Was it Worth It?

Most High Adventures Afoot trips are 50 miles long - the minimum for the 50-mile award.  This trek exceeded that by over 20 miles and was a big undertaking for our Scouts, Adult Guides and our Adult Support Team.

In the end, only 6 members completed the journey, three of which were Scouts.  

Was it worth it?  For those who completed it, it was an incredible trek.  It was challenging and took us to places of immense beauty.  It is hard to put it into words, but for the 6 who completed the journey, this life changing event was worth the months of preparation and many footsteps to get from one pass to the other. 

Most of us would do it again.  All of us would recommended it to others. 

Yes, it was worth it. 

Pace

Having a proper pace is a vital aspect of trip planning.  Section J can be completed in as little as 2-3 days if you are booking it or 7-10 days if you are casually walking it.

Interestingly enough, a Girl Troop started at Steven's Pass on the same day as our troop.  They started their journey at the trailhead earlier in the day and arrived and claimed camping spots just prior to us at Mig Lake.  Because they and others claimed the larger sites (a group of two women claimed the other group site), our crew had to move to Hope Lake for camping.  

The girl troop planned for a 8-day trip while our troop planned for a 7-day trip.  The girl troop sped up their trip due to warnings of inclement weather and finished on the same day we did.  There were important differences between how the girl troop and boy troops tackled the same route.

Boy Troop

• 2 Scouts dropped out prior to Day 1

• Started each day on the trail later than girl troop

• Many of our Scouts were athletes and on sports teams

• Moved very quickly along routes - almost racing each other

• Some of our members were unable to keep up with the faster Scouts

• Scouts and adults were spread out for miles

• Suffered many injuries

• Evacuated 4 individuals to include one adult

• One of remaining adults had notable injures and moved very slow on trail

• Another surviving adult suffered from a lot of pain and moved slower than the main group

• We finished the trek with 3 Scouts, just passing the other troop with 3 youth and one adult right before hitting the end point

• Two adults in the group finished after girl troop had arrived at end point

Girl Troop

• Got up and left camp prior to boy team

• Individuals did not appear to be athletic 

• Mostly stayed together as team 

• Sang songs as they walked

• Arrived to camps later than boy troop each day, this cost them camp sites on the very last day

• Completed trek with same amount as they started with 

The question must be asked, if our group moved at a slower pace, would they have completed this trek with more Scouts?

Itinerary

We planed to spread this 70-Mile Trek over 7 Days.  This makes the trip more manageable and possibly more enjoyable.  

7-Day South Bound Itinerary

• Total Trip: Stevens Pass TH to Snoqualmie TH

  • Length 71.72 mi

  • Elev. Gain 15,390 ft

  • 47.7454, -121.0890  to 47.42797, -121.41352

• Day 1 Stevens Pass TH to Hope Lake

  • Mig Lake was our primary destination, but campsites were full

  • Length 7.44 mi

  • Elev. gain 2,008 ft

  • 47.7454, -121.0890  to 47.6988, -121.0909

  • Primary camp at Mig Lake 47.70385, -121.08573 (has toilet)

  • Alt camp at Hope Lake 47.6988, -121.0909

  • NOTE: trail to Extraction Point B is at Hope Lake

• Day 2 Hope Lake to Deception Lakes

  • Length 9.37 mi

  • Elev. gain 2,831 ft

  • 47.6988, -121.0909 to 47.6339, -121.1426

• Day 3 Deception Lakes to Deer Lakes

  • Length 12.33 mi

  • Elev. Gain 2,356 ft

  • 47.6339, -121.1426 to 47.53603, -121.14218

• Day 4 Deer Lakes to Escondido Tarns

  • Length 14.57 mi

  • Elev. gain 3,005 ft

  • There are multiple lakes and tarns in this area

    • If you are using Green Trails Maps, this area is part of the "Missing Link"

    • Depending on what maps you use, it is easy to get confused in this area

  • There are multiple campsites at 47.5001, -121.2462

    • This is where we stayed and where future hikers should plan to camp

    • NOTE: Escondido is relatively dry - plan to fill up bottles and reservoir bags before ascending to lake

