Tag Archives: Pacific Crest Trail

PCT & Picayune 2022-07

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This was my first trip of the season, probably the latest I’ve ever started. I had been doing a lot of short backpack trips along the Bay Area Ridge Trail, intending to complete that trail in a single year, but now taking a break because it is just too hot there. And I’ve been traveling and dancing a bit, which left shorter periods of few days for backpacking in the Sierra.

I went in at Palisades Tahoe on the Granite Chief Trail. This trail has been adopted by Truckee Trails, and is being appropriately maintained, so I’m scratching that one off my list of trails that I need to maintain. I headed south along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), over Granite Chief saddle and down Whiskey Creek drainage. I camped near Whiskey Creek Camp, and had a nice long conversation with five people camped there, parents, two children on their first backpack trip, and a friend from Chicago.

The next morning it was a little smokey, so I hung out and it didn’t seem to be getting worse, so I headed out the Western States Trail toward Picayune Valley. And then the smoke really came in! The Five Lakes Creek drainage was completely filled with dense smoke, and the ridgelines barely visible. So I sat it out for quite a while. When it thinned a little, I headed to Picayune Valley, wearing my N-95 mask, to one of my favorite camp spots.

smoke in Five Lakes Creek basin

The smoke mostly cleared in the evening, and the stars were good. Next morning I walked the rest of the trail down to Talbot trailhead. The wet meadows and seep areas along the trail were chock-full of flowers. Because the trail is not getting much use, the soft vegetation crowds in and obscures the trail tread, but is easy to push through.

I had partly headed to Picayune in an effort to get away from the smoke, which I figured might be less further west, if the smoke plume location was correct. But the next day was mostly clear, so I went back out and back to Whiskey Creek Camp area. The smoke was from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County.

Next day I continued my way south on the PCT to Barker Pass. Though I’d seen very few PCT thru hikers previously, that day there were a more ‘normal’ number, about 70. I headed down the Blackwood Canyon jeep trail and camped near Blackwood Campground. The campground is no longer free ($17/night for a campground without water and trash service!), and the Lake Tahoe Basin has outlawed backcountry camping. Not sure what the rationale is, but the effect is to discriminate against people of low and moderate income. Of course I believe that people have a right to travel over the earth, and to camp where they need to camp, and that is what I do no matter what the bureaucrat bean-counters think.

There are alot of red firs (Abies magnifica) dead, sometimes in clusters, and sometimes individuals. They seem to die branch by branch until they are completely dead. It looks as though middle aged trees and the most susceptible, not so much young trees and very old ones. Though there are also dead white firs, the red firs are particularly noticeable because of the intense reddish brown of the needles. The primary cause seems to be prolonged drought and over-abundance of trees (due to fire suppression). Once weakened by drought, they are susceptible to root rot, mistletoe, fungus, and bark beetles.

Small and seasonal creeks are dry. Medium creeks are low but still flowing well. Wet meadow and seep areas are still green and wet, but drier ridge areas and crispy dry. Flowers are abundant in wet or moist areas, but long gone in drier areas. The two most common species of flowers are pennyroyal and yampah.

The trails I walked on this trip are in pretty good condition. Light to moderate winter debris. A few down trees, almost all easy to step over or bypass. The one tree that might not be able to be bypassed by equestrians is on the switchback down from the saddle into Picayune Valley. There are a few places that could use spot brushing, though the alder wet area on the PCT at the crossing of the Middle Fork really needs brushing.

I did something on this trip that I’d not done in years – I took a paperback novel to read. I’ve listened to books, with Audible, but my iPhone battery runs down pretty quickly. I rather enjoyed hold a book in my hands!

I’ve had for a couple of years the idea of creating a digital presentation or book on the flowers of the wilderness. So I took a lot of flower photos on this trip. Not everything, and of course missed the early season flowers. I’m better labeling them than I have before, with common name (if I can figure it out), species name, and plant family. I’m hoping that when I get to the project, that will make it easier. I’m using primarily Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, Falcon Press (Kindle edition); and Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California, Redbud Chapter of California Native Plant Society. macOS Photos app now makes suggestions for photos that contain one flower. Sometimes the suggestion are exactly right, sometimes they are good to the genus level, and sometimes they are completely wrong. It is interesting to check, but the lookup is rather slow.

