[pct-l] Southern CA Section E safety

[Junaid Dawud]

I found section E to be very enjoyable, but it did have some really  
awful things about it that led me to jokingly call it section shit-E.

First some good stuff. It starts at hiker heaven, run by the saufleys.  
For the uninitiated, I'll simply say that it's called hiker heaven for  
a reason. I personally consider Donna Saufley to be an Arch Trail  
Angel, and one of the nicest women you could ever meet. The lengths  
they go to in order to provide an almost magical oasis in the desert  
is unbelievable. For this reason I'd say that if you do section E, go  
south so you can end there. The stretch between Agua Dulce and Casa de  
Luna is hot and dry but it has a certain charm to it. And Casa de Luna  
is another must stop, Joe and Terrie are an absolute riot. Wearing  
aloha shirts and enjoying the mister in the back at the lunatic lounge  
is awesome. Really there are only two types of hikers that go through  
section E: those that stopped at casa de luna, and those that should  
have. There is also hiker town, which is a welcome place to shade  
yourself, shower, rest, and get ready to walk the aqua duct.

Now the bad part, IMHO, is everything north of hiker town. It is hot  
and dry.  The aqua duct is boring and surreal.  Areas of the trail are  
torn up by dirtbikes and atvs. It's really just not that nice.

Junaid

On Mar 19, 2010, at 11:02 AM, sarah estrella  
<skestrella at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Hi, I'm a section hiker, thinking of doing Section E:Agua Dulce to  
> Highway 58 next month. The Wilderness Press guide calls it a "hot,  
> waterless, dangerous" section, but they never say what the dangers  
> are. Off-road enthusiasts?  Weirdos from the desert? I'm female and  
> going solo.  Thanks!
> Sarah
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