    • NOTE: lake is pretty small and is used by hikers for swimming, bathing and such - recommend that you boil your water or add chemical tab after filtering

  • 47.53603, -121.14218 to 47.5001, -121.2462

  • Hump Day: If doing two teams, exchange keys around Waputus Lake 47.5062, -121.1756

• Day 5 Escondido Tarns to Spectacle Lake

  • Length 9.71 mi

  • Elev. gain 1,421 ft

  • There are many campsites at Spectacle Lake

    • This a frequently visited area for those entering from the Pete Lake area

    • The trail seems to disappear at places, requiring you to climb over bare rocks

      • Look for paths over rocks that are bare and not covered in moss

    • We selected a large site to the north after the trail forked NE and SW

      • It is a little tricky to find this area and you need to climb over more rock surfaces

  • 47.5001, -121.2462 to 47.4618, -121.2761 

•  Day 6 Spectacle Lake to Ridge Lake

  • Length 10.12 mi

  • Elev. gain 3,310 ft

  • Plan for these campsites to fill up due to proximity to trailhead

  • We got there early and secured a site large enough for team

    • Shortly after arrival, the other troop arrived looking for spots

    • Others arrived later and set up tents in remaining areas that likely flooded

  • Many spots are prone to flooding if it rains

  • 47.4618, -121.2761 to 47.4610, -121.3665

• Day 7 Ridge Lake to Snoqualmie TH

  • Length 7.32 mi

  • Elev. gain 466 ft

  • NOTE: this turned into a MAD rush to get home

  • Stop Scouts at Kendal Katwalk for pictures

  • After letting Scouts go - they traveled at maximum speed without pausing for food, water or rest until they got to parking lot

  • Plan for Scouts to arrive at 11 am

  • Plan for final adults to arrive by 2pm

  • If you really want to be nice:

    • Have parent crew hike up to meet Scouts

    • Have celebration at parking lot

    • Dry towels were great after a rainy wet day

    • Snacks and water were really nice

    • Dont' forget to take picture at trailhead

  • 47.4610, -121.3665 to 47.4280, -121.4135

Places to possibility go astray

Trap Lake

• 47.6741, -121.1290

• There are several trails that splinter off from campsite at the southwest end of Trap Lake

• It is possible that a tent will obscure the view of Southbound PCT Trail or that you will be tempted to follow one of the other well trodden trails (likely from confused PCT hikers)

Ponds

• 47.4734, -121.3270

• Easy to miss rocky turn and go straight into a small pond

• After pond, it is clear you are off trail

Extraction Points

Plan for the possible need to extract members should they get injured or realize that this trek is just too far to complete.  We extracted 4 members to include 1 adult.

• Extraction Point A

  • Stevens Pass by PCT Trailhead

  • This was the Start Point

  • Right off Highway 2

  • 47.7460, -121.086

• Extraction Point B

  • Tunnel Creek Trailhead

    • NOTE: there is another Tunnel Creek Trailhead in the Olympic Mountains - this is NOT the one you are looking for

    • Drive US 2 for 13.2 miles east of the Skykomish. Turn right onto Tunnel Creek Road #6095. Continue on Road #6095 for 1.5 miles staying left at the junctions to the trailhead.

  • NF-6095 - Dirt Road

  • 47.7129, -121.1074

  • NOTE: this is a steep trail 

    • May be hazardous if it rain

    • Hazardous if you are transporting an injured person

    • Impassible at night without a headlamp

  • If you have to transport an escort team to Extraction Point C, it will take over 3 hours of driving time

  • From the PCT at Hope Lake

    • Length 1.34 mi

    • Elev. gain 0 ft (basically straight down to base of mountain

  • Return from Extraction point to Hope Lake

    • Length 1.34 mi

    • Elev. gain 1,175 ft

    • Make sure you have at least 2 headlamps

      • Trail is NOT safe to travel at night without headlamp

  • Round Trip

    • Length 2.68 mi

    • Elev. gain 1,178 ft

• Extraction Point C

  • Tucquala Meadows Trailhead

  • NF-4330 Dirt Road

  • 47.5448, -121.0976

  • Little over an hour drive time from Extraction point C to D

    • Gravel Road - bumpy and a big puddle to cross (completed without issue Tesla)

