Of the last one hundred threads in this group there have been two cautionary threads about being prepared and some of the dangers out there. I started both of them. And then people argue and say I'm too conservative.

My sister in law has two neighbors who went backpacking before the rains in the Sierras and didn't tell anyone where they were going. They were supposed to have come home last Monday, its Saturday and no one even knows where to look for them. What happens when it rains - two things, you get wet and streams rise. What happens when you cross a creek and come back to a river? Do you suppose they never thought about drowning when they hiked in?

Has every one lost their sense of prospective? Its insane to suggest to beginners that going into wilderness without a clue or any experience is a safe thing to do. We have people planning to do the PCT asking about footwear, we have people intending to hike to AT with a poncho for rain cover. Why are we concerned only with the weight of their gear and not whether they return? Are we collectively so naive that we think that there is no danger out there? Isn't it our responsibility to warn people about what could happen? To never cross streams hiking in without a clear way back across? We suggest a compass and map knowing that they do not have a clue about how to use them all the time giving them a false sense of security...
Jim