[pct-l] ashland to seiad

[Justin West]

Spelling Bee, when exactly where you through there?  Was this a week ago, a
couple days ago, two weeks??  We are thinking to try seiad to ashland
northbound starting tomorrow (july 4th)
thanks
justin and Li An

Message: 14
Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 11:57:08 -0400
From: Csilla Tabor <csilla.tabor at gmail.com>
Subject: [pct-l] NorCal/OR
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Message-ID:
       <CAKOCcLw7KAvWQKX0jBg4Gsnr=siTGBCzifJxeFpBANEGXRL8xA at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

  We paused our thru-hike at Lone Pine to flip up north and give that
section a go (via the bus from Lone Pine to Reno, then a rental car from
Reno to Medford, then a ride from the nice girl at Callahan's from Medford
to Ashland). Here are some tidbits about the snow up there (hiking SoBo from
Ashland to the Marble Mountains):
- Snow is patchy starting around 5800 ft and consistent at about 6000 ft,
especially on the north sides of the mountains
- Much of the trail is completely covered by snow, making navigation
difficult. In the section between Ashland and Seiad Valley, we relied
heavily on our GPS for navigation and followed several roads which
paralleled the trail (which were also covered with snow, but easier to
find).
- Snow traverse was slow but not too difficult for most of the section
between Ashland and Seiad Valley. Our microspikes were adequate and our ice
axes were helpful.
- We still averaged 17 miles/day.
- We only made it 28 miles past Seiad Valley (SoBo). The last mile of this
took us 3 hours out and then 2 hours back (including a self-arrest
situation), after we decided not to move past this section.
  Due to the greatly-slowed progress and the increasing steepness of the
Marbles, we chose to stop at this point and head back to Seiad Valley.Our
attempt at flipping was not successful for us and we realized we weren't
enjoying the trail anymore. It's sad to give up our goal, but it appears the
PCT is not the place for us right now. We're going to continue our hike on a
different trail, a little closer to home. Thanks to Mama Moab for the ride
to Medford, and good luck to those continuing their adventure!
~Spelling Bee~ (and Rabbit)