  • From PCT (Deception Pass) to Extraction Point

    • Length 4.70 mi

    • Elev. gain 154 ft

  • Extraction Point to PCT (Deception Pass) 

    • Length 4.69 mi

    • Elev. gain 1,201 ft

  • Round Trip

    • Length 9.39 mi

    • Elev. gain 1,348 ft

• Extraction Point D

  • Pete Lake Trailhead

  • NF-113 Dirt Road

  • 47.4341, -121.1860

  • PCT (by Lemah Meadows) to Extraction Point

    • Length 6.09 mi

    • Elev. gain 400 ft

  • Extraction Point to PCT (by Lemah Meadows)

    • Length 6.09 mi

    • Elev. gain 814 ft

  • Round Trip

    • Length 12.18 mi

    • Elev. gain 1,217 ft

• Extraction Point E

  • Kendal Katwalk Trailhead

  • Snoqualmie Pass

  • Right off I-90

  • This was the intended End Point

  • 47.4280, -121.4136

Handling Extractions

Unplanned extractions are should be planned for.  They happen.  It happened to us.  

We extracted 3 crew members on day one and 1 on day 3.  These went a smooth as they could have and allowed rescue teams to return to and complete the PCT trek. 

Avoiding Extractions

Preparing members by performing strenuous hikes prior to entering the PCT should give them an idea of what to expect, prepare for what's to come and succeed on the trail. 

Planned Extraction - Early Exit Day 1

You can plan for an extraction on Day 1 with an extraction team.

The team will park at Extraction Point B and travel to Hope Lake to meet the team.  They can take out anyone planning for extraction on day one and anyone needing an extraction after determining that the PCT is too much for them.  This will prevent loss of the primary team for extraction. 

Extraction Points C and D

An extraction team and possibly travel to the PCT from these extraction points to meet the team.

If an extraction team is not available, or time is constraint, it is possible to send an extraction escort from the crew to the extraction point and then travel to the next extraction point to allow escort to return to crew and complete trek.

We sent an escort with an injured Scout to Extraction Point C.  The escort team was transported to Extraction Point D, camped at Pete Lake and rendezvoused with crew the following day.

And extraction from Extraction Point D could be transported to Extraction Point E.

Speedy Extractions

Delays in extraction may cause the entire crew to need to abort the trip.  We were lucky to have speedy extractions and were able to continue our trek while still completing 4 extractions.  Several factors made this possible:

• Dedicated Extraction Leader on 24 hour call

• 3 Satellite messengers carried by the team

• Speedy response from volunteers willing to drive out and pick up subjects being extracted

• Preplanned Extraction Points

• Dedicated adult member in the crew able to escort injured members to extraction points and return

• Determining if extraction is needed early and sending message for tentative extraction

• Frequent pings from escort team so extraction team at home could follow our progress to extraction point

• If subject is injured and able to walk, their gear is redistributed to the escort team to reduce risk of further injury and to speed travel time for subject

Extraction Team Gear

The extraction team coming to pick up subjects should be prepared for several contingencies

• Be ready to transport escort team (2+ members) to next extraction point in a timely manner

• Ready to resupply as needed

  • First Aid gear

  • Food (ready to eat) - anything will be appreciated

  • Water in Smartwater bottles

  • Towels and blankets

  • Dry sock (these were a hit)

  • Headlamp

  • USB multicharger to charge electronics (radios and sat messengers) during transport

  • A Radio on same frequency as crew would be very helpful

  • A poncho or jungle litter can be used to help extract a subject not able to walk

    • This is only practical for short distances

    • Extraction of subject unable to walk will most likely need help from Search and Rescue Team

If the crew is unable to provide an escort team, extraction team needs to be able to hike to crew and escort team down.  Plan on night hike in bad weather or possible overnight stay. 

