19:08:29 From Mountaineers Volunteers : Love Caltopo! 19:10:46 From Robert Kirby : That would be Iowa City and not Ames From Charles : (blush) Sorry Bob! That's like confusing UW and WSU! 19:11:00 From Mountaineers Volunteers : Welcome Bob! 19:11:26 From Robert Kirby : Pleasure to join in 19:16:56 From Payal : which app was just mentioned? 19:17:09 From Amy De Santis : Guthook 19:17:13 From Cil Pierce : can you please mention water availability as you go too please? 19:19:25 From Holly Bunnell : why was your mileage for day 3 From Charles : Day 3 was about 11 miles. 19:20:38 From Amy De Santis : Thank you Nora!! 19:22:09 From Mark Littrell : When did you do this trip? From Charles : This trip was August 4-9, 2019 19:22:25 From pameladavies : Charles, your trip was 6-7 days as planned. What is the typical length (for non-PCT through hiker)? From Charles : I think 6-7 days is pretty typical. You do have to cover about 71 miles and a lot of up and down. It's a trade off between how long you like to walk each day and how much weight you are willing to carry. The guidbook "Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail Washington" by Tami Asars offers suggested 6, 7, and 8 day itineraries. 19:22:34 From Thaddeus Duhme : Does Guthook offer info on water sources? From Charles : Yes, they list likely water sources marked as "reliable" or "intermitent". In the hiker comments section you can often find the current status of the intermittent sources. 19:23:05 From Ron Jones : did you find it busy during your trip? From Charles: It was pretty busy. We never had a problem finding a place to camp. There were times when it seemed like we were passing another party every 15 minutes, but then ther would be four hours where we wouldn't see anyone. Proximity to the weekend made a difference. 19:25:03 From pameladavies : What does section “J” include 19:25:18 From Mountaineers Volunteers : Section J is Snoqualmie to stevens 19:25:19 From tomkovich : Are permits needed? 19:26:01 From Mountaineers Volunteers : No advance reservation permits needed in this area. Self-register backcountry permit. 19:26:03 From Sue Lamb : PCT Water? Is that an app? Couldn't find it for android 19:27:03 From Mountaineers Volunteers : PCTWater is a website with crowdsourced info https//pctwater.com 19:39:19 From Pete Matsudaira : so no water shoes needed? From Charles: We certainly didn't need any. This is variable though and will depend on the year and season. 19:39:31 From Melody George : What is the safest way to ride out a thunderstorm if you get caught in high country? From Charles: My understanding is that the primary thing is to avoid peaks and ridgelines. When the lightning started we were already in the process of dropping off a ridge, and we just hung out in a basin with a large grove of trees until we hadn't heard any thunder for 15 minutes. Obviously you should avoid standing next to tall, isolated trees, but if you are in a forest, you are going to be around trees. Not much you can do. Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills has a good section on what to do if you are stuck in an exposed position. 19:39:51 From Robert Kirby : no water shoes needed at all 19:40:18 From Sue Lamb : hiked it last year, and water shoes did come in handy in a couple of places 19:40:21 From Pete Matsudaira : pack weights? 19:41:01 From Robert Kirby : We were both a little over 20 pounds with food and water at the start From Charles : My memory differs from Bob's. I though that my base weight was around 18-20 lbs, and with food and water my pack weight was around 35lbs. I don't think either Bob or I qualify as ultralight hikers. 19:41:43 From Mountaineers Volunteers : Melody, in thunderstorms the most important things are to get away from ridges or tops, and to stay away from tall trees or metal fences/towers. Get downhill. 19:44:25 From Michele Ritala : Are there any advantages to hike from North to South or does it not matter? From Charles : I don't think there are any practical differences. It's really a matter of taste. I thought our last day coming into Snoqualmie was the most dramatic, and I enjoy a big finish like that. Other folks might like to tackle that first and enjoy the gentile finish coming into Stevens. If you are a through hiker, you can pick up packages and supplies at Snoqualimie, but at Stevens, you'd really have to go all the way into Leavenworth. 19:45:18 From Melody George : Is the alternate route you described less crowded? From Charels : I haven't hiked the alternate so I couldn't reliably tell you. I've heard the alternate is becoming more popular with through hikers. Of the dozens of hikers we ran into, we only met one party that had done the alternate route. 19:45:56 From Payal : which is the 11 mile stretch without water? From Charles : The section from Waptus Creek to the top of Escondido ridge is the mostly likely to be dry. I also remember Cathedral Rock to High Lake as not having any water. 19:46:04 From Cil Pierce to Mountaineers Volunteers(Privately) : what was the total mileage? From Charles: A little over 71 miles total. 19:47:27 From Andrew Pedersen : I was there last September and we ran into quite a few thruhikers on that alternate route. 19:48:29 From Amy De Santis : Awesome!!! 19:48:32 From Andrew Pedersen : I’m impressed by pack weight 19:48:35 From Michele Ritala : Awesome Charles! 19:48:38 From kristinboyer : Thank you! 19:48:38 From Amy Stackhouse : Thank you! 19:48:40 From Thaddeus Duhme : thank you! 19:48:40 From Chris O'Steen : Thank you, Charles! 19:48:43 From Ron Jones : thank you! 19:48:43 From virginiahaver : Thanks 19:48:43 From Amy Jackson : Thank you! 19:48:45 From Rick Bojko : Thanks!! 19:48:46 From pameladavies : Fabulous1 thank you! 19:48:47 From Fred Koontz : Thank you Charles - great presentation 19:48:49 From Marsha Grizwin : Thanks! 19:48:49 From Andrew Pedersen : This was great! 19:48:50 From Dustin Shigeno : Thanks! 19:48:51 From Darlene McGrady : thanks! 19:48:52 From Holly Bunnell : thank you 19:48:58 From Linda : thank you! 19:48:59 From Dustin Shigeno : Awesome trip. Thanks for sharing.