Processing Picts again, of course, reluctantly waiting for that long process offloading another 100GB of images from the last four days hiking. Otherwise all washed (self & clothes) caches fetched from the two road-summits, bike & daypack fetched from the Alderbrook Hiker Hut, backpack re-packed and dropped off again at the hiker hut, and eager to head off for Seiad, checking out the Scott River Road from here to there, to see if I will be able (and willing) to bicycle this road, upriver, back to Etna.
Also plan to check out a potential "midpoint food cache" at the Paradise Lake Trailhead, off of Scott River Road apparently near a Ranger Station there - this would be about a 1.5 mile spur trail off of the PCT which would just be an "option" if I ate more than anticipated. But this section from Etna Summit to Seiad is only 50-55 miles depending, and I've already backed that much food in the pack I left. But then, I did enjoy cherry-picking the additional food options I gave myself with the caches I left this last time, and probably saved myself a half hour of water filtering by leaving water there as well. So let's see, saved a half hour of water pumping at idyllic fens that I probably stopped at anyway for picts, added extra food I didn't eat to my pack, and burnt 1-2 gallons extra gas and 1-2 hours extra with my car driving to the two road summits, finding good hiding spots, and picking up the trash and dirty socks afterwards. Not very environmentally responsible. Shame. But then, this whole PCT hiking activity during these summer months is trading rent for gas.
One 32GB CF card done, 2 & a bit of a third more to go.
So I'll try to recall some things about my last hike in additional post-dated posts.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Last day: Scott Summit to Kangaroo Lake
Finally got myself out of my bag about 6:30 after the sun lit up the squat manzanitas surrounding me and the pine branches I was sleeping under, pleased that I had selected my location so well the night before. With just two miles to my cache at the Scott Road Summit, and no granola bars left, I just packed up after finishing off most of my water, fbut occasiguring I'd have breakfast at my cache, and hoping to make the remaining, I estimated 10 miles to Kangaroo Lake, by mid-afternoon today.
Slowed mainly be some enticing Bear Grass photoops, I passed 3 camper vehicles at the campground, crossed the highway and set down my pack near where I hid my cache on road 40N08 that paralleled the trail, found it and proceeded to have my breakfast, then swapped contents of the can with some garbage and dirty socks, filled my empty liter bottle and drank the rest of the water in the Apple-juice container that I cached. Moving on, looked back to a view that included the road just as a truck with a horse-trailer drove by, took the picture then waved back to their wave. They may have been a trail maintenence crew. I'd been seeing lots of recent hoof prints etc. and evidence of recent trail work - cleared tree falls and re-worked trail through fields of furniture-sized boulders, often, in this area, a mix of reddinsh and whitish and blackish rocks, which I understand to be various types of mafic and ultramafic rocks.
Wish I had a better knowledge of the amazingly diverse geology and geography of this area. [Maybe when I'm done catching up this blog I'll take some more time in this library to browse the geology section here. Jeffrey Schaffer's guide to the PCT through Wilderness Press does give significant mention to the geological features encountered along the trail in his detailed account of the trail, which I have been making a point of reading before I hike those sections and tear out the relevant sections and bring them along and sometimes refer to them during my breaks, but still I find myself puzzling over the actual particulars in front of me.]
Much of the trail today was wooded and thus fairly viewless - the views of ridge-tops filtered through trees, except when the trail passed through more recent clear-cuts or along serpentine and ultramafic slopes or outcrops. The tip of Mt Shasta would appear to the east, and to the west whole distinct mountain ranges of differing morphologies and rock types. I guessed them to be the Trinities and the Marble Mts, but none of them are named or within the range of the narrow PCT-corridor maps that I had with me, and even now not clear or also not named on the DeLorme NorCar Atlas & Gazetteer Road map book that is my in-car reference. (I was thinking of this as I drove back later this evening, looking at the "ridge-tops" from the valley floor that I could not correlate with what I was seeing as I was hiking, probably because from the valley all I could see as lower arms and shoulders of out of sight mountains, and conversely, from the crest-line, the lower shoulders were obscured by trees or insignificant, and the actual range that I was in, presumably the Scott Mountains, could not be "seen" or recognized from within its component ridges and valleys.