Comms

Satellite Messengers

• 3 carried by team

  • One carried by Adult in main crew

  • One carried by med/escort Adult

  • One carried by one of the Scouts with tracking on

• One was NOT linked to phone and was difficult to use

• SOS feature was NOT needed, but invaluable if needed

• We sent AM and PM ping to let home team know we were OK and where we were camping

• These were used to initiate extractions and communicate with extraction teams

• Tracking should be on for at least one of these

Radios

• GMRS Rocky Talkie Mountain Radio carried by lead and trail Adults

  • Turn off at night, these will last the entire trip

  • A battery bank was carried and radios and sat messengers were topped off at night

• One Adult stayed with Scouts

• In past, Scouts carried their own radio and adult did not need to stay (or keep up) with them

Maps

Map selection should be easy, but there are several choices and each has its pros and cons.

AllTrails

Great app that allows you to make you own custom maps.  These worked well for table planning and as an economical option for Scouts

USGS Maps

These require assembly (unless you pay some one to custom do this for you)

Maps are huge, but have great detail and can be folded for day use.

Green Trails Maps

These were the most popular maps used.  Green Trails makes several types of maps.

• • Classic Maps - Scale 1:69,500

    • This (placed in a freezer bag) was the most popular map options

    • Better detail than National Geographic PCT Maps

    • Less detail than USGS Maps

    • NOT waterproof

    • You need Maps 175, 176, 207, 208 to get a complete view Section J AND surrounding areas (important for extraction and identifying mountain tops)

    • Maps 176, 207 covers all of Section J except for a small section around switchbacks at Escondido Tarns

      • You can print out the "missing link" (NW corner of map 208) to supplement Maps 176, 207

  • Newer maps come in waterproof paper and sometimes more readable scale

    • No. 176S (North 2/3s of Section J)

      • Map Scale 1:63,360 (one inch = 1 mile)

    • No. 207SXL (South 1/3 of Section J)

      • Scale 1:31,680 (one inch = 0.5miles) 

    • Together, these should cover all of Section J, but come in different scales

    • These are "waterproof" (but were not tested)

National Geographic PCT Maps

These are designed for the PCT.  The trail is highlighted, and campsites are marked along the trail.  It is also fully waterproof (tested prior to trip and on trip in the rain).

• • 1002 :: Pacific Crest Trail: Washington North Map [Canada to Snoqualmie Pass]

    • Comes in a booklet format

    • "extra" pages can be removed - making for a trimmed down map that can be easily folded and placed in a pocket for easy access

    • This was the preferred map for our rescue team

      • Allows for quick and easy reference

      • It doesn't cover entire route to Extraction Point D, but team is familiar with the Pete Lake route

      • Waterproof, so bag was not needed or used

Gear

We discussed gear and published lists prior to the trip.  This was not a limiting issue for most of our members.

• Mr. M Backpacking Packing List

• High Adventure Food List

• Ultralight gear- Lightweight minimalist gear not designed for most hikers

  • UL Gear for Scoutmasters - delicate and expensive gear not intended for the general public

  • UL Food - How to calculate what foods you carry and how to minimize what you carry

Gear Sharing and Gear Notes

For the most part, Scouts and Adults all brought their own gear.  We had 2 Scout Teams that shared tents, while 2 scouts and 3 adults used there own tents.  Everyone had their own cook gear.

Tents

Overall group weight could have been reduced by sharing of cook gear, tents and fuel.

One shared Scout tent was on the heavy side.

One tent used solo by a Scout was heavier than it needed to be.

One Adult shelter was excessively large shelter (4-man pyramid tent) and needed a larger than normal foot print.  Each site we stayed at had at least one place large enough for this shelter, but it could pose a problem if we arrived late at a campsite with limited spots.  There is a way to used this as a half-pyramid if needed.

Fuel

Only isobutane stoves and fuel were used by our crew.  You can get away with a 4oz of fuel per person on this trek.  Most had 8oz bottles and one Scout brough a giant 16oz bottle of fuel.  

Water

A solo hiker on this section of the PCT can get away with a single liter water bottle and reservoir bags.  That said, there are a "dry spots" on the PCT and Scouts don't like to stop for water.

All members should have TWO 1-liter bottles of clean water and a 2-liter reservoir bag for unfiltered water.  All members should travel with 2 liters of clean water and refill as needed.  When moving to Escondido Ridge, you should fill up your clean water bottles and your reservoir bag(s).  

