Next summer, most boys my age will be
facing some sort of risk. These may include getting stung by jellyfish, falling off a
bike and skinning a knee, or maybe even getting sunburnt on a luxurious
holiday.
On the PCT no such dangers can be found. My dad asked me to research some of the real
dangers of the PCT so I would know what I had coming. He asked me to tell him
about them, which got me wondering whether he genuinely wanted me to for the
helpful research or he just couldn’t be bothered and wanted me to find out for
him…probably a bit of both! Anyway, I
thought it would make good material for my next blog, so here’s what I found.
On the PCT, mosquitoes
and wasps live and roam freely. They happily hunt down and torture any body that
dares to cross their path. Desperate for food, these ‘micro-minions’ will track
you down and devour your skin and bones. Unless you want to suffer much pain
and agony, you want special clothing and mosquito hats. Even with this protection, it’s still not the
best idea to go and hit a wasp’s hive with a stick!!!
Virtually all of
the PCT belongs to the almighty bear. Whether
you live or die really depends on whether you are in the right place at the
right time. Yes, luck. Obviously the risk may be minimal, but August is the
month we’ll be hiking and last summer, bear attacks
occurred more in that time of the month than anytime else, probably because
this is when these beasts stock up on food for hibernation. Bears generally
avoid us and go for a less intelligent species but, when hungry, no bear can
resist the tasty, crunchy surprise of a homo sapien!!! The only item
needed for – what is supposed to be – protection, is a small can of what looks
like deodorant. When you see a bear, you need to spray this ‘thing’ around
yourself and pray to God that he leaves you the hell alone!!!
There are also
Black Bears on the PCT. Despite their
namesake, Black Bears can be cinnamon, brown, black or even white (yes, some
are albino). Some smart chap probably
just saw a black, black bear and said, “right, this is a black bear. Deal wiv’
it.” They are the smallest of their
subspecies and, unlike the Grizzly, love a good ol’ human for tea, recording
the most fatalities. They generally hibernate during winter (imagine that!) and
feed during [gulp] the period we are going to hike.
What if we fall
off a cliff and snap out neck? Not good. In some areas the PCT is only 2-3 feet
of walking space. There is almost no way
of making sure you don’t fall off a cliff - unless you select a part of the
trail which doesn’t have any cliffs: BORING!!!
With all the
stones, rocks and animal holes, it would not be unlikely for either my dad or I
to twist or sprain an ankle, and have to miss a couple of days off our hike. We
will of course take first aid kits but other than that, there are few things
that can be done about this one.
Another danger -
every year since 2004, there has been at least one forest fire that has killed
more than fifteen people on the PCT. For
example, the Yosemite
fire killed 104 people, 74 of them firefighters. If you are hiking from
July to November, watch out, because that when fires most commonly scorch the
trees of the PCT.
By far, one of
the most likely problems on the PCT is that instance when you reach for your
bottle, open the cap, open your mouth, tip the bottle over, and wait for the
cooling sensation to occur, but nothing. You give the bottle a shake, hoping,
praying, that worst wouldn’t come to worst. It does. You frantically scramble
for your map, only to find the nearest town is miles away. You’re now in danger of dehydration. We will be bringing lots of water, of course,
but because water is shockingly heavy, and at times we’ll be a several days’
hike from a town, we’ll have to ration our water very carefully.
So whilst other
boys are complaining because of their sunburn, or grazed knees, I will be
braving bears and dehydration. And for some reason, perhaps an insane world view that I've obviously inherited from my dad, that sounds perfect to me.
