[pct-l] Subject: Re: Lake Marina kick off

[Scott Williams]

I’ll put in my two cents worth for an autumn hike of the desert sections. I
hadn’t planned to do a thru hike of the PCT in 2010, but found I was having
such a great time that spring that I just couldn’t stop. As it was all ad
lib so to speak, I had a family obligation that forced me off Trail for
about 300 miles of desert. So I finished at the Canadian border in mid
September, took two weeks off, and then returned to finish the desert
section I’d missed in October. It was absolutely gorgeous!

The year had begun with a bloom on the cactus and the bush poppies, but my
hike ended with lots of wild desert fruit, from wild plums and holly leafed
cherry and prickly pear, to a Trail covered in pine nuts by the million.
Local Native Americans we’re camped in some of the PCT camps with big
extended family gatherings, for a harvest that required rakes to gather
them all up.

I didn’t want for water, but was careful about making sure I carried enough
from source to source as some of the streams were dry.

Best of all was completing my hike at Hiker Heaven. My first thru hike and
the first time someone had completed their thru at the Saufley’s.

By October, the heat of summer was diminished enough that I had frosty
nights and really delightful days, and the trail was empty!  I loved the
Trail community of the summer, but also the joy of being alone in the
beauty of the So Cal desert at the tail end of the season. You will meet
some Sobos, and I actually met Eric Bo, also on his first hike, who I would
share 1,800 miles with on the CDT a few years later.

I can’t recommend the desert in fall more highly.

Shroomer

On Sun, Apr 22, 30 Heisei at 7:08 AM Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com>
wrote:

> On Sat, Apr 21, 2018 at 10:44 AM, CClark <dr_carolyn at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Brick,It sounds like you are familiar with "typical" weatherpatterns (I
> know there is really no typical) in southern CA.Would water issues make it
> a really bad idea to hike the southern section in the fall?
>
> In the fall, there will most likely be no natural water available. I
> would only count on pipes hooked into a municipal water system
>
> If I were to plan a Fall So-Cal section hike, I would take a day
> before the trip to drive and cache water near the road crossings. Take
> detailed notes (an pics if you have your phone) as to where you left
> the water, as things seem very different even after a few days and
> they can be hard to find. If they are sufficiently hidden, the water
> should still be there when you arrive on your section hike.
>
> Just be sure to carry out the empties, or go back and pick them up
> after the section.
>
> The fall is a wonderful time to hike SoCal. Enjoy your trip.
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