This segment covers the first part of section B north of Warner Springs. The rest of section B will await April 2001.
After hiking on May 2, I drove through Julian, much busier now than on early April weeknights, and on to Warner Springs Ranch Resort. I don't know if, as suggested on pct-l, they really offer $25/night rooms to through hikers arriving in person, but over the phone that morning they just offered me $90/night under their "Taste of Warner" package. The lodging was pleasant enough, but you can't go directly in the hot springs, and the swimming pool that is filled from the hot springs had been drained for repair and was refilling that afternoon. Steak in the restaurant was quite good, as was breakfast in the Golf Grill the next morning at 6:30.
It looks like Warner Springs Ranch Resort is really hurting at this time of year on weeknights. Staff outnumbered guests on Wednesday night. Things were slightly better on Thursday, bolstered by more golfers and the first wave of ADZ through hikers arriving, and then it turned out they didn't have enough staff in the restaurant kitchen; it took a couple of hours to get a lasagna dinner. All things considered, Warner Springs would do well to put together a bargain hiker blister recovery package for spring weeknights. I popped three blisters that night.
Lost Valley Spring was full but not running much. Not terribly appetizing but presumably OK filtered. The CRHT post is somewhat deceptive, making it look like the spring is located behind the sign down a trail which soon turns into a game trail. This is a mistake. The spring is a short distance DOWNhill along the Lost Valley dirt road. The PCT northbound takes another dirt road UPhill soon superseded by trail. The guidebook map is clear enough, only the CRHT post is confusing.
The water tank east on Chihuahua Valley Road was full. The guidebook suggests contacting the owner for permission, but the 2000 supplement suggests just going ahead and taking the water. One has to step over a low chain that says NO TRESPASSING to reach the tank. Filling up here, then camping at Combs Peak might be a good plan.
Coming back I encountered five northbound hikers but no rattlers. I popped the same three blisters that night, after finally getting my lasagna.
I popped the same three blisters again that night. I was surprised that blisters can heal pinholes (from safety pins) overnight, since I thought the top layer of skin was dead, but I was wrong. One suggestion was to run a loop of thread through the hole(s) to keep them open and draining, but that seems way too likely to lead to infection even in a lodge hiker, much more so in a through hiker.
