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HIKE UPDATE
The team from Boy Scout Troop 93 (Fullerton, CA) met early Saturday morning, July 22, 2017, at their meeting place in Fullerton and departed for Sonora Pass. They are scheduled to complete this 75-mile portion of the PCT from the Sonora Pass to Echo Lake on Sunday, July 30, 2017.
Unfortunately, due to unfavorable conditions, the hikers ended their trek early (Wednesday, July 26, 2017).
Below are the "trail notes" as documented by one of the Scout Leaders, Larry Bennett. Take a moment and read about their experience as documented by Larry.
Unfortunately, due to unfavorable conditions, the hikers ended their trek early (Wednesday, July 26, 2017).
Below are the "trail notes" as documented by one of the Scout Leaders, Larry Bennett. Take a moment and read about their experience as documented by Larry.
Saturday July 22, 2017 Zero Day
Our group of 7 Scouts leaders and Scouts arrived at the Scout Hut at 6:00am. We left in short order for our campground near Sonora Pass. We dropped gear before continuing on to Echo Lake near South Lake Tahoe. We needed to leave a vehicle there where we will exit our trip. We returned to our campground near Sonora Pass about 6:00pm. We have set up camp and had dinner. We’ll probably be in bed by 9:00pm. Tomorrow we have to shuttle 7 miles to the trailhead before we can begin our 11 mile backpack. We are all excited to start.
Sunday July 23, 2017 Day 1
We awoke at first light about 5:30AM and everyone moved pretty quickly. We made a hot breakfast and enjoyed coffee. We had about a 20 minute drive to the trailhead. But we managed to start hiking about 7:30. We had to climb over a ridge above Sonora Pass. Shortly into our hike we encountered some serious snow banks. We worked together to move safely over them. We were on top of the ridge by noon. At that point we discovered the valley below was full of snow. No trail was visible so we began a slow cross country trek down the valley and over the snow. It was painfully slow as we had to worry about breaking through the snow and hurting ourselves. We eventually worked our way out of the snow field and onto the trail. We stopped 1 ¾ miles short of our goal as it was 6:00pm and we had been hiking for 11 hours. Tomorrow we’ll start early to make up the mileage. We did manage to cover just over 10 miles today.
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Monday July 24, 2017 Day 2
We woke up at 5:00am because we had just over 13 miles of hiking to accomplish. In addition to the mileage we had 3000 feet of elevation to hike. We were hopeful that the snow was behind us. We began with a steady climb upwards gaining 800 feet of elevation. We had a portion of relatively flat trail before climbing some more. The snow fields we thought were behind us were not gone. We crossed dry portions of trail only to find more covered portions of trail. One of our leaders had the snow collapse beneath one foot twisting his knee. Others fell as they crossed the fields. Almost as hard as going up was the going down. Towards the end of the day we had to descend 2683 feet. It made for a total elevation change of almost 5700 feet. Welcome to the Sierra’s where you go up to go down. We ended our day about 7:30pm having covered the 13+ miles.
We stopped at Wolf Creek crossing. After setting up camp, eating a quick dinner we all went to bed.
We stopped at Wolf Creek crossing. After setting up camp, eating a quick dinner we all went to bed.
Tuesday July 25th Day 3
We awoke again at 5:00am to start our day. The plan called for just under 10 miles of hiking. Over the day we would go up 2500 feet of elevation and drop 1900 feet. If all went well, we would camp just beyond where the PCT crosses Hwy 4, the Walker Pass road. We left camp about 6:15. Our starts were getting quicker. But the snow fields were getting worst. A second adult was struggling with the altitude and elevation gain. A normal hiking speed is 2 to 2 ½ miles per hour. We were averaging 1 mile per hour. That pace makes for very long days on the trail and very little time to relax and refresh for the next day. The most dangerous part of crossing snow is the chance of falling through. This event is called post holeing. When you fall through you can hit rocks or even a stream. The other danger is sliding down and hitting rocks or trees. All of us went down on the ice periodically. Fortunately no one had a permanent injury, but just bumps, bruises and sprains. Even with our early start we didn’t hit Hwy 4 until 4:00 PM. Just before we hit the highway we crossed a large ice field over a raging stream. The ice appeared thick but the stream raging below was eating away at the ice above. Could we get everyone over safely? The answer was "yes," but the fear was real.
