[pct-l] how's the PCT in SoCal?

[Todd Cantor]

Hi Guys, 

I am Idyllwild today and it is pouring rain in town so I stopped by the state park office and caught a look at the web cam from the Long Valley Ranger station (8000ft) and it was snowing consistently all day long. The snow is supposed to continue through the night. Don't have any precise measurements but the Dave the state park backcountry ranger was up to Wellman's last Friday and he indicated that he turned back because the route finding was problematic above Wellman's. 

Without getting into the gory details I just wanted to reiterate what Ned has already stated. This year Fuller Ridge is going to be pretty dodgy. Micro spikes and poles might cut it for the brave and/or experienced but as the snow melts and freezes and that Ridge turns to mostly ice hiking crampons and an arrest device are advisable. Slipping and sliding off Fuller Ridge is um......seriously problematic aka deadly. 

Apparently, yesterday SAR pulled two folks off the mountain from the summit hut who had been fine going up but felt the need to call in a rescue to get down. The party in question had hiked up from Humber park and the weather yesterday came in pretty fast. 

I guess my point here is that San Jacinto and more than likely the Berdo's and Gabriel's above 7K are going to be challenging this year for anyone leaving before say mid May. And even then Fuller is likely to be pretty sketchy. 

So, for what it is worth please do not overlook the So. Cal Mountains. San Jacinto is a real mountain with real objective hazards. Fuller Is no BS for five miles. According to the NFS ranger they rescued two to three people a week off the Ridge last year.   I guess the net-net is think about the gear you choose to bring. 

Needless to say, I did not go up solo today, but I am looking forward to some snowshoeing on Deer Springs and the PCT tomorrow assuming it lets up. 

Cheers,
Todd 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 26, 2017, at 8:42 PM, Eric <efuller at planhike.com> wrote:
> 
> I think the apache spring area is closed still from like cedar spring or something.. i went thru there in feb and yes it was dicey..
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Feb 23, 2017, at 10:30 PM, Todd Cantor <tcantor33 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Maybe next week.  
>> 
>> -Todd
>> 
>> 
>>> On Feb 23, 2017, at 9:09 PM, Melanie Clarke <melaniekclarke at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Are you able to check out the conditions on the Apache Peak to Fuller Ridge area?  That area can get really dicey!
>>> 
>>> Diet Plan
>>> 
>>> On Thu, Feb 23, 2017 at 11:12 AM, Todd Cantor <tcantor33 at gmail.com <mailto:tcantor33 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>> I was up for a day hike on Devil’s Slide in Idyllwild yesterday and drove home thru Warner Springs. I also drove up to Mt. Laguna last weekend and it is beautiful. If is one of the prettiest years in that area in recent memory. Everything is green, water is still coming off the Laguna and Palomar Watersheds and the lakes around Julian and Santa Isabel are all full again, which we have not seen in a long, long time. I don’t have any additional info on the springs in the area, but compared to the last ten years it is definitely green so the springs should be in pretty good shape. Cold Nights though I suspect so make sure to carry a puffy jacket and winds can kick up so a barrier layer wind jacket will be a nice to have as well.
>>> 
>>> The opening sections are going to be awesome, with lots of wildflowers and plenty of beautiful green scenery.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Feb 20, 2017, at 7:21 PM, Rick Parker <rickrparker at icloud.com <mailto:rickrparker at icloud.com>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Keep us posted on the here on your Laguna to Paradise Cafe.  I will be thru there on April 4-6 or so.
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