[pct-l] Castle Crags to Ashland

[amy b]

I hiked this section starting the first week of August in 2009 and thought
it was fantastic.  I was pretty out of shape and took my time, and it took
me about 2 weeks.  There was no snow on the ground and only a few flurries
one morning in the Russian Wilderness.  I think early July would be ideal
and there should be plenty of water at that time of year.  The climb out of
Castle Crags is brutal on a hot day (it was in the 90s) and there wasn't
much water between there and the Trinity Divide.  I think there was only
one creek still flowing on that stretch if I remember correctly.  The rest
of the trip had plenty of springs and small creeks for the most part, some
of which were full of cow pies.  I was glad I brought my filter.  The
wildflowers on this section are incredible as are the views of Mt. Shasta,
and the springs are full of cool Darlingtonia californica pitcher plants.

It was really easy getting a ride to and from Etna. Good food and beer in
town, and the hikers hut if it's still there is a great place to crash for
the night.  The climb out of Seiad Valley isn't bad if you start early in
the morning before it gets too hot.  Good, hearty breakfast at the cafe.


On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 8:56 AM, Lindsey Sommer <lgsommer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Diane,
>
> Out of curiosity, how long did this take you to do? I'm from Norther
> California and am considering doing a section this summer and have been
> thinking about this area.
>
> Cheers,
> Lindsey
>
> On Sun, May 13, 2012 at 6:43 PM, Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes <
> diane at santabarbarahikes.com> wrote:
>
> > I hiked this section starting July 3 in 2009. It was gorgeous and
> > there was more water than the guide book listed and those sources
> > said to likely be dry or a trickle were flowing very well. Snow was
> > minimal and nice for cooling off when tucked into in my hat.
> >
> > On May 12, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> > > I've section hiked WA & OR and am now working my way through CA,
> > > starting with sections P, Q and R.  I've always used the PCT
> > > (Wilderness Press) guidebooks and now I also have Yogi's.  I have
> > > several questions:
> > >
> > > 1.  any suggestions on when to go to still have water available but
> > > without a ton of snow?  (I'm looking at July -- is that too early?)
> > > 2.  how reliable are the water sources listed for these sections in
> > > the PCT guidebook and in Yogi's Handbook -- a bunch of them sounded
> > > pretty iffy.
> > > 2.  planning to stay overnight in Etna -- is it hard to get a ride
> > > there or back to the trail?
> > > 3.  a local from Seiad Valley suggested walking Seiad Creek Road up
> > > to Cook & Green Pass, as an alternative to the long, hot, steep
> > > actual PCT -- any thoughts on this?
> > >
> > > Thanks for your help.
> > >
> > > --Susan from Spokane
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Pct-L mailing list
> > Pct-L at backcountry.net
> > To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> >
> > List Archives:
> > http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> > All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> > Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Pct-L mailing list
> Pct-L at backcountry.net
> To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>
> List Archives:
> http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
> All content is copyrighted by the respective authors.
> Reproduction is prohibited without express permission.
>