[pct-l] Altitude gain/loss for the PCT, and Oregon really is flat!

[bigpauly at gmail.com (Paul Ruvolo)]

I would love the spreadsheet data so I can figure out the altitude change 
for my hike from the southern terminus to Whitney portal.

I really am a super geek... with super powers :)

On 9/16/05, David Toms <ukstoveman@hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Being a (bit of a) geek I logged the total altitude gain/loss for the PCT
> whilst thru-hiking this year. The oft-quoted figure of around 360,000 ft 
> is
> a significant underestimate, based (I believe) on simply using the 
> altitude
> change between points in the databook. So if you want to impress your
> friends and terrify your enemies with your amazing hiking abilities, the
> actual figure is 447,000 ft.
> 
> I've also calculated the altitude gain/mile for each of the three states.
> California came in at 170ft/mile, Oregon a mere 130ft/mile and Washington 
> a
> whopping 190ft/mile.
> 
> Geeky details:
> This includes walking from Big Bear City back up Van Dusen Canyon road, as
> well as side trips to Elk Lake, and Shelter Cove, and doing the Bucks Lake
> alternate, Eagle creek alternate, Ramona & paradise alternates out of
> Timberline. We did the hiker re-route around Glacier peak which added a 
> few
> feet to the route (and was somewhat hillier than the USFS map suggested, I
> think they were 1000ft under). Stripping all these out would remove around
> 7,000ft, giving 440,000 ft. Note also that we did all the mountain ranges;
> if you skipped Baden Powell & Fuller Ridge then your number will be lower.
> 
> I haven't adjusted the number for intraday barometric pressure changes as
> I've assumed these will cancel over the course of the 150 days of hiking.
> Overnight pressure changes are excluded as we turned our logbooks off
> overnight.
> 
> We used Suunto altimeters - an Advizor (me) and a Metron (Michele), set to
> log altitude changes at 1-minute intervals.
> 
> If anybody wants the spreadsheet of altitude change each day and 
> associated
> milepoints I'm happy to send it through. You have to publically admit to
> being a supergeek first.
> 
> Dave
> 
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