In general, from what I know of the geological history of the area, I could easily imagine how these "mountain ranges" could be accreted island arcs, smashed up against the growing greater-Klamath Range as the Farallon Plate collided with the North American Plate, viewed now after some additional alteration by erosion, some polishing, and vegetative cover. But I'm a little surprised how vague the geographic info available to me online now (after an admittedly cursory search.) I'm beginning to think that the photo's I've been taking could serve that additional purpose, providing images of ranges as viewed from the PCT, with compass direction, angles, etc. noted. Lots more work ahead for me, I guess.
In addition to these landscape-scale experiences when I was looking "up", I would also suddenly, as I grunted along viewing the trail in front of me to place my boot next, a creeklet that, when I looked around, would form a fen either up or down-trail, blooming with Shooting Stars, Cobra Lilies, ...others whose names I fail to retain or recall... which would cause me to drop my pack and spend several minutes photographing. Other times, it would be an ultramafic rock garden that I encountered, that likewise would cause me to drop my pack. Often though, it would be just a single outstanding specimen of onion, calochortus, daisy, narrow-leafed mules ear, that would cause me to drop to my knees, pack still on, then, still on my knees, oterh enticing subjects would be revealed to me, and I'd find myself crawling around, rolling around, too engrossed in the photography to releive myself of my extra burden or be deterred by sharp rocks digging into my shins, or mosquitos & flies flying into my eyes & ears.
I began to see it would be late afternoon before I made it to Kangaroo Lake. I had hoped to have time to take a swim in the lake, as I had done with some other CNPSers a few years back on an outing where we visited the lake after taking the Fen trail at the lake. It looked like I would just be refilling my gallon jugs with water there, before rushing off to my other "cleanup tasks", fetching my cashes, that might be about it this day, I'd probably overnight at the Carter Meadows pass after retrieving that cache.
So I did finally get to the ridgetop overlooking Kangaroo Lake. it was 5pm. starting "down" what I presumed to be the top end of the Fen trail, I was a little surprised to have it lead me up to a small knoll. But greeting me there at a higher saddle was an "interpretive sign" that was clearly one of a series that I would encounter on my way down the Fen trail. This one pointed out the ultramafic rock outcrop I was looking at. I also recognized the saddle as the one a group of us CNPSers ad reached a few years back, at that time with much of the trail and area covered in snow, at that time much later in the season. This time, no snow in sight. Instead, one of those amazing rock garden displays that caused me to drop my pack, and roll around among the wildflowers like a bumblebee. I also climbed the little outcrop, getting a nice view of the lake, and of a newly started wildfire, it looked like, to the northeast.
Frankly, I hate careless campfire campers! This was not some lightning caused event! It's been a completely cloudless four days. It had been hazy/smokey from fires on day two and three of this hike, and had only finally cleared up a bit today. The haze of the last two days was from a small fire near Weed, and from another larger fire in Oregon, according to fellow PCT hiker "Iceax" who I met yesterday on the trail, who had heard that from a ranger.
I finally started down the trail, now about 6:30 getting to my ar by about 7pm. Got my water jugs refilled, drove on down through the Scott Valley that I had last bicycled through fie days ago. There was a biker with full saddlebags pushing his bike up the one significant up-hill section between Kangaroo Lake and Etna. I felt good that I had managed (with a lighter load) pedal up that stretch, knowing that there was a much longer downhill on the other side.
Drove up Scott summit, retrieved my cache, back down and on to Callahan (stores were closed) and up Carter Meadows summit, retrieved that cache. It was 8:30. I had left the cache near the little heliport at the parking area on the south side of the road. I knew there was a dirt road going up the north side because I had crossed that road on the trail. I headed part way up that, to the first turnout, and overnighted there.
Slowed mainly be some enticing Bear Grass photoops, I passed 3 camper vehicles at the campground, crossed the highway and set down my pack near where I hid my cache on road 40N08 that paralleled the trail, found it and proceeded to have my breakfast, then swapped contents of the can with some garbage and dirty socks, filled my empty liter bottle and drank the rest of the water in the Apple-juice container that I cached. Moving on, looked back to a view that included the road just as a truck with a horse-trailer drove by, took the picture then waved back to their wave. They may have been a trail maintenence crew. I'd been seeing lots of recent hoof prints etc. and evidence of recent trail work - cleared tree falls and re-worked trail through fields of furniture-sized boulders, often, in this area, a mix of reddinsh and whitish and blackish rocks, which I understand to be various types of mafic and ultramafic rocks.
