[pct-l] Entering PCT at Castle Crags from Dunsmuir

[Ernie Castillo]

While you are at it, you may want to consider a side trip to nearby Mt. Shasta. On my 1980 hike, I found a weekender camped at Castle Crags who was looking for a hiking partner to scale Mt. Shasta. He had a car and since I was scheduled for a "zero" at Castle Crags, I took him up on his offer to be his guide up the mountain. There was an outfitting store in the town nearest to Mt. Shasta and we were able to rent crampons. 

Ernie Castillo
erniec01 at hotmail.com
248 884 5201



 
> Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 08:01:22 -0700
> From: steeleye at wildblue.net
> To: dr_carolyn at yahoo.com
> CC: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Entering PCT at Castle Crags from Dunsmuir
> 
> Good morning, Clipper,
> 
> I haven’t walked from the rail station in Dunsmuir to the PCT -- instead I
> resupplied south at Castella – but I’m generally familiar with the area. The
> walking distance you would face is about 4 miles. I-5 takes most of the
> traffic off the secondary roads, but according to lyrics in an old C&W song,
> “…the road gets crooked on Saturday night.”
> 
> 
> 
> Gather information before expecting to camp that night at Castle Crags State
> Park where the PCT crosses. That’s a holiday weekend and the regular
> campgrounds will likely be fully subscribed. When I was there in ’08 there
> was a separate, semi-official PCT hiker’s camping area just north of
> Castella, but it I didn’t stay there. It may not even been part of the
> Park. I was told about it by the Castella Postmaster. From Castle Crags SP
> the trail climbs significantly and the camping opportunities are limited. I
> camped about halfway up, but I only require a 2’ x 7’, semi-flat space for
> my bed.
> 
> 
> 
> According to:
> http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/water/westwide/snowpack/wy2010/snow1005.gifthis
> is a very heavy snow year in N. California, and I expect significant
> snowpack to remain on the higher elevations until well into July. Your hike
> will begin about 2,200 ft. elevation and within about 12 miles will be over
> 6,000 ft. on the way to 7,500 ft.
> 
> 
> 
> Good luck; that’s a rewarding section of trail.
> 
> 
> 
> Steel-Eye
> 
> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
> 
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> 
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
> 
> 
> On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 7:10 AM, CClark <dr_carolyn at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > We plan to take Amtrak, disembark at Dunsmuir, and hike north from there.
> > That means we'll be getting off the train during the night. Have any of you
> > readers done this? What route should we follow from the train station to the
> > PCT? Can we hike this in the dark, or does traffic make it too dangerous?
> > Should we try to book a room in Dunsmuir? If so, any recommendations?
> >
> > And finally -- given this year's snowpack, does July 2 look like a
> > reasonable start date to avoid hiking through a lot of snow?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Clipper
> > dr_carolyn at yahoo.com
> >
> >
> >
> > P Please consider the environment before printing this email.
> >
> > Carolyn Clark, Ph.D.
> > Dept. of Communication
> > Salt Lake Community College
> >
> >
> >
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