[pct-l] Section E Weekend

[gwschenk at socal.rr.com]

Good day, listers.

My girlfriend and I did an overnighter in Section E this last weekend. We left a car at Pine Canyon Road and started at San Francisquito Canyon Road. We parked at the ranger station west of the trailhead on San Francisquito. There were no signs forbidding it, and the station was closed for the weekend so no rangers were there to answer questions. It proved to be no problem.

It was a mostly quiet hike with fine weather, if a bit windy. The trail is for the most part in very good condition, with some exceptions. West of the intersection with the Liebre Mtn. truck trail there is some deadfall along the traverse of the Liebre Mountain ridge which is forcing the motorbikers off the trail to get around them. This is causing some damage to the surrounding terrain since the snow has just melted out and this soil is still a little damp. They are leaving some pretty deep ruts. And the area north of the Liebre summit heading down to Pine Canyon Road is a real wreck. So bad that it keeps the dirtbikers off of it, which may be a plus. (This was a beautiful area just a few years ago before the burn) None of this will slow down a hiker very much.

The stream in Lake Hughes Canyon is flowing nicely.The trailside spring at 487.7 is a trickle, but steady. We camped at Maxwell camp and there is stagnant water in the guzzler. We should have camped at Upper Shake CG as the stream is flowing well there. West of Maxwell, a tributary of Shake Creek is also flowing across the trail, we could have quickly filled our bottles here. Cow Canyon by Pine Canyon Road also has good flow at this time. We could have gotten all of our water right on the trail this trip, this situation will change soon, no doubt.

On the trail, we only saw one dayhiker out with her dogs near Burnt Peak, some mountain bikers near Grass Mountain, and of course dirtbikers. My girlfriend likes to get right in their faces and ask them if they know where they are. They ALWAYS say no.

Section E makes for great winter and spring hiking, not sure how much I'd enjoy it mid-May, however. There is a little bit of trash through here, beer cans (from dirtbikers?) and water jugs, but for the most part it is quiet and peaceful hiking with some amazing views along those long ridges.

Gary