Wish I had a better knowledge of the amazingly diverse geology and geography of this area. [Maybe when I'm done catching up this blog I'll take some more time in this library to browse the geology section here. Jeffrey Schaffer's guide to the PCT through Wilderness Press does give significant mention to the geological features encountered along the trail in his detailed account of the trail, which I have been making a point of reading before I hike those sections and tear out the relevant sections and bring them along and sometimes refer to them during my breaks, but still I find myself puzzling over the actual particulars in front of me.]
Much of the trail today was wooded and thus fairly viewless - the views of ridge-tops filtered through trees, except when the trail passed through more recent clear-cuts or along serpentine and ultramafic slopes or outcrops. The tip of Mt Shasta would appear to the east, and to the west whole distinct mountain ranges of differing morphologies and rock types. I guessed them to be the Trinities and the Marble Mts, but none of them are named or within the range of the narrow PCT-corridor maps that I had with me, and even now not clear or also not named on the DeLorme NorCar Atlas & Gazetteer Road map book that is my in-car reference. (I was thinking of this as I drove back later this evening, looking at the "ridge-tops" from the valley floor that I could not correlate with what I was seeing as I was hiking, probably because from the valley all I could see as lower arms and shoulders of out of sight mountains, and conversely, from the crest-line, the lower shoulders were obscured by trees or insignificant, and the actual range that I was in, presumably the Scott Mountains, could not be "seen" or recognized from within its component ridges and valleys.
In general, from what I know of the geological history of the area, I could easily imagine how these "mountain ranges" could be accreted island arcs, smashed up against the growing greater-Klamath Range as the Farallon Plate collided with the North American Plate, viewed now after some additional alteration by erosion, some polishing, and vegetative cover. But I'm a little surprised how vague the geographic info available to me online now (after an admittedly cursory search.) I'm beginning to think that the photo's I've been taking could serve that additional purpose, providing images of ranges as viewed from the PCT, with compass direction, angles, etc. noted. Lots more work ahead for me, I guess.
In addition to these landscape-scale experiences when I was looking "up", I would also suddenly, as I grunted along viewing the trail in front of me to place my boot next, a creeklet that, when I looked around, would form a fen either up or down-trail, blooming with Shooting Stars, Cobra Lilies, ...others whose names I fail to retain or recall... which would cause me to drop my pack and spend several minutes photographing. Other times, it would be an ultramafic rock garden that I encountered, that likewise would cause me to drop my pack. Often though, it would be just a single outstanding specimen of onion, calochortus, daisy, narrow-leafed mules ear, that would cause me to drop to my knees, pack still on, then, still on my knees, oterh enticing subjects would be revealed to me, and I'd find myself crawling around, rolling around, too engrossed in the photography to releive myself of my extra burden or be deterred by sharp rocks digging into my shins, or mosquitos & flies flying into my eyes & ears.
I began to see it would be late afternoon before I made it to Kangaroo Lake. I had hoped to have time to take a swim in the lake, as I had done with some other CNPSers a few years back on an outing where we visited the lake after taking the Fen trail at the lake. It looked like I would just be refilling my gallon jugs with water there, before rushing off to my other "cleanup tasks", fetching my cashes, that might be about it this day, I'd probably overnight at the Carter Meadows pass after retrieving that cache.
So I did finally get to the ridgetop overlooking Kangaroo Lake. it was 5pm. starting "down" what I presumed to be the top end of the Fen trail, I was a little surprised to have it lead me up to a small knoll. But greeting me there at a higher saddle was an "interpretive sign" that was clearly one of a series that I would encounter on my way down the Fen trail. This one pointed out the ultramafic rock outcrop I was looking at. I also recognized the saddle as the one a group of us CNPSers ad reached a few years back, at that time with much of the trail and area covered in snow, at that time much later in the season. This time, no snow in sight. Instead, one of those amazing rock garden displays that caused me to drop my pack, and roll around among the wildflowers like a bumblebee. I also climbed the little outcrop, getting a nice view of the lake, and of a newly started wildfire, it looked like, to the northeast.
Frankly, I hate careless campfire campers! This was not some lightning caused event! It's been a completely cloudless four days. It had been hazy/smokey from fires on day two and three of this hike, and had only finally cleared up a bit today. The haze of the last two days was from a small fire near Weed, and from another larger fire in Oregon, according to fellow PCT hiker "Iceax" who I met yesterday on the trail, who had heard that from a ranger.
