Trauma & Pepper finish their winter-thru of the PCT

Last blog post was Feb 5th.

I was wondering …

YAAAA! Ultralight all the way for the WIN!

double Yaaa! quite a feat for sure

I'm glad they made it through OK..

Well, they certainly had some favorable conditions this year. Easy for me to say sitting at home though. Impressive, nonetheless.

But, it was still a bit chilly in the Sierras..

Picked a good year for it, but a seriously impressive achievement. Persevering and getting it done!

My first thought when they started was…"it isn't winter yet!" They started a month into fall so it is 2 months of fall and 2 months of winter (with one in the desert).

I know, I know…. I couldn't do it. And it is still pretty amazing. I just can't help but wonder how much harder it would have been if they started a month later. I assume that avalanche danger would be much higher and more snowpack to deal with?

It was fun following their adventure.

gee, I wonder how much harder it would have been if it was a record snow and they did it without skis and only at night. sheeeseesss.

They Did IT!

Congrats.

Winter was forecast to be severe but kind of wimped out in the far West US.

Oh yeah, congrats to them

Just like other thru hikers they can only hike the trail they're given. Yes, the weather worked out probably as well as it could but they took off without a clue what the weather would end up being. Interesting that they did it faster than the average summer hikers.

Greg,

I just was surprised when I first saw they were starting in October. I surmise that the dangers in the Cascades might necessitate an early start. I'm discussing their accomplishment and asking questions and you jump off the deep end with crap well beyond what I said.

I wonder if they will try for the CDT some winter.

I thought Greg's posting was pretty funny. I know, that's a scary thought.

Congrats to Trauma and Pepper. They had some luck, sure, and they might have needed it, but forever more they will be known for accomplishing that feat first.

The CDT would be extremely impressive. I'm not sure if it's possible since there are seriously dangerous avalanche zones in CO. Though much lesser things have been deemed impossible before. We shall see.

nm

Jack,

That is my concern too. It is one of the reasons I think they may have started early in WA. I believe the North Cascades has some areas like that. (I could be wrong).

Yes, from what I recall (and/or could see with all the rain and mist), there are lots of places in the Cascades I might not want to be hiking on with lots of snow and avalanche danger.

Amazing grit and fortitude!

Here is a pic I took of an elk herd about the time they were crossing through the Sisters Wilderness section.-COLD. I hope they tell their story.

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So excited to hear this!! Awesome accomplishment

Their story made Here & Now on NPR:

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/03/03/winter-pacific-crest-trail

I saw in an article that mentioned they went over Gabbott Pass in the Sierra which is on the SHR not the PCT. As I thought about that route choice it seemed brilliant. They likely avoided both evolution creek and bear creek while getting to cruise through Humphrey Basin and Darwin Bench on skis. It doesn't get any better than that. Does anyone have data on the actual route they took through the Sierra? (By the way, this is NOT a purist shot at them not following the trail.)

I love the picture of Pepper walking in the high desert with skis (boots attached) strapped to his pack.

This is a true adventure story. Very few have done this and the time it took them was quite fast.

In this season it's as much about skill as it is proper gear. As a backountry skier I respect their accomplishment tremendously.

BTW, I have Trauma's book on backpacking gear. He certainly has the backcountry experience to do this trip.

I think one of the toughest things about their trip was likely just getting tired of being in the cold all the time. In a normal thru-hike you can have times, sometimes quite extended times of cold, but can look forward to walking into warmer conditions later.

Even on more "normal" thru-hikes, I've found myself becoming sort of mentally weary of having to tough out repeated snowy frozen mornings. For these guys, it must have been just day after day after day of getting up to frozen mornings with no hope of respite until the end.

Another factor that's easy to overlook is the amount of daylight available to you in winter hiking. Harder to do the miles when, not only are trail conditions tougher due to walking in snow in general plus likely additional navigation issues (akin to some parts of a CDT thru-hike), but when you have a lot fewer hours of daylight to do them in. And of course that leaves off the really uniquely tough and dangerous aspects of winter backpacking.

My hat’s off to them. But not for too long, as my head gets cold when I take the hat off.