Best Combo:

• 2 x 1-liter Smartwater Bottles

• CNOC Outdoors 2-liter bag

• Sawyer water filter (NOT micro)

• Nice Optional Stuff

  • Extra bottle cap

  • CommonGear Bottle Cap and Tether

    • Nice luxury

    • Won't lose your cap

  • LightenUpOutdoors Sawyer Water Filter End Cap

  • Cleaning Coupling by Sawyer (one per group)

  • Micropur Purification Tablets 

    • For water at Escondido Tarns (probably not needed and boiling is another option)

Footwear

The terrain included a lot scree, which is a mix of rock fragments ranging from the size of peas to small boulders.  This will challenge your balance and ankles.  For the most part, rugged trail runners will work fine.  Regular running shoes may be too "soft".  Ankle support boots may be helpful to protect the ankles a little from contact against rocks, but depending on these for ankle support may increase your risk of an ankle injury.

Hiking Poles

Two poles are required for navigating through scree fields and helping you cross water when rock hopping or fording.  There are hikers who don't carry poles.  Two poles should be recommended if not required.

Sleeping Bags

Food

We tried a few approaches to planning for and packing food.

Mr B. Approach:

• Breakfast

  • Alternating between Mountain House Breakfast Skillet and Alpen Fuel Granola

• Lunch

  • Snacks

    • Landjäger

    • Trail mix (Costco mixed nuts and Craisins)

    • Some dried mangos and dark chocolate covered acai (mostly not eaten)

• Recovery

  • Tailwind recovery mix

    • Mixed in heated water to enable dissolution of powder

• Dinner

  • Random freeze dried meal

• Approach:

  • Add breakfast, recovery mix and dinner to 7 1-day bags (dinner only for first and breakfast only for last)

  • Divvy up daily snacks equally into 7 days and place in bag

  • Add Landjäger until each daily bag (minus first and last day partial bags) exceeds 1pound 10ounces

• End result

  • Never really hungry

  • Missed a meal due to escorting Scouts on evac and getting back late

  • Had a little extra for snacks most days (gave to Scouts)

  • Gained a small amount of body weight during trip

Mr. M Approach:

Shared some food with Scouts, to include recovery drinks.  Lost a small amount of weight. 

Mr. W Approach:

• Carried enough food for 14 days

• Included eggs, bacon and other "fresh" foods

• Foraged for foods on trail

• Shared food with others

• Started and ended with a backpack that was around 20 pounds heavier than other Adults (maybe 30+ pounds heavier than others at end of trip)

• Moved slower than others on trail, but finished

Scouts and Food

Scout food was inspected on Day 0.  Most of the Scouts organized food into daily meals, which made assessment of daily food calories easier. Some Scouts did not appear to have enough food.  One had ramen and other snacks shoved into a bag much smaller than the rest of the bear bags on display.  These Scouts were asked to get more food prior to leaving.  Parents brought extra food for Scouts to pack.

One Scout was found to have an abnormally heavy trash bag.  He was rehydrating food, eating a small amount of it and then throwing the rest in his trash bag.  His pack weight actually grew over the course of the journey.  Take home point - if Scouts don't like the food they pack, they won't eat it. 

Gear and Food Inspection

We had a pre-trip inspection and discussed options and provided enough time to gather gear.

On Day 0 (day prior to heading out to PCT), we conducted an overnight planning meeting

• Covered most of requirements for Backpacking Merit Badge

• Food inspection 

  • Some Scouts needed to get more food

  • Parents brought in options for them and they repacked before setting out on Hight Adventure

• Gear inspection

  • Since Scouts set up their gear and slept in tents the night before setting out to High Adventure, it was easy to see if something was missing

• Overall, the Scouts and Adults seemed prepared

  • Nicer than average gear

  • Packs mostly weighed in at under 40 pounds with food and water

  • One Adult carried an excessively heavy pack, but seemed to know what he was getting into.  He moved slower than others on the trail, as expected. 

