[pct-l] Hat Creek Rim and Lost Creek

[Colby Gutierrez-Kraybill]

>
>
> Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:54:16 -0700
> From: "Deems" <losthiker at sisqtel.net>
> Subject: [pct-l]  Hat Creek Rim and Lost Creek
> To: "pct" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <B4CF596025444C73A39A8306B7716423 at S0029439031>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> 	reply-type=original
>
> Don't try to hike down to the water you can hear so far below unless  
> you are
> dyingly desperate. The Hat Creek Rim section is one of the USFS  
> poorest
> chosen routes for the PCT; as none of their water well drilling or  
> built
> trails to water on the rim in the early 1980s ever came to fruition.  
> The PCT
> should have been built west of Hwy 89 from Burney Falls to Thousand  
> Lakes
> Wilderness to Lassen NP as Clinton Clarke intended; and hopefully  
> someday,
> with the support of the PCTA and the usfs, it will finally be   
> rerouted
> along the original PCT that Clinton Clarke envisioned. As you hike  
> along the
> Hat Creek Rim, you will be looking across at the 1000 Lakes  
> Wilderness with
> its alpine summits, glacial lakes, creeks and find your thirst  
> unquenched.
> This link is the view down to the Lost Creek water so far below (and  
> out of
> view to the lower right.)  If not for the local trail angels, there  
> would be
> no drinkable water along the Hat Creek Rim. Kudos to them, and  
> scorns to the
> usfs.
> http://www.pbase.com/losthiker/image/97754979

Here's the view from the area where some of the water is piped (close  
to the spring itself):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hildaleticia/3061006357/sizes/l/

Along the surrounding slope down there is certainly a lot of nasty  
looking talis, but I've yet to climb up above the falls to see what  
the slopes further up look like.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hildaleticia/3061843772/sizes/l/

By the way, my family lives ~6mi from where the PCT crosses road 22 on  
the rim.  I just checked the cache there about 2 hours ago and it  
appears to have ~3-4gal of water.  Tomorrow I'm going up to leave 10gal.

- Colby


>
> ~~~
>> Howdie,
>>
>> The ~26 miles of the PCT that includes the Hat Creek Rim seems to be
>> infamous for a lack of water.  I find this rather confusing as there
>> is a natural spring (Lost Creek) within ~700ft (~400ft of height) of
>> the trail.  Lost Creek feeds two PG&E power houses and appears to be
>> thousands of gallons per minute.  However, it is ~6mi from Old
>> station, so, that leaves another ~20mi to Crystal and Brown Lakes.
>>
>> Am I missing something?  Not drinkable?  Too many boulders?
>>
>> - Colby
>>
>>
>