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Re: [pct-l] Tehachapi or bust

Charlie's post on Tehachapi caught my eye.  I recently had the opportunity to step
foot alas on the PCT!!!!  What a thrill for me!!!!  I travelled 2,500 miles to visit
family in CA and though I couldn't talk anyone into hiking during my visit, I will
when I return!

The section I was on was Cache Peak Segment off of Candor Road in the beautiful
Tehachapi mountains.

Good luck to the Class of '98!

Kathy


Charcholla wrote:

> Class of '98 (and other PCT aficionados),
>
> Here's a report from a friend of mine who recently "pushed the weather
> envelope" as the group hiked the PCT from Cottonwood Creek to Tehachapi-Willow
> Springs Road. Those who have already hiked through this section might relive
> their experience while the Class of '98 can get some insight into what the
> Tehachapi Mountains are like this time of year.
>
> Enjoy,
> Charlie Jones
>
> << In a message dated 98-04-06 18:28:32 EDT,  cmason@mail.sdsu.edu (Cheryl L.
> Mason) wrote:
>
>  Greetings.  Well Jan, Jim, Trish, Lynn and I finished sections E15 through
> E17 (maps E-12 thru E15) last weekend.  Although everyone was concerned about
> the weather, we headed up to Mojave anyway.  Once this motley band has minds
> made up we are determined to persevere.  Unfortunaly, Charlie could not join
> us ..., but that is another story.  He was supportive in every way prior to
> the trip with weather and trail information, and we thank him.
>
>  Anyway, as it turned out the weekend was wonderful.  After leaving my van at
> the junction of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road and Oak Creek, Jan, Jim and I
> met Trish and Lynn near the Cottonood Creek bridge.  These hardy souls camped
> out in the vicinity on Friday and Saturday nights.  We left Trish's truck
> there, and all piled into Jan's truck to head up to the saddle at Gamble
> Spring Canyon (around 4900 feet).  Our thanks to Rob for sharing the location
> of this dropoff point.  It allowed us to hike around 13 miles on Saturday and
> 9 miles on Sunday rather than having 16 miler and 6+ miler days.
>
>  We started hiking S -> N around 8:40A.  For the first 6 miles or so, we had
> cool, but clear weather.  Although we could see patches of snow, we did not
> really experience snow on the trail until around 5600 feet.  As we wound
> around toward the north, we began to have rather heavy snow in which to plod.
> The depth ranged from a few inches to around 2 feet.  It was difficult to
> determine the exact depth since the snow packed down so well under our boots.
> Lynn fearlessly set the pace and paved the way through the snow.  The drawback
> was that, on many sections of the trail, bikers had worn a narrow groove.  You
> could either walk toe-to-toe or have one foot in the groove and one off to the
> side.  We peaked at 6280 feet and then started down.  However, there were a
> few places where we climbed up. On our way down we finally came to an area
> where we stopped to eat lunch.  Just as we were packing up, the temperature
> dropped and the windspeed picked up. After bundling up in warm clothing and
> raingear, we started hiking again. For the remainder of the hike we
> experienced minimal snow, sleet and rain off and on.  The altitude was the
> determining factor as to the consistency of the precipitation.  nonetheless,
> no one experienced a chill since we were all prepared for the weather.  As we
> ended that day's hike we noticed that the windmills were barely moving at the
> Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road area.  Despite the frequent clothing
> adjustments, we finished the hike in 7 hours.  All in all, it was a great day.
> After retrieving vehicles, we went into Tehachapi for dinner. It was a
> wonderfully happy celebration.
>
>
>  We met at the same place on Sunday morning, placed vehicles and started to
> hike from N -> S toward the Cottonwood Creek bridge.  The sky looked ominous,
> especially over toward our trail.  However, the sun continued to reappear, and
> we hiked the entire day without precipation of any kind.  One of the awesome
> parts of the trip was through the canyons and the meadows filled with
> wildflowers.  The predominant flowers were poppies (California and
> desert),lupine, goldfields, fillaree and desert dandelion with a few chia,
> blue dicks, tidy tips and cream cups thrown in. We even had several hundred
> sheep to "hike" through.  With the snow covered mountains in the background it
> seemed as if we were in the Alps or some other mountainous terrain. Throughout
> the last 3 miles or so, we spotted several section markers which really helped
> to pinpoint our location.  Except for a couple of places, the trail is well
> marked especially at the intersections where bikers have forged trails.  One
> just needs to refer to elevation and the map, as usual.
>
>  We walked to Trish's truck and my van.  There we changed clothes and relaxed
> for a few minutes.  Trish and Jan went up to retrieve Jan's truck and then we
> were off.  The whole area around the aqueduct is fraught with unmarked dirt
> roads so you really need to have a navigator and a AAA map of the area.
> Because my van has a very low ground clearance (propane tank underneath) and
> small tires I was unable to follow Trish and Jan past the deep, water filled
> area just north of where 170th ends.  Fortunately, Jan, Jim and Lynn led me
> out of the area in another direction.  We reached highway 14 and then parted
> ways.  There was no real time to say goodbye to one another, but I think that
> we all agreed on the fact that it was a great group and a wonderful weekend.
> Where next?
>
>  Seize the day and the moment!  Cher  >>
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