Wednesday July 26, 2017 Day 4
In the final distance before Hwy 4, I (Larry Bennett) did a situational assessment with my brother Mark. Mark is a retired LA County Fire Fighter. He has lots of emergency and command experience. We were concerned about the health of 2 adults leaders. Myself suffering from the elevation and snow and another suffering with the twisted knee. For the first time in my 1300 mile backpacking career with the Scouts, we judged it wise to abort the trip early. We shared our concerns with the group as we sat by Hwy 4. After listening to everyone’s input, the decision was made to terminate the trip. We were very lucky to be able to flag down a passing truck. The retired couple from Lodi gave Larry and Mark a ride to Echo Lake to pick up our one vehicle. We were back in about 2 hours to pick up the crew, retrieve our 2nd vehicle and make it to our original campground before dark. We slept over night there and left that Wednesday morning for the drive to Fullerton. We arrived in the afternoon where we started at the Scout Hut. We said our goodbyes and headed home. It was very different from other trips as we did not complete the entire planned trek. We did cover almost 35 miles, almost 7000 feet of elevation gain and another 7000 feet of elevation loss, but at the Scout Hut we agreed the decision to stop was the right one.
Thursday July 27, 2017 Day 5 A TIME FOR REFLECTION
I’ve had 24 hours to reflect back on the trip and our crew. As disappointing as it was to stop early, I believe it was the right decision. As the tour leader, safety is my primary responsibility. We will go again under better conditions and we will complete the trek. I could not be more proud of the boys and my adult leaders.
Let me briefly introduce you to the crew. The heart and soul of our boy leadership is Harrison P. He serves as Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 93. He’s a veteran backpacker having gone with us last year on our through hike of the John Muir Trail (JMT). Harrison will be a Junior next year at Fullerton High.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Conner P is also a serious backpacker. A veteran of last year’s JMT hike he’s also been named Mountain Man of the Year several times. He’s quiet but steady and always willing to support the crew. Conner will be a Junior next year at La Habra High.
Former Senior Patrol leader Lucian C is an experienced backpacker and a veteran of the JMT hike. He has completed all the requirements for Eagle Scout and will have his Board of Review next week. He’ll be a Senior next year.
Lucian’s Mother, Linda, is the only crew member that was not part of the JMT hike. But she is an experienced backpacker. She did a very well on this trek and gave us greater depth in our adult leadership team. This allowed us to split the crew when necessary while still maintaining our two deep adult leadership.
Steve Mayberry is an experienced backpacker and most senior member of crew. Except for his twisted knee he was a strong hiker and did the major work on our trek plan. He also went early to pick up our permit and secure our initial campsite. Information on trail conditions are hard to get. Steve did his best to prepare us for our challenges. He’s a veteran of the JMT hike.
Mark Bennett is the least experienced backpacker but the strongest adult on our trek. He completed last year's JMT and this year’s PCT trek after two knee replacements. His emergency experience and command presence developed over his long Firefighting career made him a favorite of the boys and adults. He’s also a pretty good brother to me.
I (Larry Bennett) was tour leader. I struggled this year and ultimately made the decision to stop early. My 1300 miles of experience made me want to go on. But the counsel of Mark and Steve convinced me to stop in the interest of safety. I know it was the right decision.
All of our adults were impressed by the boys on this trek. We saw a tremendous advance in their maturity, experience and confidence since our JMT trek last year. We are proud to be a part of their Scouting Experience and their participation in raising money for the Joya Scholars.
Let me briefly introduce you to the crew. The heart and soul of our boy leadership is Harrison P. He serves as Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 93. He’s a veteran backpacker having gone with us last year on our through hike of the John Muir Trail (JMT). Harrison will be a Junior next year at Fullerton High.
Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Conner P is also a serious backpacker. A veteran of last year’s JMT hike he’s also been named Mountain Man of the Year several times. He’s quiet but steady and always willing to support the crew. Conner will be a Junior next year at La Habra High.
Former Senior Patrol leader Lucian C is an experienced backpacker and a veteran of the JMT hike. He has completed all the requirements for Eagle Scout and will have his Board of Review next week. He’ll be a Senior next year.
Lucian’s Mother, Linda, is the only crew member that was not part of the JMT hike. But she is an experienced backpacker. She did a very well on this trek and gave us greater depth in our adult leadership team. This allowed us to split the crew when necessary while still maintaining our two deep adult leadership.
Steve Mayberry is an experienced backpacker and most senior member of crew. Except for his twisted knee he was a strong hiker and did the major work on our trek plan. He also went early to pick up our permit and secure our initial campsite. Information on trail conditions are hard to get. Steve did his best to prepare us for our challenges. He’s a veteran of the JMT hike.
Mark Bennett is the least experienced backpacker but the strongest adult on our trek. He completed last year's JMT and this year’s PCT trek after two knee replacements. His emergency experience and command presence developed over his long Firefighting career made him a favorite of the boys and adults. He’s also a pretty good brother to me.
I (Larry Bennett) was tour leader. I struggled this year and ultimately made the decision to stop early. My 1300 miles of experience made me want to go on. But the counsel of Mark and Steve convinced me to stop in the interest of safety. I know it was the right decision.
All of our adults were impressed by the boys on this trek. We saw a tremendous advance in their maturity, experience and confidence since our JMT trek last year. We are proud to be a part of their Scouting Experience and their participation in raising money for the Joya Scholars.