After weeks of patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for winter to bring more than just cold mornings and some very bizarre wind events, it looks as if there may be some snow-pack to look forward to after all. I have been reading the weather update at least twice a day for various reasons (mostly work) and the only real excitement I've seen is the dry climate humor jokes posted by oh-so-hilarious meteorologists (get it? Dry? Climate? Har har). So after a long vacation in the Pacific Northwest, it seems that winter storms will finally be paying us a visit. I, like any good Californian, am pretty stoked at the fact that we get some pretty amazing weather for most of the year, leading to the belief that actual seasons only exist outside of the Golden State. However, like a weirdo, I really look forward to some good stormy weather, barring any natural disaster-scale events of course (again, California has spoiled me).
Putting aside all this banter however, I'm pretty excited about the prospect of snow in the mountains. This may be a result of living in South Lake Tahoe, because being a local up there means becoming an amateur meteorologist (I may have just absorbed the lifestyle enough to keep me a mild weather-freak). This, of course, is because half of your fun in the winter months is dependent on those nice cold-fronts streaming down from Alaska, bringing with them massive amounts of precipitation. However, it seems this year the storm-conveyor belt known as the jet stream is broken.
Being up in Tahoe over New Years weekend was pretty shocking in terms the lack of snow; I was able to hike on trails that are normally covered in 5 feet of the white and fluffy. As fun as the hike was, Tahoe and the rest of the Sierras need snow. Right now, the Sierra Nevada is only at 20 something percent of it's normal snow-pack, so its high time we were visited by the snow gods.
You are asking yourself right now, "OK Tyler, what the heck does all this talk about weather and snow have to do with hiking the PCT in the summer time?" Well, let me tell you...nothing really, just one mildly important reason: dehydration. Alright, so its a little important. Little snow in the mountains means little snow-melt. Little snow-melt means dry water sources that PCT hikers rely on for re-hydrating after hiking many miles every day. Without water sources, hikers would have to hitch into every available town, or have some other means of getting water to the trail, and well, that would take some serious favor-cashing. So, drinking water, important? I'd say so. Even a trickle of water running through a field filled with cattle, with a little water treatment, can be the difference between a good day and a very bad one.
On a completely different note, snow in the High Sierra of course means tougher hiking, but also being able to enjoy the fantastic activity of "glissading." For those of you not familiar with glissading, chances are you actually have done this in your lifetime if you've ever encountered snow. There are a few variations and technicalities on what glissading actually means, but really it comes down to the act of sliding on snow. Be it standing up and using your shoes as primitive skis, or on your butt with an ice-axe or trekking pole as a brake, glissading is pretty darn fun. And imagine after spending three hours climbing up a 3,000 foot pass only to have to hike back down the other side. Knee-damaging? Definitely. Boring? Maybe. Nearly as fun as sliding? Not a chance!! Enter glissading. Depending on the slope of the hill, this could be a leisurely partial-ski on your shoes, or a slide on your backside or stomach at break-neck speed. While I definitely look forward to this activity, there are a few dangers involved, and I encourage any glissading-hopefuls out there to have a buddy with you thats had some experience before you go flinging yourself down any snow hilltops or mountains. I only hope that we get some sort of a winter so the PCT Class of 2012 can gets its kicks sliding like polar bears down Forester Pass.
So that is all for now. Stay tuned for more pre-hike entries. 74 days and counting!!
- Tyler (trail name TBD)
