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

[Timothy Nye]

Hi Clipper,

There is a reserved PCT hiker camping area at the state park at Castle
Crags.  In addition to offering hot showers (about 3 minutes of hot water
for a quarter last year) there is a separate spur trail from this reserved
camping area that hooks into the PCT.  I found that the state park personnel
were very friendly.  There is a nominal charge for camping.  The trail spur
is extremely convenient; otherwise the official trail head is about an hour
or more north by road walk.

Alternatively, coming south from Dunsmuir there is a stealth camping
opportunity at a parking area for the Sacramento River access on the brief
road walk that connects the two PCT trail heads in this area.

On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 8:53 AM, Ernie Castillo <erniec01 at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> 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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