His ice axe was stuck in the snow, and a trail of blood led to his body below. Sorry to paint a horrible picture, but it helped bring things in to focus for me.
I gave this some thought and got clear on this–I am a hiker. I love to hike. I am not a mountaineer. So–I decided to pause my hike for now. I will return to the PCT in July, but I will go to Washington and hike south, back to where I halted my hike in the southern Sierras. This will let me hike through the Sierras in the late summer when I can really enjoy the beauty. And another advantage is that I can build a new backpack. The heavy loads caused by long water carries have crushed my poor backpack. (it was not designed for such heavy loads)
I want to thank each of you that has followed along with me. Your comments and encouragement have been very meaningful to me. And I hope you’ll have time to stick with me when I rejoin the trail in July.
Mando 