[pct-l] Fuler Ridge Report (long)

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

I'm more impressed with the description then the conditions.  Excellent.

Thanks,

Sly

In a message dated 4/16/2005 2:58:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
maurer@earthlink.net writes:

> On April 15th I hiked out of Idyllwild to determine trail conditions 
> between Strawberry Jct and Fuller Ridge along the PCT. Photos of this 
> trip an be found at http://community.webshots.com/album/323389676zJqcYy
> 
> 
> Here are my findings:
> 
> 1. I hiked up out of Idyllwild along the Deer Springs trail from 6600' 
> to the junction with the PCt at Strawberry junction at 8000'. During 
> this climb I found no snow whatsoever to 7700', and then only small 
> patches of snow to 8000'. I was on a S/SE facing slope during this 
> portion of the hike. One could assume that similar slopes/elevation 
> north of hwy 74 and south of this point would have similar conditions.
> 2. At Strawberry jct I found the trail intersection sign and 2 PCT posts 
> easily. The area was under patchy snow (see photos) but was fairly easy 
> to navigate. The next leg of the PCT travels 2.3 miles north to the 
> intersection with the Marion Mountain trail. On this section I began to 
> lose the PCT with some regularity. I would guess that between 8000' and 
> 8700' the trail was over 50% fully covered in snow. At 8690' I saw the 
> trail for the last time. I could see that next to large rocks and trees, 
> the trail was cover by 2-4' of snow at that point. I began to hike 
> largely cross country using map/compass and GPS to try and find the 
> trail, but to no avail.
> 3. I continued hiking along my GPS points toward Fuller Ridge. As I 
> trended eastward toward the Deer Springs stream and the Fuller Ridge jct 
> the navigation was not tremendously difficult, but there was absolutely 
> no trail to follow since I was now on a north face. As I approached the 
> Deer Spring stream I could hear it but could not see it - it was buried. 
> I followed the drainage up hill and eventually found a water source. The 
> source I found was very near where the PCT crosses the stream according 
> to my GPS. At this point the snow depth next to the stream was 
> approximately 8' (see photos).
> 4. I continued along a route northward toward Fuller Ridge in an attempt 
> to find the trail intersection. After several attempt to locate it 
> (using GPS) I realized the trail signs were under my feet - completely 
> buried in snow. Because of traveling cross country in deep snow my speed 
> had slowed to about 1 MPH. I was running out of day and needed to be 
> back at my house early Saturday AM so I chose to hike to the edge of 
> Fuller Ridge, then return to Strawberry Jct. I would have needed 4-5 
> hours to get to Black Mountain CG at this speed, and would not have been 
> able to get back to my car by the time I needed to. I also figured that, 
> having traveled above Fuller Ridge elevation-wise on both south and 
> north facing slopes I could give some indication of conditions along the 
> Ridge.
> 5. On the return trip I noted that there were 6 water sources between 
> the Fuller Ridge intersection and Strawberry Jct. The 2 higher elevation 
> crossings were buried beneath the snow.
> 6. While at 8900' on the descent I came upon a Scandinavian couple who 
> had followed my tracks north from Strawberry jct and were preparing to 
> navigating Fuller Ridge using map and compass. I gave them map map 
> showing the trail along Fuller Ridge in extreme close up. Since we could 
> easily see the ridge from this point I'm sure they could find their way 
> along it to Castle Rocks, traverse the slot and head down toward Black 
> Mountain. So for the record, at least one groups has gone through this 
> section thus far.
> 
> Extrapolations
> 
> 1 The conditions will obviously be more snow free approximately 3 weeks 
> from now, when the Kick Off group comes through. The Scandinavian couple 
> mentioned they had some snow on the section between Saddle jct and 
> Strawberry jct, but they made it OK. I would guess that by the time the 
> group comes through, this section will be snow free since it faces south.
> 2. I'd guess too that the trail will be visible to at least 8500', maybe 
> more by the time the group comes through. The challenge in my opinion, 
> will be the north slope between the Marion mtn trail intersection and 
> Fuller ridge. I'd guess there will still be snow here, maybe deep snow. 
> However, good map skills and some basic equipment should get the pack 
> through this section. If they can trend north then east after the Marion 
> Mtn intersection, continuing to gain elevation, they should find 
> themselves crossing the Deer Spring drainage with some ease 
> (navigationally), and will SEE Fuller Ridge on their left the entire 
> time. From the Deer Springs stream they can continue north out onto the 
> ridge and visually follow the ridge toward Castle rocks. There will 
> likely still be some snow here but 3 weeks from now it should be 
> manageable if traversed after mid morning..
> 3. The tough part in my opinion will be the 2 or so miles from Castle 
> Rocks to Black Mountain. This section is forested, on the north side of 
> the ridge and will therefore hold snow the longest. However, the Black 
> mountain campground is at about 7500' and should be warming up/melting 
> well by then.
> 
> Equipment
> 
> I carried a GPS, ice ax, crampons and snowshoes. I only used the GPS. 
> Since I came up a south slope the snow I eventually encountered was soft 
> , and by the time I rounded to the north facing slopes the warmth of the 
> day had softened the snow to where I could get good traction but not 
> posthole. On my descent I pot holed often in the snow on the south slopes.
> 
> If I were a thru hiker I'd want to have crampons and an ice ax with me 
> through this section. I might consider as a bare minimum hiking poles 
> and some sort of "stableicers". This area will experience freeze/thaw 
> every day, so the snow will be rock hard in the morning. The first 2.5 
> miles of Fuller Ridge have some tricky parts, with exposure. Going 
> through there early in the morning will be tricky. I think what I'd do 
> is cover the 12 miles between Saddle jct and Black Mountain in one day. 
> For those who resupply in Idyllwild using Saddle jct (versus the hwy 74 
> hitchhike), you can start out on largely south facing slopes in the AM, 
> reaching the north facing section just before the Fuller Ridge 
> intersection by around lunch. continuing along, you will cross over 
> Castle rocks by mid afternoon and will have softer snow on the north 
> face of the ridge in the Afternoon to traverse down to Black Mountain 
> cg. There may be a bit of postholing along here but at least you'd have 
> traversed the south face of Fuller Ridge (the first 2.5 miles) after it 
> has had a chance to soften up.
> 
> As a final thought, I was hoping to provide a cut trail, or even some 
> footprints that could be followed by the thru-hiker pack leaving from 
> the kick off. Unfortunately the snow was so deep that my tracks would be 
> gone within a day or two. I wish I could have helped out more in this 
> regard but conditions would not allow it.
> 
> I hope this helps. Greg, let me know if you want me to cover this at the 
> Kick off - I'll try to blow up some photo's and maps.
> 
> 
> Mike Maurer
> Gossamer Gear