March 4, 2015
Winter Pacific Crest Trail Interview - Justin Lichter (Trauma)
I realized the other day that I spend nearly as much time following other expeditions and adventures as I spend on my own. Every time I turn on my computer, it seems, there is a story about some incredible adventure to a place that I never even knew existed. Or in the case of my good friend and fellow Granite Gear athlete Justin (Trauma) Lichter, putting a new twist on a more 'standard' journey.
In this case, Trauma and his hiking partner Pepper (Shawn Forry) traversed the entire Pacific Crest Trail - start to finish - during WINTER. Yes you heard me, WINTER. The pictures, the stories, the cold temperatures, I have been following the adventure since they started last October and I have to say it's been an incredible experience seeing their story unfold.
When I saw that Trauma and Pepper had completed the hike, I knew I wanted to get their insights and thoughts right away. I had been thinking about doing adventure-related interviews on my blog. So without much thought, I fired off a few questions to Trauma and this is the result.
Enjoy!
1. Can you give an overview of the route -- length, start time, average mileage, resupplies, temperature range, etc
The Pacific Crest Trail runs from Canada to Mexico through the Cascades and Sierras. It is 2,660 miles long. To thru-hike the trail, people typically leave from the Mexican border towards the end of April and head north. We decided to tackle the endeavor on the winter, a non-traditional hiking season. We started on October 21, 2014 and completed the journey on March 1, 2015. We were able to average a little over 20 miles per day through the snow. Temperatures ranged from negative teens, not including wind chill, to the fifties.
2. Obviously, your goal was to complete a winter PCT trek. Why? Any other objectives?
Our goal was to complete a winter PCT thru-hike from end to end. With each trip that we set out on we try to incorporate additional skills or challenges. We also like to see new places or experience places that we have been in a different season. This trip appealed to us for those reasons.
3. Why with Pepper versus alone?
This trip entailed traveling through avalanche terrain nearly every day. Although unpredictable and risky, the only way to do that even remotely safely is to travel with a partner.
4. Give us a peak behind the curtain, what are your team dynamics like. What makes Pepper a good partner for you? How did you make decisions, split leadership?
Pepper and I get along really well. We have been on a lot of adventures together with many tough times and stressful moments. We make decisions jointly.
5. What was a typical day like on the trail?
We would wake up at 5AM in the dark and eat breakfast and do as much as we could in our sleeping bag, then quickly get out of our bags and break camp. We'd be moving by 5:30AM and typically travel for about 3.5 hours and then take a 15-20 minute break to eat. If we stopped for any longer we would start getting cold. Then we would travel for another 3.5 hours and take another quick break, before hiking until dark, or sometimes an hour after. The days were short so we had to maximize the daylight.
6. Favorite moment?
It is hard to pinpoint one moment on a trip this long. A lot of things come to mind - it was incredible traveling through the High Sierras in the winter, anytime there was fresh snow was incredibly beautiful - even though it made travel slow and very difficult, and the support that we received from numerous people and the trail community throughout the trip.
7. Hardest day or lowest point? Any close calls?
Some days we'd be traveling less than a mile an hour all day. We'd be traveling for over 10 hours and pushing as hard as we could, only to get 9 or 10 miles in. We both got frostbite on our feet in northern Oregon and then ended up dealing with that for the remainder of the trip.
8. Biggest surprise?
We did not see a person on the trail for over 1750 miles. Here and there at a road crossing we would see some snowshoe tracks or ski tracks about a mile from the road crossing, but we didn't see anyone in the backcountry for months.
9. What did you learn about yourself while on this adventure? What did you learn about the PCT?
Dedication and determination make anything possible. Focus on the moment and the near term and don't get lost in the size of the trip.
10. Gear-wise -- what adjustments did you make for cold weather travel?
We changed up our sleeping systems a bit to have a warmer sleeping pad and a double layered sleeping bag system with the outer bag as a synthetic bag. This helped with the condensation. We also carried two synthetic puffy layers of differing weights and also glove and sock layering system.
11. Top three gear picks?
-Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid - We have used this ultralight cube tarp for thousands of miles and it has worked beautifully, even throughout the winter. -Granite Gear Crown and Snow Leopard Backpacks - Super comfortable packs that last a long time. I switched packs for the High Sierra section since I knew I'd need more volume and a suspension system with the ski gear and additional food I'd be carrying. -Montbell Thermawrap Parka - A really versatile synthetic layer that is also really lightweight. It feels like you are getting in bed and wearing a blanket when you put it on.
12. What is it about long distance that keeps you coming back?
I love being out in the backcountry for long periods of time, while covering long distances. You get to see new places, move through the terrain, see how things are changing, and see how everything changes with the seasons.