I finally started down the trail, now about 6:30 getting to my ar by about 7pm. Got my water jugs refilled, drove on down through the Scott Valley that I had last bicycled through fie days ago. There was a biker with full saddlebags pushing his bike up the one significant up-hill section between Kangaroo Lake and Etna. I felt good that I had managed (with a lighter load) pedal up that stretch, knowing that there was a much longer downhill on the other side.
Drove up Scott summit, retrieved my cache, back down and on to Callahan (stores were closed) and up Carter Meadows summit, retrieved that cache. It was 8:30. I had left the cache near the little heliport at the parking area on the south side of the road. I knew there was a dirt road going up the north side because I had crossed that road on the trail. I headed part way up that, to the first turnout, and overnighted there.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Stll trying to get out of town, held back my the internet access here...
Delaying way too long trying to finish up blog posts for last few days after breakfast with Kim & Ron (Petunia & Treehugger) at Bob's Ranch House, whee we all bicycled to - them using "loaner bikes" from the Hiker Hut) Now stuffed and dosed with coffee. But let me now get myself completely packed, change my shoes...
Friday, June 6, 2014
Relaxing in Etna at the Alderbrook Inn Hiker Hut
Got here around noon today after bicycling about 40 miles down from Kangaroo lake and through the pleasantly agricultural Scott Valley. Me and my clothes are washed, I'm fed, have been talking towith another hiking couple from Georgia who've done the AT but were just starting their PCT through hike rather arbitrarily from Oregon just a few weeks ago, running into too much snow northbound near Crater Lake so changed their minds heading south, to no snow. This tells me by the time I get up there in a few weeks, I should be fine snow-wise.
I'm set to get a ride to Scot Summit tomorrow morning along with the other couple, and we'll all be heading south togetehr briefly, probably for the first few minutes before I start taking picts, as they are trying to make abt 18 miles per day, to my 15 or so.
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Overnighting with my car at Kangaroo Lake after a morning hike up Mt Eddy
It's been a busy day driving around an unjustifyable amount for questionable reasons
Woke up with the sun hitting my site at Scott Summit early as I had hoped. Got myself ready to go and decided pretty much as I drove onto the road, to head south again back to Parks Creek Summit, to climb Mt Eddy instead of heading north toward Etna as had been my plan.
This simply because I felt good and felt like hiking, and staying at cooler elevations during this heat wave, rather than sitting in the car getting to Etna just a bit sooner than necessary for a possible Friday evening hitch up to Etna Summit, without an overnight stay at the Alderbrook Hiker Hut.
So down Scott Summit then up Parks Creek Summit Road again - feeling like it's becoming a commute going to Parks Creek Summit for yet again. Packed my day pack with some snacks and water filter, and my microspikes and ski poles and snow pants just in case. Another "commute" heading south to the Deadfall Lakes for the 2nd time, it would be third time back, including my "real" PCT hike from Castle Crags to here. Got to the first lake in about 40 minutes (using the ski poles do lengthen my stride) and continued up off the PCT to the upper lakes, now slowing down a bit to take picts, and to refill my emptied liter bottle filtered from one of the higher lakes, but pushing on up the slopes of Mt Eddy, with my usual stops to photodocument the changing vegetation and some of the rocks, and a few hazed over pano's of the changing horizon including distant Castle Crags and the ridge the PCT traversed to the Deadfall Lakes. Got to the summit, a broad gravelly ridge with some remains of two former huts and twisted lengths of cables that used to hold the huts from being blown away by the wind. Today there was virtually no wind, reminiscent of my balmy afternoon on Mt Whitney last year. No snow on the trail, just a few patches around - one long remnant of a drift in the north-east side, making for a fair foreground to Mt Shasta looming to the east. Didn't take a break at the tup, took a break back at the topmost deadfall lake, finally drinking the water I'd filtered earlier and carried up & back unused. Decided to walk around that lake, very interesting boggy meadows around the north side, with a profusion of shooting starts and buttercups, but most strikingly, clouds of mayflies, rafts of mayfly larvae casings on the water, and mayfy larvae covering the lake bottom. Hundreds of mayflies hitching a ride on me. I eventually found my way back to the trail and commuted back to my car, by about 4pm. It was worthwhile for the opportunity to visit the upper Deadfall Lakes.
