[BULK] - [pct-l] Trail report: I-10 to Mission Springs (never so glad to see snowmobile tracks)

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

Greg-
See my trip report for last weekend's 74/Fobes hike.
We also encountered snow at 6,500'. We joked about not having snow shoes as we passed the small patches here and there...
Then it got deeper. At 7,000' we were post holing until we got within sight of Fobes Saddle.
We went off trail along the ridge at Palm View, though we must have been paralleling the PCT no more than a 25 yards away - the trail follows the ridgeline, as we did. I was wearing Gore-Tex lined boots, so my feet were relatively dry, compared to those who wore trail runners.
It all made the hike a bit more interesting. We probably spent a couple hours longer than we expected, but we still made it to the Paradise Caf? by sunset for cheeseburgers, onion rings and Newcastle's!

-Oilcan

Michael Saenz, Associate Partner
McLarand    Vasquez    Emsiek   &   Partners,   Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e  |  P l a n n i n g  |  I n t e r i o r s
MVE       MVE    Institutional       MVP    International
w  w  w   .   m  v  e   -   a  r  c  h  i  t  e  c  t  s   .   c  o m

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Gregory L. Colvin
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2005 10:43 AM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [BULK] - [pct-l] Trail report: I-10 to Mission Springs (never so glad to see snowmobile tracks)

> The three of us hiked from Interstate 10 at West Palm Springs to 
> Highway 38 at Heart Bar Campground (Sections/Maps C1-C4) from Friday 
> March 3rd thru Sunday March 5th (approx 15 miles/day, 30 PCT miles 
> total, from elevation 1000'+ to 8000'+).  Here are the highlights:
> 
> Friday, the trail from I-10 to West Fork Mission Creek was a gorgeous 
> blooming desert.  Water was mid-thigh crossing Whitewater River.  Some 
> route finding problems, esp. at beginning rounding the trailers, etc.
> to get to Cottonwood trailhead.  Not too hot, took 6 hours.
> 
> Saturday, weather was mixed, rained off and on in afternoon and half 
> the night.  We pushed up to past Forks Springs and camped.  Beautiful 
> vistas crossing the ridge from the West to the East Fork of Mission 
> Creek at the start.  After that, many treacherous stream crossings, 
> wading up to our knees, lots of logs and limbs in the creek 
> obliterating the trail, which we had to find again many times (climb 
> the bluff on one side, is it up here, oh there it is, no it's on the 
> other side).  Before the season begins, it will need lots of clearing 
> and remarking.  Needed sandals for wading to keep boots dry.
> 
> Sunday was the worst.  The weather was better, but from the "pleasant 
> creekside camp" at 6100 feet to Mission Springs, the trail was visible 
> only in patches, otherwise it was covered with deep to very deep snow.
> The post-holing and routefinding were awful.  Our boots were sopping 
> wet and cold for 10+ hours.  It took us from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m to 
> go 6 miles to get to Mission Springs, where we felt lucky to see the 
> PCT post just sticking out of the snow.  We felt even luckier to find 
> snowmobile tracks on the Forest Service road going over the ridge and 
> then down to the locked gate on Hwy 38 at the Heart Bar Campground, 
> another 7+ miles.  We followed them (and some crosscountry ski 
> tracks), with headlamps after it got dark, and finally hit the highway 
> and our second car at 8:15 p.m.  Coming down was an exhausting forced 
> march, breaking thru the crust every 10th unexpected step, but at 
> least we didn't have to spend another night up there with very little 
> food or be rescued.
> 
> We had ice axes, and used them for stream crossings and snow climbing.
> We did not have or need crampons or other climbing gear.  Snowshoes, 
> if they were light and we all had them, might have helped shorten our 
> hike by an hour in the last 2 miles up to Mission Springs and on the 
> road down to Heart Bar.  Heavier hiking boots, long gaiters, and extra 
> emergency food would have been advisable, but of course more weight 
> would have slowed us down.
> 
> The worst was losing and having to find the trail again in the 
> tributary ravines, on the slightest evidence (a slight depression, a 
> sawed-off limb) with the early season snow.  Seems to us that a lot of 
> trail maintenance will be needed below Mission Springs and below Forks 
> Springs before April and the hordes come through.  Others can follow 
> our tracks (if it doesn't snow again); we didn't go far off the trail 
> before we found it again.
> 
> My two sons and I are doing a 10-year section hike from Mexico to 
> Canada.  In January, March, and November of 2004 we completed approx.
> 200 miles of Sections A and B (except for 20 snowbound miles between 
> Apache Peak and Fuller Ridge in the San Jacinto area)  We chose to go 
> up Mission Creek now to avoid the heat later, but it was a mighty 
> challenge.  We are glad were survived it.  We wouldn't advise 
> attacking Mission Creek so early in the season again.
> 
> Anyone else tried this trip in March?
> 
Greg Colvin, with Jared Emerson-Johnson and Chris Colvin

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