Although you only know what you really needed for a particular outing after the outing is over, our crew seemed to do well on gear selection and packing.  In the future, a few pieces of gear may be replaced with something smaller and lighter. 

Prehikes

We had several prehikes to include 10 and 20-milers, which were mostly on flat ground and without heavy packs.  These were fun and gave us a small taste of what 10 miles looks like, at least what 10 miles looks like on a flat and paved trail.

We had a few more strenuous hikes scheduled in the summer, but these were poorly attended since most of the crew were out on other adventures or vacations in the summer months.

We only had one real backpacking trek between January and High Adventure which included a visit to the PCT.  It was mostly flat and without scree.  This was a nice introductory hike into the North Cascades, but wasn't enough to get our crew truly ready. 

In the future, we would like to plan for at least 3 backpacking trips with similar terrain as the PCT earlier in the year to give Scouts a taste of what to expect. 

Attrition

We started out with 12 crew members and 2 on standby.  A few others showed interest, but had scheduling conflicts and didn't join our team.  Prior to the trip, two dropped out and the alternates lost interest.  On day one of the PCT, we lost 3 crew members, including one of our adults due to injury and exhaustion.  We lost another member on day 3.  Two members had to escort this injured Scout out, but the escort team was able to rejoin the crew the following day by reentering the PCT through the next extraction point. One of our adults had a notable foot injury and moved very slow.  Another adult was still able to walk at a reasonable pace, but was unable to keep up with the remaining Scouts.  It is not reasonable to expect most adults to keep up with the faster Scouts.

We started with 14 and finished with 6, with a 50/50 mix of Adults and Scouts

Attrition could possibly be reduced by completing more realistic practice hikes prior to High Adventure and by moving at a more reasonable pace.  

Practice hikes with similar elevation gain, elevation, distance and terrain as a day on the PCT could prepare Scouts and Adults mentally and physically for what we could expect on our High Adventure trek.

Two of our Scouts moved at a very fast pace.  This pace wasn't sustainable by most and likely increased the occurrence of injuries and exhaustion for those who tried to keep up.  As stated earlier, a Girl Troop also traveled through and completed the PCT the same days as our crew.  They traveled at a slower and more reasonable rate and didn't lose any members to injury or exhaustion. 

What We Would Do Differently

What Went Well:

• This was an excellent journey for those who completed it

• Published gear lists

• Published food packing guidelines

• Resources for Maps

• 1 pre backpacking trip to PCT (1 is better than 0)

• Several day hikes prior to trek

  • 20 miler

  • 10 miler

  • Published routes for 10 milers

  • Day hike to Tiger Mountain (limited participation)

• Had experienced Adult Guides

  • Former lead on previous PCT High Adventure

  • Former military, wilderness medicine 

  • Forester

• Emergency Gear

  • 3 satellite communicators

  • 2 high quality radios

  • Medical gear

  • Repair gear

  • This seemed adequate

• Emergency Evac Plan

  • Our emergency evac plan was published and an evac lead (Adult at home) was identified prior to trek

  • We used each of the Evacuation Points during this trip

  • Our Emergency Evacuation response was excellent and our trek wasn't aborted due to delays in evac

• Day 0 Inspection and Campout

  • This gave us a chance to check everyone's gear

  • This may have prevented a disaster (finding out your forgot ____ when setting up camp on day 1)

• Arrival at campsites early

  • Arriving at campsites early in the day allowed us to claim spots

  • We are competing with overnight backpackers, thru-hikers and another troop for camping spots

  • Our Scouts started later than ideal (leaving camp between 8-9am), but made up for time by moving quickly on the trail

• Land Navigation and Orientation

  • For the most part, there were no big issues

  • Scouts, and Adults, were able to stay on trail

    • We let Scouts navigate on a previous trip

    • We questioned Scouts a few times where they were at the beginning of this trip

  • For the most part, it is easy to follow the trail and there are only a few branching trails on this Section of the PCT

• Camp at Hope Lake

  • This was a our secondary choice

    • Our first choice was already filled by a girl troop who started before us and other backpackers that claimed large areas for their single tents