A bit later than planned, I headed straight for the Alderbrook Manor in Etna, talked (again) with Vicky and Dave Harrison about leaving my backpack, explained my intention to be back tomorrow noonish with my bike, not sure if I would stay the night if it was easier to hitch a ride upFriday evening than Saturday morning, he informed my he offered rides to the summit for $5, sounded good to me, would probably stay the night then.
Off then to Callahan where I again decided, at about 8pm that I had time to leave myself a food & water cache there (sort of had that possibility in the back of my mind though there was only a 20 mile distance on the trail between the two road crossings, and a total of only about 55 miles from Etna Summit to the ridge above Kangaroo Lake, Did so, FWIF. Back down to Callahan, then on to Kangaroo lake, got there just at dusk, parked at the Parking area for the Fenn Trail, which I assumed would be the trail coming off the ridge from the PCT above. It said no camping, but I wasn't building a fire or anything... I had bought a rotisserie chicken in Etna on my way out, and stuffed that down, with some other fresh fruits etc I'd bought.
Next morning it did take me a bit longer getting myself and my bike sorted bike packed than planned, so didn't get bicycling til about 9:30 am.the Alderbrook Hiker Hut the evening of 6/6, with some drousiness from being past my normal bedtime, and distraction from fellow hikers, at 10pm now. got to stop now.]
Woke up with the sun hitting my site at Scott Summit early as I had hoped. Got myself ready to go and decided pretty much as I drove onto the road, to head south again back to Parks Creek Summit, to climb Mt Eddy instead of heading north toward Etna as had been my plan.
This simply because I felt good and felt like hiking, and staying at cooler elevations during this heat wave, rather than sitting in the car getting to Etna just a bit sooner than necessary for a possible Friday evening hitch up to Etna Summit, without an overnight stay at the Alderbrook Hiker Hut.
So down Scott Summit then up Parks Creek Summit Road again - feeling like it's becoming a commute going to Parks Creek Summit for yet again. Packed my day pack with some snacks and water filter, and my microspikes and ski poles and snow pants just in case. Another "commute" heading south to the Deadfall Lakes for the 2nd time, it would be third time back, including my "real" PCT hike from Castle Crags to here. Got to the first lake in about 40 minutes (using the ski poles do lengthen my stride) and continued up off the PCT to the upper lakes, now slowing down a bit to take picts, and to refill my emptied liter bottle filtered from one of the higher lakes, but pushing on up the slopes of Mt Eddy, with my usual stops to photodocument the changing vegetation and some of the rocks, and a few hazed over pano's of the changing horizon including distant Castle Crags and the ridge the PCT traversed to the Deadfall Lakes. Got to the summit, a broad gravelly ridge with some remains of two former huts and twisted lengths of cables that used to hold the huts from being blown away by the wind. Today there was virtually no wind, reminiscent of my balmy afternoon on Mt Whitney last year. No snow on the trail, just a few patches around - one long remnant of a drift in the north-east side, making for a fair foreground to Mt Shasta looming to the east. Didn't take a break at the tup, took a break back at the topmost deadfall lake, finally drinking the water I'd filtered earlier and carried up & back unused. Decided to walk around that lake, very interesting boggy meadows around the north side, with a profusion of shooting starts and buttercups, but most strikingly, clouds of mayflies, rafts of mayfly larvae casings on the water, and mayfy larvae covering the lake bottom. Hundreds of mayflies hitching a ride on me. I eventually found my way back to the trail and commuted back to my car, by about 4pm. It was worthwhile for the opportunity to visit the upper Deadfall Lakes.
A bit later than planned, I headed straight for the Alderbrook Manor in Etna, talked (again) with Vicky and Dave Harrison about leaving my backpack, explained my intention to be back tomorrow noonish with my bike, not sure if I would stay the night if it was easier to hitch a ride upFriday evening than Saturday morning, he informed my he offered rides to the summit for $5, sounded good to me, would probably stay the night then.
Off then to Callahan where I again decided, at about 8pm that I had time to leave myself a food & water cache there (sort of had that possibility in the back of my mind though there was only a 20 mile distance on the trail between the two road crossings, and a total of only about 55 miles from Etna Summit to the ridge above Kangaroo Lake, Did so, FWIF. Back down to Callahan, then on to Kangaroo lake, got there just at dusk, parked at the Parking area for the Fenn Trail, which I assumed would be the trail coming off the ridge from the PCT above. It said no camping, but I wasn't building a fire or anything... I had bought a rotisserie chicken in Etna on my way out, and stuffed that down, with some other fresh fruits etc I'd bought.
