[pct-l] conditions report: Section O Reconsidered (long)

[david at emeraldlake.com (David Plotnikoff)]

Greetings from a long-time list lurker and section hiker.

These notes are from a four-day, three-night 68.8 mile northbound walk on
the Pacific Crest Trail from Peavine Creek (northbound PCT mile 1431.6) to
I-5 at Castle Crags State Park (mile 1500.4) on the week of 6/14/04. The
conditions I encountered over four days hiking, just as the annual melt-off
was finishing,  were sufficient to make me rethink Section O's
overwhelmingly negative reputation for horrific trail conditions and sheer
ugliness. I would recommend any section hiker doing O to try and schedule
it as early in the season as snow will make feasible.

Highs were around 80 and nighttime lows never dipped below 50. Snow at the
highest points on the north side of the crest continues to melt rapidly and
references below to snow may not apply for more than another week. I was
not the first person through this season -- maybe the second. Many thanks
for Deems for spot-on intelligence about navigation near Mushroom Rock.

First two days of trip -- from Peavine Creek to Bartle Gap and from Bartle
Gap to Grizzly Peak -- are a counterclockwise walk around the rim of a
deep, wooded basin that drains into the Pit River. The trail stays
diligently on or near the crest, affording many panoramic views including
at least four spots where one can see Lassen to the south, Shasta to the
north and Trinity Alps to the west. The second two days are a descent from
Grizzly Peak into the McCloud River basin to Squaw Valley Creek and then a
2000-foot climb to Girard Ridge and a final drop to the Sacramento River at
I-5.

Note that it is possible to dayhike and/or slackpack the entirety of
Section O. The 35N10/ 38N10 / 37N30 roads from Road 37 to Peavine Creek TH,
the 39N05 route to the major four-way intersection just east of Bartle Gap,
and the spur road from Road 11 to Squaw Valley Creek are all
well-maintained and graded for passenger cars. Note that Grizzly Peak Road
and the final approach to Bartle Gap itself are *not* accessible without
4WD. Overall, Road 11 from McCloud and Road 37 from Lake Britton are the
major arterials.

Water: Northbound hikers should leave Peavine Creek loaded for the day. The
next guaranteed almost-on-trail water is 13.6 miles north, 200 yards north
of the trail, on a descending road just below Bartle Gap in Section 35.
Before Bartle Gap and just after the slide prone sections there is a new
seasonal source at 41.10.160 x 121.46.973. The spring, on the right
(upslope for northbounders) is not pump-able, but dripping steadily. There
is year-round water at Stouts Meadow, if you're willing to venture 1/4 mile
off-trail along 38N05 to get it -- from a junction at approximately
41.09.828 x 121.54.861. Just before Grizzly Peak there will be a strong
seasonal creeklet in the cliff section of trail.

Section hikers at Grizzly Peak road crossing may wish to consider camping
either near the crossing or a few hundred yards down the road on a small
spur under the power lines. The trail further north is quite steep all the
way to I-5 and flat spots are extremely limited. Water is currently
available from a seasonal spring a few hundred yards north of the Grizzly
Peak road crossing. Deer Creek is running strong. The "refreshing creek''
after Deer Creek and Butcherknife Creek are both wet, calf-deep fords at
the moment. There is room for a single tent a few yards north of
"refreshing creek" at mile 1463.1. After crossing Road 11 at Ash Camp,
easiest water access to the McCloud River is from the north end of the
bridge. Fitzhugh Gulch Creek (mile 1472) about midway between Grizzly Peak
and Squaw Valley Creek is the only guaranteed year-round on-trail water
until Trough Creek at mile 1480.3. Squaw Valley Creek itself is a
full-blown river. Noted four large, obvious and over-used car camping sites
between the bridge and the trailhead parking area. North of Squaw Creek,
Fall Creek 10.6 miles later is the only certain on-trail water until I-5.

Overall trail conditions are mixed. Some sections, most notably the sea of
manzanita east of Grizzly Peak, have been brushed very recently and are in
excellent shape. In other areas there is enough brush intruding on the
trail to warrant long pants and long-sleeved  shirt -- but the bushwhacking
is light and for mercifully brief interludes. Trail tread can be faint or
non-existent for a couple hundred yards at a time, particularly adjacent to
clearcuts. Watch the cairns and ribbon blazes. When in doubt, remember from
Red Mountain to Grizzly Peak Road the trail is relentlessly true to the
crest. "The Infamous Section O" 's fearsome reputation from years past
continues to fade thanks to the heroic work of volunteer trail maintainers,
primarily the Backcountry Horsemen.

Peavine Creek to the first panoramic vista south of Red Mountain is in
verdant cover and excellent shape. At Red Mountain major road intersection,
look for a pair of large obvious rock cairns straight across the
intersection, then follow the ribbon blazes through the clearcut. At the
next minor road crossing (Section 30), do not ascend on the road more than
a dozen yards before picking up the trail. Two small cairns I left may help
you to pick up the trail directly across the road in the bulldozer cut.

