Hiking Mount Whitney 2023
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/VII/ Ponchos and Safety
/A/ It crossed my mind that if I fell, got munched by a bowling boulder, failed to dodge a falling tree, slid over a seasonal waterfall ... the lack of people on the trail might be a problem.
/B/ Worse, no sign-in so no one local knew I was on the trail, had crossed the stream, was headed up the dreaded 99 switchbacks route ...
/C/ Plus, the night-time weather was terrible - well below freezing high up, with plenty of wind.
/D/ At least no snow in the forecast - although the forecast was from the day before.
/E/ For any active military or ex-military hikers, the established doctrine is that
/1/ one wishes to be remain concealed from enemy eyes unless there is a need to be located for evacuation
/2/ this can include wounded or worse, injured, miscellaneous other mission failures ...
/3/ in the old days one might have a monochrome poncho that more or less matched the dominant background
/4/ maybe khaki, olive drab, gray (for above the treeline), white (for snow) or black (for night).
/F/ One might rely on a silvery mylar emergency blanket as a locator if things were not going so well.
/G/ I would doubt rangers would be thrilled to see a hiker toting flares or smoke grenades.
/H/ Maybe some of the available digital camouflage patterns are better concealment either for being still or moving or both. I admit to not being much of a fan of the various camouflage uniforms.
/A/ It crossed my mind that if I fell, got munched by a bowling boulder, failed to dodge a falling tree, slid over a seasonal waterfall ... the lack of people on the trail might be a problem.
/B/ Worse, no sign-in so no one local knew I was on the trail, had crossed the stream, was headed up the dreaded 99 switchbacks route ...
/C/ Plus, the night-time weather was terrible - well below freezing high up, with plenty of wind.
/D/ At least no snow in the forecast - although the forecast was from the day before.
/E/ For any active military or ex-military hikers, the established doctrine is that
/1/ one wishes to be remain concealed from enemy eyes unless there is a need to be located for evacuation
/2/ this can include wounded or worse, injured, miscellaneous other mission failures ...
/3/ in the old days one might have a monochrome poncho that more or less matched the dominant background
/4/ maybe khaki, olive drab, gray (for above the treeline), white (for snow) or black (for night).
/F/ One might rely on a silvery mylar emergency blanket as a locator if things were not going so well.
/G/ I would doubt rangers would be thrilled to see a hiker toting flares or smoke grenades.
/H/ Maybe some of the available digital camouflage patterns are better concealment either for being still or moving or both. I admit to not being much of a fan of the various camouflage uniforms.