[pct-l] Some trail info

[Stephen Stoddard <stoddars@ucs.orst.edu>]

I just completed sections A & B a couple of days ago for a little over
210 miles.
-Mt. San Jacinto area is buried in deep, soft snow and requires map
navigation with compass (or if you are lucky enough to meet Ray out on the
trail-GPS).  
-Brushy areas with ticks mentioned in the guidebook are crawling with
them-I removed over twenty (before they dug in) from my lower legs.
-All year round water sources are fine, but the seasonal ones are drying
up or dry already.
-Illegals are using the PCT up to Mt Laguna. I saw 15 using the trail at 3
PM the day prior to Mt Laguna. The day before that I saw approximately 10
people later in the day. Evidence of high use (trash, footprints, etc)
show many more illegals in the area. I was told by a Forest Service
employee he finds them in the bathroom sleeping (next to PO) and by the
women who worked at the store (on a Sunday) that they use the trail and
one will come out across the woods to use the payphone and they catch
rides to LA from Mt Laguna area.

I left Campo on March 16th around 6PM after Robert dropped me off (Thanks
again!) A person signed in as "Lucky" at the Campo PO (24 hour access-sign
the official trail register) on March 15 as a thruhiker. He was still
ahead of me by one day when I was at the Warner Springs Post Office. I
took off one day here and caught a ride to Borrego Springs for my first
day off. I followed his footprints all the way from Campo until I lost
them in the snow before Fuller Ridge on Mt San Jacinto. I don't know if he
bailed out or continued on from this location. My last three days were
spent navigating in deep snow with buried trail and winter conditions with
Ray Brook(?). It was quite the experience but I would not recommend it to
everyone. He plans on thruhiking later this year and this was his warm up
hike from I-74 to I-10 area.
I highly recommend sunscreen, sunhat, gatoraid or something similiar, and
extra water containers for the hot shadeless areas between water points
along the southern PCT. I fly to Alaska on Monday April 10th. If I was
leaving later I would still be out on the trail-even with the snow for
the higher elevations. The trail is in great shape and is easy to follow
up until the snow (near Idylwild cutoff) up on Mt San Jacinto. If anybody
has any specific questions let me know and have a great hike.
Steve

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