Next morning it did take me a bit longer getting myself and my bike sorted bike packed than planned, so didn't get bicycling til about 9:30 am.the Alderbrook Hiker Hut the evening of 6/6, with some drousiness from being past my normal bedtime, and distraction from fellow hikers, at 10pm now. got to stop now.]
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Short bike, short overnight hike between Parks Cr Summit
Had overnighted at Parks Creek Summit intending to do Mt Eddy summit in the morning.but it was very hazy and I ditehred about most of the morning not too enthusiastic about the prospects and investigating the alternative overningt out&back to Kangaroo Lake I had planned to whittle off a piece of the Etna to Parks section which would allow me to eliminate a bus component of the loopback.
Looking at the maps, I thought I might turn that out&back into a partial loop, by bicycling down the west side for a ways and taking one of several possible trails climbing up to the trail closer to Kangaroo lake, turning a 3 mile loop that the PCT took around a large valley into a one-way walk. Drove down to locate some of those trails, all three were very faint, not recently used, but there was a dirt road that paarlelled one of those trails, the lowest one, heading to Bull lake, which would eliminate the largest amount of out&back on trail.
So that's what I did, stashed my bike at the bottom of that dirt road, hiked up the road then went cross country along what turned out to be a wonderful series of wet meadows and Darlingtonia bogs (pitcher Plants) except conditions were very dry. Meanwhile a thunderstorm was building up, and by the time I got to Bull lake, I had to find cover from lightning and some fits of rain/small hail. Found a small pine that I could wrap my plastic paint-drop-cloth around for rain protection, crawled underneath that (after removing all the deadwood there was enough room for me on a soft bed of needles. Saw a couple of bicyclists come up the same valley I had and camp on the other side of the lake (this was off-trail and the PCT coincided with another trail in that area.)
Next morning I couldn't find my phone, and wasted an hour looking all over for it, trying to remember where I saw it last, thinking it may ave been at a rest stop I'd taken just before leaving the dirt road, when the phone's battery had died and I was about to put in another, but then got distracted... Gave up trying to remember, and going through my pack and my camp site area, I decided to continue on with the plan, hiked my pack up to the trail at ridgetop, left my pack there, hiked on to above Kangaroo Lake with just camera and bottle of water, took picts, came back to my pack, saw the bunch of bikers resting at the trail there, chatted with them a bit asking if they'd seen a cellphone, then proceeded to check one more time in my backpack, and found it. Yay! Saved me a half day later retracing my steps. Made the long loop around the valley rim back to my car, by midafternoon, enough time to still make it to Etna to verify at the Hiker Hut that I could leave my pack there for my next section, and possibly leave a food-cache at Scott Mt Pass (not that I needed to leave a food cache, but it would be on the way to Etna anyway, so why not? Um, because I'd need to spend more gas retrieving my cache-can, maybe?)
Anyway, did leave a cache, decided to stay at Scott Summit for the night since it was getting late, planned to get to Etna tomorrow morning and maybe to the bike shuttle from Kangaroo Lake same day though that would have me bicycling in hot afternoon down in the valley. Oh well.
{Note, this post was written morning of june 7 just before hitching up to Etna Summit. A bit rushed -should doublecheck this post when get a chance later for factual and technical goofs, distracted because also "visiting" with my the other hiking couple, Petunia & Treehugger (Kim & Ron.) ]
Looking at the maps, I thought I might turn that out&back into a partial loop, by bicycling down the west side for a ways and taking one of several possible trails climbing up to the trail closer to Kangaroo lake, turning a 3 mile loop that the PCT took around a large valley into a one-way walk. Drove down to locate some of those trails, all three were very faint, not recently used, but there was a dirt road that paarlelled one of those trails, the lowest one, heading to Bull lake, which would eliminate the largest amount of out&back on trail.
So that's what I did, stashed my bike at the bottom of that dirt road, hiked up the road then went cross country along what turned out to be a wonderful series of wet meadows and Darlingtonia bogs (pitcher Plants) except conditions were very dry. Meanwhile a thunderstorm was building up, and by the time I got to Bull lake, I had to find cover from lightning and some fits of rain/small hail. Found a small pine that I could wrap my plastic paint-drop-cloth around for rain protection, crawled underneath that (after removing all the deadwood there was enough room for me on a soft bed of needles. Saw a couple of bicyclists come up the same valley I had and camp on the other side of the lake (this was off-trail and the PCT coincided with another trail in that area.)