Mule Ears, Wyethia mollis, Asteraceae

Back in tomorrow!

finally! 2017-07

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My latest trip was primarily for trail maintenance on the PCT, and after  11 years, I feel caught up. I removed the last brushed-in section, between what I call Two Towers (Lord of the Rings reference) and Twin Peaks. Of course in order to get done, I had to accept many places that could use brushing, and leave them for the future. In particular, the pine mat manzanita and sagebrush is pushing into the trail and narrowing the tread. It isn’t hard to clear, but is a lot of detailed work that I’ve often put off “for next year.”

The reason I pick this part of the PCT to work on every year is not just that it needs brushing, but that I so love spending time on this ridge. The views east are spectacular, over Lake Tahoe and the weather over the Carson Range, often thunderstorms developing when the main crest is clear. The views west are intriguing, down into the wilderness, where the real wilderness is, and beyond, to the coast ranges. When the valley air is clear, not often, the details of the coast range and Bay Area are clear, and at night the lights in the valley, kind of neat at a distance. Usually thunderstorms develop over Nevada, the Carson Range, and sometimes move west to the crest, but on Wednesday moisture coming from the west developed some thunderheads, thunder, and light rain for a half hour, while the Carson Range was mostly clear. 

When there is snow on the ridge, usually in banks on the east just below the ridge where it gets blown during the winter in strong winds, I can melt snow and stay up here for many days. I use my black Jetboil pot to melt, and I can keep up with my daily use if I stay on top of the melting. 

I went in on the Granite Chief Trail from Squaw Valley, which has a few trees down but easy to get around, then south along the PCT. Granite Chief saddle has a lot of snow on the north side, but the route is not hard to find. People southbound rarely have problems here, but many northbound hikers drop too far down into Shirley Canyon and have a hard time finding the trail again. The trail from the saddle south to the TRT/PCT junction is in good condition, a few tress down but surprisingly few, some trail erosion but not bad. 

I hiked out the TRT to Tahoe City, so don’t have anything to report about the TRT/PCT south to Barker Pass, but I’d guess many snow banks but no big issues. Other than snow banks on the upper portion, the TRT trail down into Ward Creek and Tahoe City is in good condition, having been logged out already by a TRTA trail crew. 

The PCT thru hikers are out in force, but interestingly, about half were going south, having skipped over the high Sierra to Donner or even Ashland and now heading south to pick up the section with somewhat less snow. Looking into the Desolation Wilderness, however, snow there is still deep and must be much deeper at high elevations to the south. Dicks Pass is 9400, but the highest pass on the PCT is 13,143, Forester Pass. There were people who had come through the high Sierra headed north, but I have to say that they all looked beat and not very happy. I think the route flippers were much happier. 

The next big project on my list, for next year, is to work on the Powderhorn Trail. If anyone hikes that and has conditions to report, please do so. I think the middle section is in horrible condition, brushed closed in spots, but I haven’t been there in two years, so I’m guessing. 

Photos on Flickr (more later, these are ones from my iPhone which are easy to upload, but I also used my regular camera)

Granite Chief 2016-08

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Note: this trip is LAST year, 2016, which I never got around to finishing, but here it is now. I like to post on every trip, in part so that I myself can keep track of trips and where I went. 

A dry year, dogbane turns color early

I went in at Squaw Valley (bus stop) and up Granite Chief Trail to Granite Chief saddle  where I camped for the night. The next day I walked out the Tevis Cup Trail and what I call the Tevis Cup Connector, one of the old Western States Trail alignments. Tevis Cup is easy to follow and has great views, but the trail itself is unpleasant,  climbing and descending repeatedly for no good reason, and poorly maintained. The end of the trail has been re-aligned off a gravel road onto a trail that goes past old ranch or FS buildings (not sure which), but ends at the same green gate as the old route. The Tevis Cup Connector is faded and jhard to follow in some places, as it descends and crosses the Middle Fork American River and then climbs to join the Tevis Cup. 

