[pct-l] Fobes Saddle Cache & Hat Creek Rim and Lost Creek

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Apr 30, 2009, at 6:56 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

>    9. Fobes Saddle Cache
Actually, there is water stashed all over the place on Fobes Saddle,  
just not at the most obvious cache. We found several bottles hidden  
near a boulder near a large log in a slightly more sheltered spot  
below the crest. (I was there on Monday.) I'm sure there was more if  
we had poked around the prickly bushes more.

It's not really necessary to rely on this cache anyway. I hiked sobo  
from Devil's slide and filled up at Taquitz creek with 3.5 liters and  
that lasted enough to get to Tunnel Spring the following morning. Of  
course, we had more downhill going south. Still, there were water  
opportunities off trail if we had needed them.

By the way, Tunnel Spring is quite nice. The elevation drop is really  
not that bad and it's closer than the other spring to the east. If  
you opt for Tunnel Spring, make sure you take the right fork of the  
trail once you reach the bottom. The trough is upstream along the dry  
creek. The water is clear in the trough and the spring is running  
slowly from the pipe. The water has a slight sulfur taste, but  
aquamira removes the taste.

>   10.  Hat Creek Rim and Lost Creek
I actually really enjoyed Hat Creek Rim. Last year in the smoky air  
the rim took on an otherworldly feel. It was like I was walking in  
one place and watching a mirror image of where I was below me. At one  
point it appeared I was hiking along the bluffs at the beach at home  
in Santa Barbara. It was like a rift in time and space had opened up.  
It was a really cool experience. Plus Hat Creek Rim is flat and the  
hiking goes fast.

The thing about the PCT is that there are a lot of things that people  
dread and fear and fret about. The desert, the supposedly deadly  
conditions on Apache peak, the Aqueduct section, the high mountain  
passes, Hat Creek Rim, etc. Don't let these things bother you. The  
incredible variety that is the PCT is what makes it such an awesome  
experience. All of the chatter online and wherever about the big  
boogie man coming up on the trail that you better be afraid of is  
just hype. You'll be fine.

I'm a big chicken and didn't feel scared in the least walking across  
the snows around Apache peak in my trail runners with no crampons or  
ice axe. (I hiked this on Monday.) Hat Creek Rim is really cool.  
Don't worry about these things. It's all hype.

Approach everything with a positive attitude and you may just enjoy  
what you dread. Even Hat Creek Rim.