Next morning I couldn't find my phone, and wasted an hour looking all over for it, trying to remember where I saw it last, thinking it may ave been at a rest stop I'd taken just before leaving the dirt road, when the phone's battery had died and I was about to put in another, but then got distracted... Gave up trying to remember, and going through my pack and my camp site area, I decided to continue on with the plan, hiked my pack up to the trail at ridgetop, left my pack there, hiked on to above Kangaroo Lake with just camera and bottle of water, took picts, came back to my pack, saw the bunch of bikers resting at the trail there, chatted with them a bit asking if they'd seen a cellphone, then proceeded to check one more time in my backpack, and found it. Yay! Saved me a half day later retracing my steps. Made the long loop around the valley rim back to my car, by midafternoon, enough time to still make it to Etna to verify at the Hiker Hut that I could leave my pack there for my next section, and possibly leave a food-cache at Scott Mt Pass (not that I needed to leave a food cache, but it would be on the way to Etna anyway, so why not? Um, because I'd need to spend more gas retrieving my cache-can, maybe?)
Anyway, did leave a cache, decided to stay at Scott Summit for the night since it was getting late, planned to get to Etna tomorrow morning and maybe to the bike shuttle from Kangaroo Lake same day though that would have me bicycling in hot afternoon down in the valley. Oh well.
{Note, this post was written morning of june 7 just before hitching up to Etna Summit. A bit rushed -should doublecheck this post when get a chance later for factual and technical goofs, distracted because also "visiting" with my the other hiking couple, Petunia & Treehugger (Kim & Ron.) ]
Monday, June 2, 2014
Another "wasted" day in the Shasta Library and McD's in Weed.
Offloading picts, of course, from my last few days from Castle Crags to Parks Creek summit.
Taking extra long for technical reasons as usual - which is why I say "wasted": feeding the needs of the technology. This time around, I filled up the 1tb Toshiba hard drive, and have been "inventorying" the other three drives I have along. Deciding to clear out my Toshiba "A" drive that held photos from 2012 Jan thru July. I've got those backed up on several different larger drives in various places around the country (thanks Liz & Becca!)
Have also been catching up on news, some "good", actually, like this:
http://www.pcta.org/2014/pct-tejon-ranch-step-closer-19979/
This reinforces my justification for leaving that one last SoCal PCT section undone "indefinitely": namely the "aquaduct-walk" between the "hiker Town" Hostel on hwy 138 at Lancaster's 269th street, where I left off, and hwy 58 at ___ road, where I resumed. When I was at Hikertown, I talked to the owner who said he had purchased a new house on 300th street to be ready to relocate his Hikertown when the trail moved there. This still has the trail going down all the way to the valley level, though the route coming off of Liebre Mt diverges just before reaching Pine Canyon Road, heading essentially directly north to cross hwy 138 at 300th Ave instead of eastward to align with 269th street at hwy 138.
It then will head northeast into the "foothills", I call them, of the Tehachapi range. I guess the newsworthy milestone reported in the above link is the assurance that the viewshed from those foothills into the Tehachapi Ranch lands will be protected by easements procured by the Tehachapi Ranch Conservancy. Of course, due to these foothills being Condor habitat etc., there are additional hoops to negotiate before an actual trail can be constructed. Years away, still, they say. Ah well, maybe this new years eve., I'll hike or maybe "poach-bike" this quasi-roadwalk.
Note: the term "poaching the trail" refers to bicycling a trail closed to bicyclists. So I learned from Bodfish, the bicycling enthusiast who owns a bike shop in Chester, CA on Lake Almano SE of Lassen Park, that I visited while "passing through" there last fall. I bought a very brightly yellow-orange-green-colored t-shirt from him, that I sometimes wear while bicycling, and a self-published biker guide - I actually bpought that at a bookstore also in town, then made sure to stop at his store to ask him about his experience publishing that, because it seemed similar in "style" to what I envisioned my book-to-be, tentatively entitled "Section-Hiking the PCT with your road-bike and the bus". He said it was a lot of work, for little gain, essentially. Oh well.
