[pct-l] New thru-hiking opportunity

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

Anyone who is thinking the thru-hiking season is over, don't despair.  
Now's your chance to attempt the Condor Trail!

The Condor Trail traverses the length of the Los Padres National  
Forest. It's about as long as the Tahoe Rim Trail. It's way more  
rugged and wild than the Tahoe Rim trail or the PCT or the JMT.  
You'll have to resupply but there's nowhere to go for that so you'll  
have to figure out how to get someone to bring food to you. It's more  
of a route than a trail so route-finding is key. The trails are on  
the map but they aren't always on the Earth, so it's full of  
adventure. It'll take you all day to go 10 miles in some places! If  
you get off the trail it might take you all day to go 2 miles! I've  
been there, done that.

More information is available here:
http://www.condortrail.org
Click on the map on the home page. The route is color-coded based on  
trail condition/existence.

Interesting article on the Condor Trail
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Carving-Out-the-Condor-Trail.html

Pictures of an epic 10 day winter trip on the Southern portion of it
http://picasaweb.google.com/AvocadoHunter/CondorTrailSpring2010

Portions of this route are how I hiked from Santa Barbara to the PCT  
in Spring 2009.

This trail is not for newbies. It's still mainly a few people's  
dream. But portions of it exist and are in good shape. So if you are  
jonesing for some great backpacking this fall or spring (fall meaning  
all the way into November and spring meaning March - May), this is  
some spectacular hiking country.