[pct-l] california section hike advice

[Melanie Clarke]

Maybe other people can also comment but this is my 2 cents.
I have lived in California for about 39 years and I'm pretty familiar with
all of the "micro" climates.

You will see right away how hot everything is on the hike near the Mexican
Border.  Also, after Mt. Laguna, you will cross the Anza Borrego Desert.
There is very little water on the climb after Scissor's Crossing.  Trail
Angels Cache water near the "Third Gate" but I don't know if they continue
cacheing water in July.  If the weather is too hot and the lack of water
creates too much adversity, and you're not dead; you can choose to take a
bus and hitch hike to the Sierra Mountains.  The Sierras are beautiful in
July and August.  San Jacinto will be nice and cool at the top but after
you descend to Highway 10 the temperature will be over 115 F, most likely
120-125 F. (46-48C).  My advice is to skip this entire portion at the
beginning.  These California deserts do not cool down until the end of
September or October.

Maybe you can choose to instead, hike the Northern portion of the PCT.
Hike from Ashland, Oregon to the Canadian Border.  If you can't get a
permit into Canada, you can exit at Hart's Pass.  Or you can hike to Canada
and then turn around and hike back to Hart's Pass.

Or, if you want to start in California, maybe you can start at Kennedy
Meadows, Walker Pass or enter the trail at Crabtree Ranger Station, even
Mammoth Lakes.  That will get you to the foot of the Sierras.  The Sierras
have lots of water and they are beautiful.

It sounds like you guys might be students and you can only hike the trail
June to September.  I really like California so if I were you, I would
start in the Sierras  If you already have plane tickets to San Diego, you
can easily bus to Los Angeles or catch a flight to Mammoth, CA.  Getting to
the Sierras will be an adventure but  http://climber.org/data/shuttles.html
go here and try to contact 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and then 7, 8 or 9.  I know you
can fly from San Diego or Los Angeles to Mammoth.  Maybe you can start the
trail at Mammoth.  That might be best.  All PCT hikers go off the trail to
Mammoth to shower, resupply etc.  From Mammoth, it looks like #1, 2, 3, 4,
7, & 8 will take you to a trailhead.  You can probably contact or email
them while you are still in Europe and arrange a ride.  I would start at
any trailhead in the Sierras.  There are many entry points.  Take whichever
one is easiest; Onion Valley, Kennedy Meadows, Mammoth Lakes.  You will
probably see a lot of hikers when you are in Mammoth anyway.

Good Luck!  I would not hike CA deserts in July.  See if anyone else on
this list has any other advice for you.

Diet Plan

On Sun, Feb 14, 2016 at 1:27 PM, Anna Baddorf <annabaddorf at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> my boyfriend and I are coming from Europe this summer to do the California
> portion of the PCT (Campo to Ashland area). Our planned start date is
> around the 25th of June, and we want to be finished around the beginning of
> September. We are still undecided about whether we do NOBO or SOBO. We are
> considering which option would be best for crossing the Sierra’s in the
> least snowy conditions as possible, and the best for avoiding the hottest
> part of the year in the SoCal deserts. I fear, we will not be able to avoid
> the heat of the desert considering our window of time, but I would like to
> get some advice from experienced PCT hikers on which (NOBO or SOBO) they
> would choose and why.
>
> Thanks in advance for your input!
>
> Anna
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