Hiking Through Hyperbole: The Vortex of Fear

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It was only about two months after I finished the Appalachian Trail (AT) in 2007 that I figured I had to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) as well. It's the natural progression of things. Like dessert after dinner. Except in this case, dessert required a lot of planning.

The next two years went by quickly, with little concrete thought about the Pacific Crest. I gradually began to take steps to get ready - I started saving up my money, set a general date of when my last day of work would be, bought gear and guidebooks, and scoured the internet for information. When the time came to start, I thought I had everything figured out. I had spent hours in planning with Yogi's and Eric The Black's guidebooks, and I gleaned as much useful information as possible from internet forums at Whiteblaze, Postholer, BackpackingLight, and PCT-L. Everything was ready to go by the end of February 2010.

I spent a month testing out my equipment and getting my legs back in shape on the Appalachian Trail (that’s another story entirely), then spent the last few days on the east coast prepping a few mail drops, organizing gear, and beginning to worry about all the unknowns.

Two and a half years of planning, and it was time to begin.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

From the Big City to the Little Border
The Year of Extreme
The Vortex of Fear
Shaky First Steps
Snow In The High Desert
Hot and Dry
A Road Can Be A Trail
Rambling at Night
And Before We Knew It, Kennedy Meadows
Conclusion and Analysis
SoCal Gear List

# WORDS: 6820
# PHOTOS: 16

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Jan 25, 2011 at 12:28 pm #1268221

Addie Bedford
BPL Member

@addiebedford
Locale: Montana

Companion forum thread to:

Hiking Through Hyperbole: The Vortex of Fear

Jan 25, 2011 at 2:58 pm #1688322

Brandon Sanchez
Member

@dharmabumpkin
Locale: San Gabriel Mtns

I really enjoyed this… thanks for making it free.

Jan 25, 2011 at 3:36 pm #1688329

Hiking Malto
BPL Member

@gg-man

This is the best article I've read on BPL. I will be heading out on the PCT starting May 22nd so I followed last years hikers very closely. You could see the Vortex of fear in the trail journals and I believe that the abundance of information has accelerated this vortex. I also believe that there are more inexperienced hikers hitting the trail and getting scared off by the stories. I was shocked at the number of people that bailed prior to the Sierras just due to the stories. But the ironic thing is that the snow for most hikers arriving after mid-June was about average. Only the early folks saw increased snow due to the slower melt. I plotted out 25 years of Charlotte Lake snow data expecting to see last year as a monumental year but it just wasn't. But listening to the "vortex" it was record year.

Great story. Thanks

Jan 25, 2011 at 3:44 pm #1688331

Ed Schmidt
Member

@suttree
Locale: ON, CANADA

Looking forward to future installments.

Jan 25, 2011 at 5:46 pm #1688405

John Whynot
Member

@jdw01776
Locale: Southeast Texas

A very enjoyable and informative article…

Jan 25, 2011 at 5:59 pm #1688413

William Brown
Spectator

@matthewbrown
Locale: Blue Ridge Mtns

I commonly find myself saying, "Well that alone was worth the membership fee" and this article continues the trend.

Thanks for the ride.

Jan 25, 2011 at 6:40 pm #1688423

Scott S
Member

@sschloss1
Locale: New England

On the PCT, every time Yogi's book or the Schaffer guides or another hiker mentioned some perilous section upcoming, my friends and I would all yell in mock horror, "oh no, we're all going to die!" Well, none of us did. In fact, almost all of the trails reported dangers proved to be completely overblown:

Fuller Ridge–we got completely lost and ended up bushwacking straight down the mountain, but we got through. The snow was only an issue because we lost the trail.

The desert–no problem if you watch your water and don't hike during the heat of the afternoon.

Snow in the Sierras–annoying and difficult but far from impossible.

The closure in Glacier Peak–no problem, really.

The bottom line is that there are no insurmountable obstacles on the PCT. Hundreds of people thru-hike every year. Children have done it. Senior citizens have done it. I only wish the guidebooks would be a little bit better about stoking people's fears. It's all doable.

Jan 25, 2011 at 6:58 pm #1688428

Carsten Jost
BPL Member

@carsten010

In 2006 and 2008 I was warned at the AZPCTKO
that Fuller Ridge would be possible only
with ice axe and at least instep-crampons.

In 2006 I bought instep crampons and got
them send to Idylwild together with my
ice axe. I didn´t need them at all.

Yes there was snow, but it was no problem.

Same thing in 2008 when I heard the same
Fuller Ridge horror stories. Fortunately
this time I just giggled and hiked Fuller
Ridge with no probs just in trail runners.

I think Thruhiking is more about flexibility
and adaptation than anything else. Adapt as you
go and embrace change.

"Damn they don´t have pancakes for breakfast?!"

"Let´s have an extra breakfast burrito!"

Kind regards

Sauerkraut
->PCT 2008 Campo to Manning
->PCT 2006 Campo to KM

Jan 25, 2011 at 7:17 pm #1688433

David Lutz
Member

@davidlutz
Locale: Bay Area

The first thing that comes to my mind are the creek/river crossings.

I would like to know more about that……

Jan 25, 2011 at 9:27 pm #1688486

Ryan C
BPL Member

@radio_guy
Locale: United States

This article was great. Hopefully there will be more coming. As an aspiring thru-hiker, I love hearing the stories of those who have done it. Fear is only relative and this report further supports that.

