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[pct-l] Re: Trip Report - north of Hwy 74



Wade,

Here are the answers to your post about the Hwy 74 - I 10 section;

1. Fobes Ranch water. I don't know if any water is available at Fobes
ranch. I had heard that someone maintains a cache at the intersection of
the PCT and Fobes saddle, but there was no water there when I went
through, not even empty jugs. I have always hiked with a view to not
depending on caches, and this is a perfect example of why.

2. Caches. I saw no caches of any kind on the entire trail. I didn't
expect to see any except the Fobes one, and as I mentioned it didn't
exist.

3. Apache Springs at 22 miles. Here's how I came to that number. Ken
Roberts (at www.morethanamile.com) sells maps of the entire PCT on CD
ROM. I own the version that enables map printing from the CD's. At the
junction of the PCT and hwy 78 Ken has the distance indicated as
"150.8". I assume this is total PCT mileage from the border. At the PCT
intersection with Apache springs the mileage is listed as "168.5", or a
difference of 17.7 miles. To that I added 2 miles for the trip down and
back from Cedar springs, plus about 2 miles of scouting for fun after I
reached Apache Springs intersection. So you are not incorrect in your
assumption that the actual distance from hwy 74 to Apache is not 22
miles, I simply logged how many miles I walked (not how many trail miles
there are between the two points). Sorry for the confusion.

In general, I wouldn't count on water caches. I made the conscious
decision to get water at Cedar instead of carrying it in over the 11
miles it would take to get to the Cedar Springs cutoff. Either way, if
you plan on dry camping north of Cedar you will have to carry lots of
water up some pretty steep hills between Cedar springs and Apache peak.
If I had to do it again though, I'd do it the same way I did it on this
trip. I suppose as an alternative you could end at Cedar springs (which
is a BEAUTIFUL place to camp) and have lots of water overnight, then
hike the 17 or so miles to Taquitz spring on day two. You could arguably
carry less water out of Cedar springs that way.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

--
Mike Maurer