[pct-l] Re: San Felipe Hills alternate route?

[ROYROBIN at aol.com (ROYROBIN@aol.com)]

In a message dated 1/20/04 2:40:16 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
gray_hiker@mindpoison.org writes:

> So, during my aborted thru hike attempt this summer, the most annoying
> section was the San Felipe Hills. Hot, dry, winding, and just generally
> not nice. The book mentioned Vulcan Mountain across the way, and how it
> is closer to the true crest. Are there any alternate routes that would
> take you through the greener area across the valley, or are you pretty
> much stuck with the dry and dusty slog over the San Felipe Hills?
> 
> I'm planning another attempt in 2005, and since I've been thru that
> section, it wouldn't bother me in the least to try something new.
> 
> Gray
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Hi Gray!

I have heard that the ridge to the west of the trail, across the San Felipe 
Valley, was the originally proposed route for the PCT, but there were some 
private property issues that couldn't be resolved.  It sure looks a lot greener 
over there.  I have no information about alternate routes.  All I can suggest is 
that you pull out some topo maps and take a look.  

PCT Listers in the S. Cal. area may know more about this, so I'm taking the 
liberty of posting your question on the list.  They can respond to you directly 
with any suggestions. 

I rather enjoyed the challenge of that section of the PCT between Scissors 
Crossing and Barrel Springs when I hiked it with my son Brian in '97.  There 
were no water stashes then, and it was extremely hot.  We used more of our water 
than we had planned just getting up to the top of the ridge, then cooked our 
main meal and slept for a couple hours during the hottest part of the day.  
That night we camped in a flat spot along the ridge and were awakened by some 
kind of big cat that got pretty close to us from upwind before it knew we were 
there.  We also enjoyed our best view of Comet Hale-Bopp near the crescent moon 
that evening.  The next morning we reached Barrel Springs with a carefully 
conserved one cup of water each, feeling pretty good about our success.

"TrailDad" Roy  
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