The Morning Program:

For students arriving by car to the bottom of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway:

• You will pay for your parking space as you drive up the tram’s driveway and purchase your tram ticket inside the lower tram station as a walk-up or you can pay online for your parking and tram ride before arriving online here.
• Arrive 30 minutes early to get past the guard station, parked, and up to the lower tram station with your packs, gear, and friends by 7:00am PST
• For those arriving this way, we will meet outside the tram station entry at the top of the stairs above the last parking lot. Introductions, gear review, and overall itinerary explanation.

For PCT Thru-hikers arriving by foot to the Upper Tram Station in Long Valley:

• Expect to camp the night before on the snow at Hidden Lake (may be frozen over), 1.2 miles before the Upper Tram Station. You cannot camp in the vicinity of the Tram and Ranger Station, though you’ll be tempted to as there may be water and bathrooms available there.
• Expect to meet your classmates and instructor, Ned Tibbits, inside the building, near the lockers and lower doors by 0900.
• Introductions, gear review, and overall itinerary explanation.

“The Ranger Walk:”

Everything that can be taught to you about walking on flat, consolidated snow (snowshoeing or with boots and traction-aides) with a daypack within the environment you’re walking through will come from your instructor spontaneously as you enjoy the morning’s walk.

We will walk or snowshoe (depending on the softness of the snow at the time) leisurely down the length of Long Valley, no more than a half-mile, following the creek and stopping frequently to discuss the points, below. You will stop often to notice and talk about all sorts of things!

The Morning’s Topics will be:

• How to walk on snowshoes without tripping, falling down, or over-extending your stride.
• How not to stride in boots or regular shoes and aggressively push off your toes, as if you were on dry ground because you will slip and can fall!
• Poles: How to use and hold your poles as extensions of your arms to constantly maintain your balance. (On dry trail you don’t have to do this!)
• Maps: Navigation by circumferential, topographic awareness (Where are we in the environment around us?)
• Maps: How to “read” a topographic map (Where are we on the map?). 7.5-minute USGS paper maps show you the detail needed to correctly orient the map, identify where you are by the landmarks around you, and help you navigate miles ahead in the right direction!
• Electronic navigation, small-screen maps, map apps, and scrolling.
• Where is the trail and does it matter? (GPS navigation)
• Safe route selection to get you where you want to go based on snow contours, grades, ridges, and valleys around you.
• The Hazards of the snow-covered environment, how to be aware of and identify their risks, and how to avoid or mitigate them through knowledge and skills.
• Over-snow sanitation: Why, how, where, explained.
• Weather awareness, identification, and prediction discussed in detail so you never get caught off-guard by a storm and get wet and cold far from a warm shelter!
• The Wilderness Relationship, listening, hearing, learning, and giving it your attention for safety.

At the half-mile point (where the creek forks to the east, our first big landmark that tells us where we are), we will stop, confirm our location on the map and by GPS, and take a rest. Fuel and hydration in the winter environment is very important to monitor and maintain! Learning to move slowly and notice little clues in the environment around you will keep you safe and found.

After this important break, we will continue south (turning to the right) and ascend 0.7 miles up a branch of Long Creek on a gradual incline toward a snow-covered lake (that may look like a big, flat, white meadow) and Hidden Lake Divide. This is our second big landmark for the day and destination for the afternoon’s skills trainings. We will move slowly, talk constantly, pay attention to each other, and laugh often!