Aside from a marshy spot a half-mile after Red Mountain, the trail was dry
the entire first day. Only noted three blowdowns between Peavine Creek and
Grizzly Peak, all of them trivial walk-overs. There are no significant
blowdowns between Grizzly Peak and I-5. The trail has been recently logged
but not brushed. Those taking 38N10 as an alternate to the west of Bartle
Gap will want to be prepared for a 1000-yard intense manzanita bushwhack as
the road ascends from the saddle. The slide sections prior to Bartle Gap
have been regraded very recently and are in excellent condition for both
walkers and riders. On the other hand, the cliff sections of Grizzly Peak
are very unstable scree and in three places erosion has narrowed the tread
to about a foot. True agoraphobics may wish to take Grizzly Peak Road as an
alternate.

After Grizzly Peak Road, hikers will find a well-groomed, shaded tread to
just past "refreshing creek" at 1461.1. After that, the trail dries out,
enters oak scrub belt and contains frequent sections of loose scree that
will make for some pretty nervy footwork. Equestrians in particular are
going to find slow going here. The typical attractions of low-elevation
river valleys apply to much of the trail from here through to the top of
Girard Ridge: wicked steep slopes, faint to non-existent trail tread that
looks like someone dragged a pulaski across an unstable scree cliff, very
little water, rattlers, big-time poison oak and the near-ubiquitous swarms
of tiny black flies. Think "Belden flashback" and you've got the picture.

Poison oak is a non-factor from Peavine Creek to Grizzly Peak. From the
road crossing to Ah-Di-Nah (mile 1472.4) to Squaw Valley Creek, expect to
be thrashing through waist-deep poison oak. (Google "urushiol" and "Tecnu"
for the answer.) From Squaw Valley Creek to the boundary to Castle Crags
State Park poison oak is a non-factor. From there to I-5, it is a presence
but well clear of the trail tread. The final 16.9 mile section from Squaw
Valley Creek to I-5 features immaculately groomed trail, with perfect grade
and no obstructions. After the moderate, 2000-foot climb from Squaw Valley
Creek to the crossing of Girard Ridge Road, the trail runs dead-flat on the
crest (there is a 25-yard manzanita thrash section just before the junction
with Castle Crags trail, but it is little more than a momentary
irritation). The trail then winds around Girard Ridge, with great views of
Shasta and the Crags and drops on excellent grade to I-5. Most hikers will
fly through this lush, shaded section like they were Brian Robinson.

Overall, signage is non-existent. The only trail sign in the first two days
-- at the former Alder Creek Trail (mile 1454.3) -- is obsolete. The road
situation through the logging areas on the first half of section O can be
vexing, but the ducks and plastic ribbon blazes are excellent. There are no
particularly confusing trail points the first two days. Later, at Squaw
Valley Creek bridge crossing, many journal writers have alluded to problems
locating the continuation of the PCT. Make a left after crossing the bridge
and walk several hundred yards, looking for the place on your right where
the PCT doubles back upslope. Then, at the clearing where many roads
converge, you need to walk *across* the clearing before you will see the
two blazes to the right. The best advice on these two potentially confusing
points is to disregard journal entries and trust the Forest Service Web PDF
map at

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/documents/st-main/maps/rogs/mccloud/squaw-
v.pdf


Wildflowers are in high season everywhere. The flora in sections 6 and 31,
after the slide sections and during the final mile before the major road
crossing near Bartle Gap are particularly profuse.

Bear activity is intense for the entire section except the final segment
from Squaw Valley Creek to I-5. Bear scat and prints are everywhere on the
roads and trails While scouting the roads in the logging section, my
support person nearly creamed one at the clearcut near Bartle Gap. (They
don't call it Walking Bear Camp for nothing.) And I had a near nose-to-nose
encounter with a southbound bear coming around a blind corner immediately
after Butchknife Creek.

The rattlers are a presence from Stouts Meadow north as the trail descends.
The biting black flies are a constant irritation from Grizzly Peak through
to I-5. Surprisingly, just two weeks after melt-off in some sections, very
few mosquitos in evidence.

Snow was still a big problem in the five mile area around Mushroom Rock. Be
prepared to improvise and to move back and forth between the trail and
38N10 for this section. 38N10 is considered an alternate in high snow
years, but it also had 10-15 feet of snow and some near-vertical
snow-slopes on the north brow of the crest. Passable without gaiters and
ice ax, but very nervy semi-technical climbing, snow-slope traverses and
cross-country improvisation -- not just at Mushroom Rock but for a
surprising distance after it. Expect that any time 38N10 is on the north
side of the ridge it can be impeded to the same degree as the trail itself,
which is often just a dozen yards downslope. I alternated between the
trail, 38N10 and cross-country for 3 hours around Mushroom Rock and found
it to be very slow going.

Only footprints noted from Peavine Creek to Grizzly Peak were deer and
bear. Saw just one person in 4 days/68.8 miles, a dayhiker just south of
the Ash Camp trailhead.

For your planning purposes, all but the first few miles of Section O is is
in the McCloud Ranger District of Shasta-Trinity NF. See
www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity
or call 530 964-2184 to reach a staffer in McCloud. When I called to check
conditions prior to this trip they were unable to offer any information and
explained they had no staff go through these areas yet. If anyone has
specific questions, e-mail me off-list at david@emeraldlake.com

Thank you to the trail maintainers for three years of heroic work to
reclaim the "infamous" section O.

Respectfully submitted,

DP