Fwd: [pct-l] Trail conditions - CA Sec C - Silverwood Lake

[pfreiman at popmail.ucsd.edu (Paul Freiman/Vicki Cavataio)]

Great report, AsABat.  Two things I would note.  First, I wouldn't 
take anything except a human and a dog through the trail blow-out you 
mentioned.  It would be hard for a llama.  There is no way I would 
take a horse over half the trail we were on.  Thank goodness for that 
burned ( but strongly rooted) tree.  Second, I forgot my Gookinade, 
and even though I had enough water, felt horrible until I borrowed 
some from you.  The difference was like a Popeye cartoon when he eats 
spinach.
Capt Bivy



>
>
>I hiked Section C from Highway 173 near Mojave River Forks Dam to 
>Interstate 15 in Cajon Canyon yesterday with Capt. Bivy - 29 miles 
>in 12 hours. Following are the conditions we found. (I've left off 
>seasonal streams with very small flows that look like they could 
>disappear shortly.)
>
>
>TRAIL CONDITIONS:
>
>There was no sign where the PCT turns at the large maintenance sheds 
>from west to north to meet Highway 173 (C14 Section 32). Approaching 
>the fenced maintenance area, ignore the road going around to the 
>left and instead look right, on a small mounds just left of the gate 
>at the highway. There is a 4x4 post there. Walk to it. There is a 
>PCT emblem near the gate but not on this post. This is where the PCT 
>follows the shoulder of Hwy 173 across a bridge over the spillway.
>
>The current guidebook mentions that the start of the TRAIL segment 
>(C15) heading south from the highway is indistinct although marked 
>by a PCT post at the roadside. There was a brown fiberglass post 
>just off the highway that had no PCT emblem on it. Follow a patch 
>angling up towards a gate visible on a dirt road above. Where the 
>path crosses a dirt road there is a wooden post with a PCT emblem. 
>The trail continues just below the gate. It is no longer overgrown 
>with brush because of the 2003 fire.
>
>Starting above this jeep road, heading south towards Silverwood 
>Lake, until reaching the Cleghorn Ridge in Section 2 on Map C15, the 
>trail is eroded in places. On some steep side hills, there is 
>extensive sloughing of loose soil onto the trail tread, the tread is 
>completely covered, with just the footprints previous hikers to walk 
>on. We were glad we had trekking poles to maintain our balance. I 
>would definitely not recommend bringing riding or pack animals on 
>this segment. There were a few places where some minor scrambling 
>was required (see below). Although we had no difficulty getting 
>through, the lack of good trail tread did slow the pace a bit.
>
>There is one blowdown (scrubby oak tree) blocking the trail near the 
>Chamise Picnic Area (C15 Section 6), which can be passed uphill.
>
>We met a helpful ranger at the Highway 173 underpass. I asked about 
>when the park might reopen, telling him that thirsty PCT hikers will 
>be looking for water. He thought it should be at least partially 
>open in May and to call the park or check their website 
>(http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=650) for info. Meanwhile, the 
>Silverwood Lake park is closed. We did see lots of volunteers and 
>staff cleaning up the damage, which was extensive. It appears that 
>the floods after the fire may have caused more problems than the 
>fire.
>
>The ranger also advised that the next section of PCT was going to be 
>very rough going and almost impossible to find. From the freeway 
>offramp at the PCT post, the Ttrail was missing. We took the 
>ranger's advice and walked up Road 2N47 about a half mile. Shortly 
>after the road fords the flowing river the PCT is visible on the 
>right. (C15 Section 1)
>
>THE MOST DIFFICULT TRAIL DAMAGE is on Map C15 in Section 2. The 
>TRAIL IS COMPLETELY MISSING at one gully, completely washed away. A 
>use route drops straight into the gully, perhaps 10 feet down, using 
>a burned bush for support, then scrambles steeply up the other side. 
>Hikers can get by using caution and common sense, but horses and 
>such would have great difficulty if they got through at all. Beyond 
>this is more side hill with soft soil sloping across the trail until 
>Cleghorn Ridge.
>
>North of Cleghorn Ridge, a blowdown partially blocks the small 
>stream crossing at 3,830' (C15 Section 34)
>
>
>WATER REPORT:
>(I've left off seasonal streams with very small flows that look like 
>they could disappear shortly.)
>
>There was water in both seasonal streams shown on the bottom half of Map C13:
>   *A small pool of water in the first, which probably won't last.
>   *A nice pool of water in the second, which the book calls "a small 
>canyon that spawns a trailside spring."
>
>Grass Valley Creek (C14 Section 26) had plenty of water.
>
>Summit Valley Country Store appears to be closed indefinitely. Many 
>of the windows were boarded up with "Closed" spraypainted on them, 
>as well as multiple hand-written "closed" signs on the door. We did 
>not check to see if the water faucets were on.
>
>Road 2N33 to Cedar Springs Dam (C14 Section 33)- there was a single 
>one-gallon water bottle here. I'm not sure if this was a private 
>CACHE but should not be relied on. (I've leaving it off the water 
>page.)
>
>There were some small pools of water where the PCT goes below Cedar 
>Springs Dam (before the spillway) (C14 Section 32).
>
>A few water sources that are not in the guidebook but are shown on 
>Map (C15 Section 6), and may not last long:
>*The stream flowing into the lake at Chamise Boat-In Picnic Area had 
>a trickle of water that could be pump filtered.
>*The stream flowing into the lake at Cleghorn Picnic Area was 
>flowing with some small pools.
>
>The West Fork Mojave River was flowing with lots of water both on 
>the Silverwood Lake entrance road and where Road 2N47 crosses the 
>river. (C15 Section 1)
>
>The small stream at 3,830 has lots of water. (C15 Section 34)
>
>Finally, Crowder Canyon had slow moving water at the crossing, and 
>much better flows downstream. (C17)
>
>
>STAY HYDRATED:
>
>It was quite warm for the first day of spring, and the trail is 
>unshaded for most of its length, although shade was easy to find for 
>breaks. I carried and drank every bit of 2 gallons of water, half of 
>which mixed with Gookinaid Hydrolyte. I still was dehydrated when I 
>finished.
>
>Water reports have been added to www.4Jeffrey.Net/pctwater
>
>AsABat
>www.4Jeffrey.Net
>
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