C2C/SKYLINE: CLOSED FOR THE SUMMER. COME BACK IN OCTOBER.

[Hikin_Jim]

I think that the attraction is that Skyline has the reputation as being the "biggest and the baddest." It's the same thing with Whitney. Whitney has, what, 50x the amount of traffic of all the other Calif. 14ers combined?

And unfortunately you get a lot of folks that have no idea what they're getting into in both places. I met a guy going up Whitney in late October 2001 wearing shorts and a T shirt. It was well into the afternoon and he hadn't even made it to Trail Camp yet. He had no gear whatsoever except a can of beer in his pocket to "celebrate with" on the top. We had been getting snow flurries and it was 17F the night before. I tried to reason with him, but to no avail. Off he went. I just shook my head.

HJ

[Zé]

OK so gaining X elevation in 10 miles then walking 8 level miles is easier than gaining X elevation in 10 miles then NOT walking 8 level miles?

wow nice job actually NOT describing Snow Creek PCT to summit and creating your own hypothetical route in the process... The PCT is not gaining 11000 ft elevation in 10 miles then 8 flat. It's gaining it in 18.

Let me say this again

at a given moment, you will be working harder on Skyline than you will on the PCT, unless you are running it.

it's 100 degrees out, sun blazing, and you have the option of either running 6 miles at you hardest pace, or jogging 8 miles. Which do you think is more likely to give you a heatstroke?

[cynthia23]

Gotta agree with you Ze, the amount of elevation gain is a vital piece of the puzzle. I'm pretty sure that walking a few miles up K2 is a lot harder than walking a hundred miles in a mall.

I'm not sure how the Fuller Ridge section of the PCT wandered into this thread, since I made absolutely no mention of it in my post. For the record, I have no opinion on the safety, or lack thereof, of that section of the PCT. It's a large mountain and one of the interesting things about it is that very different conditions prevail on different sides. The north side, where that section of the PCt is, is significantly cooler than the other sides. I'm no meteorologist (nor do I play one on TV but I would imagine that being north-facing, it doesn't receive the direct hit from the sun the other sides do, and doesn't store the enormous amount of heat in the rocks that makes summer Skylines like climbing up a griddle. Not facing straight into the sun is why the snow in the north facing chutes is always the last to go, and why the temps in Whitewater and Snow Creek are a few degrees cooler than Palm Springs. It also receives the huge airflow from the Pacific, which is why there are hundreds of windmillls there. All in all, it's odd--to say the least-- to compare the Snow Creek PCt to Skyline.

[halhiker]

I think putting dirt in the water bottles is perhaps a bit extreme and potentially off-putting. I think pissing in the water is a better idea. A little pee won't really hurt anyone who's dying from dehydration—and might just provide some necessary electrolytes—and if you're someone who drinks water that's intended for someone in an emergency situation, you're just getting what you deserve.

[bluerail]

Maybe you should have text that idea to me Hal....now people might be afraid to drink the water....im usually pretty hydrated so they wont know for sure if theres actually urine in it .

I better put a laughing smiley face.............

...or two

[Perry]

thanks to whoever put water in BOTH boxes !!! Very nice and much appreciated !

Yes. The water tasted great! Just kidding. We should write "backwashed" on the bottles with a sharpie...or get some yellow food coloring. But on a serious note, what if the bottles were tyed to a yucca plant and required bushwhacking to reach? A lazy person isn't gonna do that. A white piece of cloth would make it visible. A sign with an arrow could point to the water. "Emergency use only. Not for lazy hikers." Actually, I just had a thought: what if it's not lazy hikers? What if somebody is deliberately dumping the water out?

Thanks, wb. It used to be that the guide showed up #1 in Google searches, but it will take some time for people to link to it again... I'm curious about some opinions of the quiz. Is it too hard to pass?

[slap67]

All kidding aside, I know everyone here wants people to be safe. If you’ve hiked long enough though you realize there are people out there completely out of their element and unprepared. It is probably cheaper to have a Park Ranger at the TH checking gear and H2O than the Helo extractions and SAR team deployments looking for hikers in trouble. Also, I HATE permits (the lack there of preventing me from doing a few great hikes) but, they do reduce the number of hikers and require a minimum amount of knowledge of the dangers involved. Having said that, I have NEVER had a Ranger ask to see my permit in the past. I’ve never seen a ranger period. I guess that brings me back to my first point. Put a ranger at the TH. It probably comes down to money. What’s cheaper, the Helo or the Ranger?

[Florian]

I'm curious about some opinions of the quiz. Is it too hard to pass?

I'd remove the quiz. People aren't patient and will move on to the next Google hit if they have to futz around with a quiz for very long. Better to just present the data and make it as easy to access as possible.

Actually, isn't there a way to tell from site logs how many people actually pass the quiz and continue to the site vs how many fail and move on?

-Florian

[Hikin_Jim]

I'm curious about some opinions of the quiz. Is it too hard to pass?

Well, no disprespect intended to Florian, but I like the quiz and think it's appropriate. It's an easy quiz, and it means that someone has been at least exposed to some basic ideas:
-5,000' of gain is a good "test run"
-Most people need at least a gallon of water.
-Start in the morning
-Winter conditions make the route serious business

John Robinson, in his trail guides, lists a "season" for each hike that he describes. Maybe adding a "season" to the C2C guide would be a good idea? Something really short like:
Season: Generally April and October.

HJ

[bluerail]

I have a little more faith in people too...I like th quiz idea.