[pct-l] confused NB'er heading out from Cabazon

[Donna "L-Rod" Saufley]

I believe I know who this is, but won't name names.  If he was in Cabazon, he must have gotten over (or around) the San Jacintos.  This sounds more to me like an issue with finding where the trail crosses the highway. From my own experience, it is very obscure and difficult to find the crossing on I-10 (Mr. Mumbles and I have looked and looked for it ourselves, sans guidebooks).  And, since it's not through Cabazon, there isn't any wonder why people are unaware of this national treasure. 

I've had a dickens of a time finding where the trail picks up in more populated areas. Most recently I couldn't locate the trail under the freeway at Cajon Pass (I-15).  Not all of these locations have trailhead signage, and that may be a good thing, good fodder for another round of lively discussion.

L-Rod  


-----Original Message-----
>From: Matt Geis <mgeis at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Mar 30, 2010 3:13 PM
>To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>Subject: [pct-l] confused NB'er heading out from Cabazon
>
>Got this from my sister-in-law (a captain with Cal Fire) today...  Anybody know who this guy might be, and what his plans are?  If he can't find the trail where there's NO snow, I wonder how he's planning on dealing with the snow.  Maybe he's going to skip north or something, but he's going to get some snow either in the Sierra or the San Gabriels.  Sounds to me like the exact kind of solo, not-super-well-prepared hiking that we've seen end badly.  Based on where he is, if he hikes any more than 8 miles per day, he'll arrive at KM before 6/10 (just an arbitrary date I picked, but it seems that if he's going straight through, the snow's going to be tough).
>
>Iron Chef
>
>*******************
>
>"Mildly interesting story. There was a fire out near Blythe this week (not too big) so they shifted us over to a neighboring station (Cabazon) for most of the day Friday. While we were there at the station, we got a phone call from a NB PCT hiker who had stopped in at the Hadleys store in Cabazon. He sounded a little lost & confused. I guess he expected people in the area to know what the PCT was and to be able to give him help and directions along the way. I guess no one at the Hadleys store had ever heard of the PCT. His guidebook (or instructions) was a little vague about how to pick up the trail again north of the I-10 after stopping at Cabazon. He sounded a little exasperated and I thought it was coincidental that I was there that day to help him. The people at Hadleys let him use their phone and I guess he called the fire station thinking we would know the area. He said he knew the pink motel was closed, but was trying to pick up the trail again.
> Our station maps are mostly street maps, but we found enough info to figure out the trailhead again near Tamarack & Cottonwood and I think I successfully sent him on his way. He didn't say his trailname.
> 
>[snip]...
>
> We still have snow in a lot of the mountain areas and are expecting more this week at high elevations. I hope he either has a warm tent or gets over the mountains before tomorrow."
>
>
>      
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