[pct-l] Plumas NF current conditions near Belden

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Aug 2, 2010, at 3:21 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> Hello from a longtime list-lurker.
>
> Thanks to a break in my kid's rockclimbing trip schedule, I find
> myself with a windfall three days next week. Having had to skip
> Quincy-LaPorte Road to Chester due to the fire closure two or three
> years ago, I'd like to get back to it. At least Quincy-LaPorte Road
> to Belden.
>
> Three calls to Plumas NF asking for conditions info (ie: has the
> trail been brushed? blowdowns? burn areas?) and no calls back.
>
> Anyone been through there recently? Hope water's not in too short
> supply after the middle fork of the Feather. It's going to be hotter
> than Hades down in those river canyons. (I'm toying with going w/o a
> sleeping bag this time, for the three-day fastpack.)
>
> Thanks for your consideration,
>
> DP

Hi there,
I just returned from a hike from Bucks Summit to Hwy 36. That section  
was in great shape. Only a couple of smaller blowdowns in the climb  
north of Belden. Otherwise the trail was clear and beautiful and the  
wildflowers were at the peak of perfection.

There was plenty of water during the whole climb out of Belden. I  
should not have carried a drop with me, but I did. No water between  
Cold Spring and Soldier Spring. It seemed unseasonably cold up there  
to me. I was very grateful to have a sleeping bag. I went without a  
pad one night and it was just too cold without it.

There is a fire burning somewhere in the area making the sky smoky in  
the Feather River area and in the Lake Almanor area. The smoke went  
clear across the San Juaquin valley. I do not think it's near the trail.

I do not know how the conditions between Quincy-La Porte and Bucks  
Summit.


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