[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[pct-l] Section E & F conditions

     Thanks to Charcholla for the trail conditions in section F1 thru F6.  
     I will be hiking that section the first week of July.  Will my Ford 
     Ranger make it past that bolder?
     
     I just completed a 3 day PCT backpacking trip this past sat-mon., on 
     sections E8 thru E10.  I went up and back - 46 miles round trip and 
     didn't see one thru hiker.  I also met 4 other PCT sectional hikers, 
     after my hike Monday, at the Lake Hughes store, and they just finished 
     hiking from Agua Dulce to almost where I started, and they didn't see 
     any thru hikers either.
     
     I had a great trip.  It was sunny and cool except Monday (very foggy 
     and heavy mist all day).  It was still very green and lots of pretty 
     flowers, like Ca. orange poppies (huge fields of them in section E10) 
     and Chinese houses (a flower lover I met there on trail said she has 
     been coming to see the flowers here for 35 years and this is the first 
     time she ever saw the Chinese houses.).  Believe it or not these 
     flowers are on the Tejon ranch but during flower season they let 
     people on their land to check out the flowers.
     
     I saw a huge beautiful bobcat on trail in front of me and huge bear 
     prints on trail (actually within 1 mile of Bear campground :-) ).  I 
     also saw deer prints but no deer and lots of rattlesnakes on trail.  I 
     almost got bit because I was looking at beautiful scenery and almost 
     stepped on a 5 footer.  Lucking he warn me in time before we both 
     became attached.  I usually have to roll rocks at them about a dozen 
     times (mainly because I miss them most of the time) and take my 
     walking stick to move them off trail.
     
     Talking about walking sticks - I used two of those ski looking poles 
     (trekking poles from REI) for the first time for my entire hike. They  
     worked great - took alot of pressure off my knees and my legs didn't 
     get as tired.
     
     The water in sections E8 thru E10 was scarce except by Pine Canyon 
     road - the pond was a lake and good size stream running near road but 
     that was the only water I could find.  The hikers I met that hiked 
     from Agua Dulce to Lake Hughes said they saw lots water and alot of 
     streams were running.  I saw notes left by Jack from Three Points left 
     on trail near pond offering water, food etc. to any thru hikers and 
     the guy who lives on Highway 38 were PCT crosses had a sign on his 
     fence offering water and shade.  If I was a thru hiker I would stop 
     there because there is no water for awhile unless you want to climb 
     down the ladders on Ca. aqueduct (which might be dangereous) where PCT 
     crosses on a road bridge.
     
     I hope this info. helps fellow PCT hikers. - Matthew 
     (MJankowicz@Logiocn.com)
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================