[pct-l] advice on sections D, E, F

[Gary Schenk]

Good morning, Sunshine!

On Mon, February 4, 2019 6:52 pm, Susan Virnig wrote:

> I’m hoping to do about a month of section hiking starting around March 24.
>  Just checked the Sierra snowpack and found it’s 100% of normal — does
> that also apply to the southern CA mountain ranges?

Yes, we've just had a week of rain and snow higher up. The future is
anybody's guess. Last week, before this big storm, the snow level in the
San Gabriels looked to be around 8000'. (My guesstimate from hiking in the
front range and looking at the high country)

> If they will all be snow-covered, rather than finish Section B, and get
> into Section C and D — all of which have 9000' sections, I’m thinking
> about starting around Highway 2 which crosses the PCT about 46 miles into
> Section D at 6700’ or when it re-crosses the PCT 10 miles later at 6800’
> and then go into Sections E & F.  What do you think?  Here are some
> questions:

My guess is that this year they'll be snow at 7000' on north facing
aspects for sure at the end of March.

> 1.  Is Highway 2 a good place to get a ride to or is it off in the middle
> of nowhere?

You could Uber or taxi there.

> 2.  Is that 50-60 mile stretch of the PCT ending in Agua Dulce likely  to
> be snow-free the end of March?  Or if not, is it still relatively ok to
> hike?

Once you get north of Mt. Gleason you'd be out of the snow, I think.

> 3.  Or is it better to just start at Agua Dulce and head straight into E &
> F?

That's what I'd do.

> 4.  Any idea if there will be other hikers in that part of Section D, then
> into E and F on the trail at that time, or will they all be closer to
> Campo?

Nowadays, no telling. We met thrus in Section F in early April last year.

> 5.  I know I’m not supposed to count on water caches, but would any be
> maintained in late March/early April?

You won't need caches in March, IMO.

> 6.  Other thoughts or advice?

The Piute range in Section F is high, 8000'+/- and there's a possibility
of fairly heavy snow in April up there. Last year was very dry and we had
no problems hiking in April then. This year might be different.

Good luck!

Gary