  • It was easier to evacuate people from Hope Lake to Extraction Point B

  • There is an argument for using Hope Lake as a primary campsite, although the view is not as nice as Mig Lake

What Could be Better Next Time:

• More preparation backpacking trips

  • Need to include mileage, elevation gain and terrain similar to what we would see on PCT

  • This includes trips for the Adults, who would have benefited from similar hikes with our High Adventure Scouts

• Pace

  • We let Scouts walk their own pace

  • This allowed them to walk at their optimal speed - not too fast or too slow

  • What actually happened is that the Scouts seemed to walk at maximum speed, running at times and using their hiking poles to pole-vault themselves over obstacles

    • This likely increased the risk of injury and exhaustion - which we saw both of

    • A more reasonable pace would have been safer, healthier, more sustainable and likely more enjoyable

  • We had an adult that stayed with the lead Scouts

    • Although this adult was able to keep up with the rabbit Scouts, it is not reasonable to expect or plan for an adult to stay with the faster Scouts

    • Few adults can keep up with the faster Scouts and keeping up with them encourages them to go even faster or even sprint ahead of the group

    • Provisions should be made for lead Scouts to stay together, to stop at forks and major features (like water crossings) and to have their own radio to communicate with trail Scouts and Adults

• Food

  • Overall, food planning went well

  • One Scout packed food he didn't like and did not eat

  • 2 Scouts didn't pack enough and needed more calories and nutritional content

    • This was resolved at the precamp and parents brought more food for them

• Comms

  • The lead adult and trail adult had a radio

  • In the past, a radio was provided for the Scout teams

    • In past High Adventure trips, adults were not able to keep up with Scouts

    • An adult would not have to keep up with lead Scouts if the Scouts were equipped with a radio and were within radio range

  • Radios need to be turned off at the end of each daily hike 

    • An extra battery bank or extra batteries should be brought by the crew

• Evacuations

  • We evacuated 4 members and planned for a 5th

  • Although evacuations went well, it would have been better to avoid these altogether 

  • Prior hikes may have better prepared these members or allow them to cancel this trip if they felt they were not adequately prepared for it

  • Future evacuation teams should have 2 adults ready to meet us on the PCT to extract injured crew members so we don't have to pull adults and youth out off the trek to escort member to the evacuation points

• Adult Guides

  • We started with 4 Adult Guides

  • This is the ideal number, and allows for two teams of 2-deep adult supervision should we need to split group in two - such as during an evac or if we need to camp at two different locations 

  • We lost one Adult Guide due to injury on Day 1

    • This made the next evacuation more challenging and almost canceled our entire trek

• Morning Prep

  • We did miss out on a camp spot at our primary location on Day 1, since others (including a girl troop) arrived earlier and claimed them first

  • Leaving earlier on Day 1 would have also allowed us to secure a campsite at our primary spot

    • It is also important to note that our secondary spot allowed us to more easily evacuate injured and exhausted members on Day 1

  • We were able to make it to our campsites early enough to claim a spot, but this was mostly because our Scouts moved very fast on the trail

  • Getting up, packing and leaving earlier would allow us to travel on the trail at a more reasonable pace and still arrive in time to secure a camping spot

• Maps

  • The Escondido switchbacks are confusing if you are using classic Green Trails maps 176, 207 without the NW corner of map 208

    • If using classic Green Trails Maps, you really should have map 208 to view the "Missing Link" and extraction points

  • Even with our "Missing Link" resources, there was still some confusion for those using the Green Trails maps 

  • Our resources and discussion about the "Missing Link" can be improved

• Day One and Day Last Visitors

  • It is possible for Day One visitors to join us on day one and hike out through Extraction Point B

    • That would allow them to spend the first day with our Crew and then return home

  • It is possible for a Meet and Greet team to park at Extraction Point B and meet the crew at their first campsite.  They could spend the evening or night with our crew and head back home afterwards

    • This would also make extraction on day 1 much more manageable

  • Visitors could hike up part of the trail from the finish point and meet the crew on the trail or even at camp.

    • The Girl Troop that traveled the same route as us has a huge team meet their youth on the trail

      • They also had hot tea, doughnuts and all sorts of goodies for their crew