[pct-l] Questions re southern CA segment in spring 2014

[Timothy DenHerder-Thomas]

Hi all,

I have just started a multi-year section hike of the PCT (just completed
Crater Lake to Cascade Locks the past few weeks - amazing). My hiking buddy
and I are looking to do another ~18-day segment in Southern California at
the end of April through mid May. We're pretty fixed on a late April-mid
May timing for 2014, and attached to Southern California only in that as
far as we know that is the only PCT area that can be easily hiked at this
time of year without lots of dangerous weather or hundreds of miles of
slogging through snow.

The two segments we were considering were roughly Campo to Cajon Pass (or
Wrightwood) or Cajon Pass (or Wrightwood) to Kennedy Meadows. From what I
am hearing about the Mountain Fire and areas south, it is sounding like
Campo to Cajon Pass will not be ideal in spring 2014 (likely large areas
closed with extensive road walks). So I'm focusing in on Cajon Pass to
Kennedy Meadows as the more likely segment. Here's my questions:

1. I've heard there were several big fires in So Cal this year, maybe some
affecting the PCT additionally to the Mountain Fire in the San Jacintos. Is
the segment from Cajon Pass to Kennedy Meadows (Sections D, E, F, and
southern part of G) relatively unaffected by the fires/ unlikely to be
closed for fire in spring 2014?

2. Are other areas of the Campo to Cajon Pass area other than the San
Jacintos heavily affected enough by fire that the trail is likely to be
closed?  I saw a link on a previous post to a Forest Service page listing
fire closures, but the link did not work.

3. I'll be watching the snow reports, but in general, is there usually more
snow in the area around Walker Pass (south of Kennedy Meadows) or in the
high peaks of the San Gabriels (eg Mt. Baden Powell). Basically, if we're
hiking roughly April 28th through May 15th, are we likely to find less snow
hiking the Cajon Pass to Kennedy Meadows section south to north or north to
south? I live in Minnesota, so I'm not familiar with area weather.

4. From what I've gathered, poodle dog bush becomes abundant after fire in
SoCal. Does this happen immediately after fire, or like a year later, 3
years later, or what? Basically, if the PCT through the San Jacintos is
closed/rerouted to roads in Spring 2014 due to fire, is it likely to be
choked with poodle dog bush in Spring 2015, 2016, etc? Or is this less of a
problem at the elevation in the San Jacintos? I'm aware of the existing
area of heavy poodle dog bush in section D, but I'm wondering if the recent
fires are likely to create new poodle dog areas in section B (or
elsewhere). I'm thinking about timing and line up of future segments. Is it
less of a problem if the affected area is hiked in the fall (possibly fall
2014, more likely a later year).

Thanks for any insights you can offer about navigating these sections!

Timothy (Raven)