[pct-l] time for Section O ?

[pcnst2001 at covad.net (pcnst2001@covad.net)]

This excellent trip report confirms my intent to tackle section O, 82 miles, in about
five days during the week July 4-10.     My plan is to leave a car at Burney
Falls, get
to Castle Crags, and walk southbound in order to meet any through hikers that
have gotten 
a couple of weeks ahead of the wave.    If any other section hikers need this
notch in their
belts at this time, let me know and perhaps we can coordinate.

And I'd like to hear opinions from any local folks who have advice on safe places
to park a car
for a week at either end of section O.

My recent activities are at
 http://pcnst.oakapple.net/recent
and future plans are at
 http://pcnst.oakapple.net/future
though the list of proposed campsites is subject to revision after I study the
very detailed
instructions below.

David Hough




On Tue, 22 Jun 2004 14:27 , David Plotnikoff <david@emeraldlake.com> sent:

>
>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
>_______________________________________________
>pct-l mailing list
>pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>unsubscribe or change options:
>http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l