And now I've totally side-tracked myself, forgetting how much time it takes to write up even this wee bit. It's way past my bedtime, and still have miles to go before I can sleep: I started at the Shasta Library as I said. meantime, somewhere between these lines, that library closed, I went outside to looming thunderclouds, took some snaps I hope to share eventually, moved on to buy a rotisserie chicken at Ray's Market (ubiquitous grocery chain in this area) wolfed it down with a bag of salad mix, moved on, filled my water bottles at the downtown town water faucet (by the police station across from the Fifth Season Store where I bought my new hiking pants the other day) moved on through a bit of rain and lightning to Weed where I entered the McD's just as their power went out, briefly. Here I've been.
Plan to be back at Parks Creek summit tonight, will probably do an overnight out& back hike tomorrow to above Kangaroo Lake. This is a potential Car-drop-off for me as it's a bike-coast down to Callahan and from there to Etna, which will be my starting point for the next section that I'll do north to south, from Etna Summit back to Kangaroo Lake. We'll see. I may also, after that overnight O&B north of Parks Creek Summit, go south for a day-hike up Mt Eddy. We'll see.
As usual, hope to post-date accounts of my actual hikes...
Taking extra long for technical reasons as usual - which is why I say "wasted": feeding the needs of the technology. This time around, I filled up the 1tb Toshiba hard drive, and have been "inventorying" the other three drives I have along. Deciding to clear out my Toshiba "A" drive that held photos from 2012 Jan thru July. I've got those backed up on several different larger drives in various places around the country (thanks Liz & Becca!)
Have also been catching up on news, some "good", actually, like this:
http://www.pcta.org/2014/pct-tejon-ranch-step-closer-19979/
This reinforces my justification for leaving that one last SoCal PCT section undone "indefinitely": namely the "aquaduct-walk" between the "hiker Town" Hostel on hwy 138 at Lancaster's 269th street, where I left off, and hwy 58 at ___ road, where I resumed. When I was at Hikertown, I talked to the owner who said he had purchased a new house on 300th street to be ready to relocate his Hikertown when the trail moved there. This still has the trail going down all the way to the valley level, though the route coming off of Liebre Mt diverges just before reaching Pine Canyon Road, heading essentially directly north to cross hwy 138 at 300th Ave instead of eastward to align with 269th street at hwy 138.
It then will head northeast into the "foothills", I call them, of the Tehachapi range. I guess the newsworthy milestone reported in the above link is the assurance that the viewshed from those foothills into the Tehachapi Ranch lands will be protected by easements procured by the Tehachapi Ranch Conservancy. Of course, due to these foothills being Condor habitat etc., there are additional hoops to negotiate before an actual trail can be constructed. Years away, still, they say. Ah well, maybe this new years eve., I'll hike or maybe "poach-bike" this quasi-roadwalk.
Note: the term "poaching the trail" refers to bicycling a trail closed to bicyclists. So I learned from Bodfish, the bicycling enthusiast who owns a bike shop in Chester, CA on Lake Almano SE of Lassen Park, that I visited while "passing through" there last fall. I bought a very brightly yellow-orange-green-colored t-shirt from him, that I sometimes wear while bicycling, and a self-published biker guide - I actually bpought that at a bookstore also in town, then made sure to stop at his store to ask him about his experience publishing that, because it seemed similar in "style" to what I envisioned my book-to-be, tentatively entitled "Section-Hiking the PCT with your road-bike and the bus". He said it was a lot of work, for little gain, essentially. Oh well.
And now I've totally side-tracked myself, forgetting how much time it takes to write up even this wee bit. It's way past my bedtime, and still have miles to go before I can sleep: I started at the Shasta Library as I said. meantime, somewhere between these lines, that library closed, I went outside to looming thunderclouds, took some snaps I hope to share eventually, moved on to buy a rotisserie chicken at Ray's Market (ubiquitous grocery chain in this area) wolfed it down with a bag of salad mix, moved on, filled my water bottles at the downtown town water faucet (by the police station across from the Fifth Season Store where I bought my new hiking pants the other day) moved on through a bit of rain and lightning to Weed where I entered the McD's just as their power went out, briefly. Here I've been.
Plan to be back at Parks Creek summit tonight, will probably do an overnight out& back hike tomorrow to above Kangaroo Lake. This is a potential Car-drop-off for me as it's a bike-coast down to Callahan and from there to Etna, which will be my starting point for the next section that I'll do north to south, from Etna Summit back to Kangaroo Lake. We'll see. I may also, after that overnight O&B north of Parks Creek Summit, go south for a day-hike up Mt Eddy. We'll see.
As usual, hope to post-date accounts of my actual hikes...
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