Jan 26, 2011 at 2:00 am #1688538

Dirk Rabdau
Member

@dirk9827
Locale: Pacific Northwest

I really enjoyed the article. I believe it captures a lot of emotion one feels while on the PCT. I think everyone who starts the trail for the first time is anxious and a bit overwhelmed in the beginning. I was amazed at the number of people I met on the PCT who were backpacking for the first time. Oh, they might have taken their gear out for an overnighter prior to the big hike, but still, it always strikes me as one heck of an introduction to backpacking.

Jan 26, 2011 at 2:36 am #1688540

James Marco
BPL Member

@jamesdmarco
Locale: Finger Lakes

Thanks for the well done write up!

Jan 26, 2011 at 3:42 am #1688544

Ryan Linn
Member

@ryan-c-linn
Locale: Maine!

Ryan, that was my hope in writing this (and the next three) article(s). There's way too much fear mongering out there. It's not easy, but it's been done many times before.

Thanks for reading, everybody! Stay tuned in the next few weeks for the rest. And in the meantime, I know many of you have plenty of stories as well…

Jan 26, 2011 at 7:23 am #1688578

Jeffrey Jackson
Member

@grcnynhkr
Locale: PNW

Great info and narrative, especially looking forward to your postings on the Sierras and JMT!!

Jan 26, 2011 at 7:52 am #1688591

David Neumann
BPL Member

@idahomtman
Locale: Southern Oregon Coast

Great article. One of the best I've read on the PCT and, more importantly, the "vortex of fear." While it is reasonable to be cautious and listen, you have to analyze the experience of the person providing "advice." If you are experienced and knowledgeable, hike on and wait until you get there to analyze the situation for yourself.

I'm looking forward to the next installments. Thanks.

Jan 26, 2011 at 8:04 am #1688599

Michael L
BPL Member

@mpl_35
Locale: NoCo

Very interesting piece and quite well written imo. Thanks for taking the time and effort to write this up.

I have read some other trail journals from people that went through around the same time including somebody who went through right before that fire started up from the cooking stove.

I really enjoy your viewpoint and ideas on the fear and how it spread from hiker to hiker. Great perspective.

Jan 26, 2011 at 8:06 am #1688601

John Mc
BPL Member

@retiredjohn
Locale: PNW

I truly enjoyed your article.

Ryan, Was your Railrider shirt, LS silk and Thermawrap enough to keep you warm?

Jan 26, 2011 at 8:56 am #1688625

Anthony Ciccarello
Member

@tchiker

Wow photos are amazing and really capture the wonder and beauty of those landscapes. It's a good read too and I see that we still have the Sierra to look forward to. Thanks for sharing all of this with us.

Jan 26, 2011 at 10:14 am #1688649

Ryley Breiddal
Spectator

@ryleyb
Locale: Pacific Northwest

This is soooo relevant to my interests – I'm preparing for a CDT hike right now and getting a little bogged down in its version of the vortex. Fortunately, this well timed article along with input from some past CDT hikers has reminded me that back in reality, I'll find a way to get through it all. Probably with a huge smile on my face too!

Jan 26, 2011 at 10:20 am #1688652

Jeff M.
BPL Member

@catalyst

Very well done. I'm looking forward to the next installments. I won't be able to do this hike for a while (starting a family), so its fun to read about the experiences of others.

Jan 26, 2011 at 1:42 pm #1688710

Kendall Clement
BPL Member

@socalpacker
Locale: Cebu, Philippines

Wow! I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. One of my dreams is to hike the PCT. I have been planning it for the last 2 years and it looks like the most extended hike I'll be able to put in is one month straight per year along with weekend and one & two week sections here and there. Unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, it's nearly impossible to find 6 months off. So, I've decided to do it in sections as my schedule allows starting this year.

Thanks again. That was very inspiring!

Jan 26, 2011 at 1:55 pm #1688719

Jeff Hollis
BPL Member

@hyperslug

Thank you so much for writing this article, I really enjoyed it. That balancing act between fear and moving forward, too often we choose fear!

Jeff

Jan 26, 2011 at 2:51 pm #1688740

Hikin’ Jim
BPL Member

@hikin_jim
Locale: Orange County, CA, USA

That was a very well written report and well illustrated. Thanks for taking the time to put something so nice together.

HJ

Jan 26, 2011 at 3:34 pm #1688758

Jim Sweeney
BPL Member

@swimjay
Locale: Northern California

Unfortunately, when people give advice, or attempt to characterize some possible future for another person, they–usually responsibly–typically give worst-case-scenario characterizations, because no one wants to lead someone else into a bad situation with no fore-warning. (The opposite, in climbing, is called sand-bagging, where one person deliberately minimizes the difficulty of a route another climber is going to attempt, so that, when the climber finds it difficult, he's in awe of the person who–theoretically–found it easy.)

In the National Park System, things are even worse, because rangers don't want to have to come out to rescue you if you get in trouble. So if what you propose to do is at all sketchy, (like going off-trail), they amp up the dangers, and, more subtly, question your preparedness. It's all part of the overhead of humans trying to communicate with each other and not lead each other astray.

Then, as Ryan observed, in a group, things can spiral out of control as this over-cautious advice gets passed back and forth.

Excellent article, one that captures the reality of a long through hike as well as I've ever seen it captured. Thanks, Ryan!!

BTW, what's a bounce box?

Jan 26, 2011 at 3:40 pm #1688764

Hiking Malto
BPL Member

@gg-man

It holds extra supplies like batteries and gets bounced up the trail ahead of you to the next or later trail town.
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