[pct-l] conditions on CA sections M and N

[dplotnikoff at sjmercury.com (David Plotnikoff)]

Greetings from a long-time list lurker. What follows are notes on water and
conditions from a 100-mile walk Aug. 10-16 13 on California sections M and
N. I hope these may be of use to section hikers doing these areas in the
next few weeks. If anyone wants or needs my complete, detailed notes, just
e-mail me and I'll be happy to send the complete version.

DP



The PCT segment from Quincy-La Porte Road to just before the Middle Fork of
the Feather River is entirely waterless. I went out with loaded with six
liters and used four. Hikers who need water here will need to make
side-trips of a quarter- to a half-mile off the trail. (See the data book.)

There are few significant blowdowns along this section, which is mostly
rolling flats or downhill in forest cover. The only truly dangerous
obstruction is a gigantic douglas fir blowdown after the beginning of the
steep descent into the middle fork of the Feather River canyon, between
Sawmill Tom Creek Road 23N65Y and Dogwood Creek Road/Butte Road/23N29. The
tree came up to the chin of a 5-9 man (me) and is perched on a slope
steeper than 45 degrees. It's far too steep to even consider navigating
around it. Getting over it is tough, clinging on belly and knees, hoping
not to slide down the slope like a monkey on a greased pole. For solo
hikers with nobody to spot their fall, groping over this obstacle is a
potentially life-threatening situation.

At the bottom of the long drop into the middle fork, there's a major
junction with a shot-out sign, a 90-degree turn, with a potentially
confusing junction to the Butte Bar Trail, going off to the right. The PCT
northbound goes to the left, downstream on the river. Just beyond that
there are about 40 yards of steep, crumbling talus cliff slopes approaching
the bridge. Not a genuine danger for a hiker, but probably a big problem
for an equestrian.

On the long climb out of the Middle Fork of the Feather River there's water
early on at  Bear Creek and then nothing until the spring-fed creeklets at
the culvert running underneath Big Creek Road. The burn area just before
the first dirt road crossing (again, a part of the near-ubiquitous "Butte
Bar Trail') is a brief preview of the hell to come in Section O: many big
blowdowns and a lot of brush totally covering the trail.

At Big Creek Road (23N56), if you're planning on camping near the spring
creeklet, choose a dry spot uphill from the highway, along 23N19. On the
other side of the highway, range cattle have left the marshy areas as a
semi-bog.

The water is exactly where it's advertised --  in a creeklet that crosses
in a culvert at the road. It is running strong. And pretty hard to miss.

>From Big Creek Road to Clear Creek the data book flags a water alert. But
as of last week, there were plenty of water sources in the first half of
the day prior to Spanish Peak. After Big Creek Road there are three minor
seep springs on the trail (don't bother with them) then a strong-running
creek.Climbing up to Spanish Peak through Buck's Lake Wilderness there are
two crossings of a gushing creek.

The first pumpable water beyond that is a trickle past the ironically named
"Mt. Pleasant."  at 6190. Skip it. The trail drops steeply to follow Clear
Creek to its signed crossing where there's plenty of water and two decent
campsites. Beyond that, after a mile, is Three Lakes junction.

There is no water on the nine-mile downhill from Clear Creek to Belden that
I noted.

The climb out of Belden was a repeat of the climb out of the Middle Fork. A
steep-walled river canyon, dusty, choked with black flies and poison oak.
The PCT is back on its original path up the Chips Creek drainage after a
few years of detours in the wake of a devastating fire.

In the burn area there's plenty water at "Joe Vee's Spring" on the steep
climb. Note that the Williams Cabin, supposedly on a flat 6.3 miles out of
Belden doesn't seem to exist anymore. The guidebook alludes to dangerous
side-trails down to Chips Creek in order to get water. That's just flat-out
wrong. There were more than half a dozen roaring creeks crossing the trail
between Belden and Poison Spring.

To the north of there, after a nearly flat stretch through some pretty
nasty burn section with a lot of blowdowns, you come to a crossing a major
east/west Road 26N02. This is a "T" intersection with 26N04 coming in from
the north. The trail continues (you can't miss the two big cairns) at the
northwest corner of the intersection and enters what could only be
characterized as blowdown hell. Skirting the west edge of a meadow, the
trail heads north, up a slight grade and through blowdowns every 25 or 50
YARDS. It's apparent that no government operative with a chainsaw has been
on this stretch of trail between 26N02 and a few yards south of Cold Spring
this year -- and maybe for several years. Shame!

After Cold Spring (great water at the pipe, which runs into a trough on the
south side of the split-rail-fence area) the trail initially appeared to
run through the mediocre campsite next to the trough and continue on
through a meadow from there. But after a few paces down this direction, I
lose whatever trace might have been there in the blowdown debris and meadow
grass. Twice I try to find the real trail and twice I fail. I go through
the campsite and try to follow the fenceline in back of the springs up the
hill toward the ridge, hoping to eventually intersect with the trail. After
20-30 minutes of bushwhacking, I use the GPS to get back on track.

Others who lose the trail at the trough may wish to walk uphill on Humbug
Summit Road to one of two dirt roads on the left which intersect with the
trail.

To the north of Cold Spring, the next available water is one half mile away
from the trail at the Carter Meadows junction (this is well past Humboldt
Summit, which makes a fine camp option for the night). At the Carter Meadow
junction, head down the spur a half-mile to pump water from a standing
3-inch-deep puddle at the first good campsite on the right of the trail
(N40 12.042/W121 25.128). It tastes better than it looks.

>From the Butt Mountain junction, there's a half-mile stretch where
manzanitas have not only encroached on the trail but have totally
obliterated it. Consider this another short preview of what lies ahead in
Shasta's dread Section O. You'll be pushing through abrasive bushes with
your arms in front of your face for quite some time. Some government desk
jockey in the Almanor RD of the Lassen NF needs to hear about this.

The spring at Soldier Creek is running clear, cold and perfect. There are
two mediocre campsites perched below the stream crossing -- the first two
sites in quite some time, but it's preferable to make it down off the hill
to the flat at 5000 before scouting a space for the night.

David Plotnikoff
Columnist/Asst. Business Editor
San Jose Mercury News
plotnikoff@sjmercury.com
voice: (408) 920-5867