13. Anything else? I can't think of anything else :-)
Photo: So much for going ultralight when 2 pounds of snow sticks to your pack. Photo Credit - Justin Lichter
In this case, Trauma and his hiking partner Pepper (Shawn Forry) traversed the entire Pacific Crest Trail - start to finish - during WINTER. Yes you heard me, WINTER. The pictures, the stories, the cold temperatures, I have been following the adventure since they started last October and I have to say it's been an incredible experience seeing their story unfold.
When I saw that Trauma and Pepper had completed the hike, I knew I wanted to get their insights and thoughts right away. I had been thinking about doing adventure-related interviews on my blog. So without much thought, I fired off a few questions to Trauma and this is the result.
Enjoy!
1. Can you give an overview of the route -- length, start time, average mileage, resupplies, temperature range, etc
The Pacific Crest Trail runs from Canada to Mexico through the Cascades and Sierras. It is 2,660 miles long. To thru-hike the trail, people typically leave from the Mexican border towards the end of April and head north. We decided to tackle the endeavor on the winter, a non-traditional hiking season. We started on October 21, 2014 and completed the journey on March 1, 2015. We were able to average a little over 20 miles per day through the snow. Temperatures ranged from negative teens, not including wind chill, to the fifties.
2. Obviously, your goal was to complete a winter PCT trek. Why? Any other objectives?
Our goal was to complete a winter PCT thru-hike from end to end. With each trip that we set out on we try to incorporate additional skills or challenges. We also like to see new places or experience places that we have been in a different season. This trip appealed to us for those reasons.
3. Why with Pepper versus alone?
This trip entailed traveling through avalanche terrain nearly every day. Although unpredictable and risky, the only way to do that even remotely safely is to travel with a partner.
4. Give us a peak behind the curtain, what are your team dynamics like. What makes Pepper a good partner for you? How did you make decisions, split leadership?
Pepper and I get along really well. We have been on a lot of adventures together with many tough times and stressful moments. We make decisions jointly.
5. What was a typical day like on the trail?
We would wake up at 5AM in the dark and eat breakfast and do as much as we could in our sleeping bag, then quickly get out of our bags and break camp. We'd be moving by 5:30AM and typically travel for about 3.5 hours and then take a 15-20 minute break to eat. If we stopped for any longer we would start getting cold. Then we would travel for another 3.5 hours and take another quick break, before hiking until dark, or sometimes an hour after. The days were short so we had to maximize the daylight.
6. Favorite moment?
It is hard to pinpoint one moment on a trip this long. A lot of things come to mind - it was incredible traveling through the High Sierras in the winter, anytime there was fresh snow was incredibly beautiful - even though it made travel slow and very difficult, and the support that we received from numerous people and the trail community throughout the trip.
7. Hardest day or lowest point? Any close calls?
Some days we'd be traveling less than a mile an hour all day. We'd be traveling for over 10 hours and pushing as hard as we could, only to get 9 or 10 miles in. We both got frostbite on our feet in northern Oregon and then ended up dealing with that for the remainder of the trip.
8. Biggest surprise?
We did not see a person on the trail for over 1750 miles. Here and there at a road crossing we would see some snowshoe tracks or ski tracks about a mile from the road crossing, but we didn't see anyone in the backcountry for months.
9. What did you learn about yourself while on this adventure? What did you learn about the PCT?
Dedication and determination make anything possible. Focus on the moment and the near term and don't get lost in the size of the trip.
10. Gear-wise -- what adjustments did you make for cold weather travel?
We changed up our sleeping systems a bit to have a warmer sleeping pad and a double layered sleeping bag system with the outer bag as a synthetic bag. This helped with the condensation. We also carried two synthetic puffy layers of differing weights and also glove and sock layering system.
11. Top three gear picks?
-Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid - We have used this ultralight cube tarp for thousands of miles and it has worked beautifully, even throughout the winter. -Granite Gear Crown and Snow Leopard Backpacks - Super comfortable packs that last a long time. I switched packs for the High Sierra section since I knew I'd need more volume and a suspension system with the ski gear and additional food I'd be carrying. -Montbell Thermawrap Parka - A really versatile synthetic layer that is also really lightweight. It feels like you are getting in bed and wearing a blanket when you put it on.
12. What is it about long distance that keeps you coming back?
I love being out in the backcountry for long periods of time, while covering long distances. You get to see new places, move through the terrain, see how things are changing, and see how everything changes with the seasons.
13. Anything else? I can't think of anything else :-)
Photo: So much for going ultralight when 2 pounds of snow sticks to your pack. Photo Credit - Justin Lichter