I headed south on the PCT, doing some spot brushing along the way, and continued to Barker Pass, to Powderhorn Trail and back into the wilderness. Powderhorn is in decent shape on the upper third and lower third, but almost completely brushed in in the middle third, with whitethorn and doghair fir. I camped at Diamond Crossing, explored Bear Pen trail which I’d not beeen on in several years. It is in decent shape, not too hard to follow, but where it crosses Bear Pen Creek before the meadow, eroded banks make it necessary to climb down and back up, awkward with a pack. 

Some sort of bee or wasp is incredible abundant, everywhere but particularly along the edges of creeks. Yellow and black striped body, but no fuzziness and no constriction between the thorax and abdomen. Not sure what it is. Also saw a lot of grouse on this trip, at least 40. 

I went out Five Lakes Creek Trail, which has received some logging out, perhaps by the horse trip that comes in once a year to a Big Spring meadow, and then out to the Five Lakes trailhead. And back to Truckee by bus and back home on the train. 

Photos on Flickr; Granite Chief collection

PCT trail maintenance trips

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I’ve had two backpacks this year doing trail maintenance on the Pacific Crest Trail through the Granite Chief Wilderness. Since almost all my time was up on the PCT, I don’t have anything to report about the rest of the wildneress, but since I have two more backpack trips coming up, will have a report on much if not all of the trail system.

I brushed from Granite Chief trail on the north to Five Lakes Creek in the middle, and the trail is in good condition except for a short 0.1 mile part between Whiskey Creek Camp trail and Five Lakes trail that I didn’t get done, though it is not bad. I also did the Whiskey Creek Camp trail since it was getting a bit brushy. While in this area I spent some time exploring around Five Lakes Creek and Whiskey Creek, looking for the old trails that were there before the new PCT alignment was completed. In some places these old trails are easy to follow, but no always. I still think there is a trail on the south side of Five Lakes Creek to Big Spring Meadow, but so far I haven’t located it.

On the second trip I focused on the PCT north from the PCT/TRT trail junction near Twin Peaks. There are several sections here that are very brushy, and a few that are essentially closed in. I got all but one of these opened up again, to a point where they should be OK for about five years. But there is one very brushy section that I did not get to, and will be very bad by next year. It is about 0.2 miles. I did spot brushing on the remainder, and it is in decent shape but could use work. I think this year I accomplished what I have not in several years, keeping up with the rate of brush growth, though not gaining on it, which is why there are some badly brushed-in sections left. Next year perhaps I’ll get those last very brushy parts done, and be “caught up” at least for a couple of years.

PCT trail before

PCT trail before brushing, overgrown with tobacco brush

PCT trail after

PCT trail after brushing, cleared to five-year width

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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trail work on the PCT 2014-07

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gcw_fivelakes-2

Five Lakes sunset reflection

Another missed trip.

This one was primarily a trail maintenance trip for the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) along the ridge between Five Lakes and Twin Peaks. I went in at Alpine Meadows. Waiting until the next morning I had a chance to explore around Five Lakes which I’d not done in years, and do some brushing on the switchbacks up to the crest.

I planned on several days of trail work along the PCT between Five Lakes Creek and Twin Peaks, a section that doesn’t get maintained and tends to brush in. Ceanothus velutinus, commonly called tobacco brush, is the fastest growing brush, but other plants do their part. When I do brushing up on the crest I have to carry up enough water to camp with, so the trip up from the creek is heavy and slow. Unfortunately the blade on my loppers broke on the second day, and then on the third day the handle on my folding saw broke. These Fiskars tools are generally very reliable, lightweight, and easy to use, so this was unusual. But after completing only a portion of the work I’d hoped to, I just had to take off backpacking.

The springs in Blackwood Creek were lower than I’ve ever seen them at this time of year. I walked out Blackwood through some aspen restorations projects that seem to be having the desired effect, and caught the bus to Tahoe City. Overnighting there, I ran into a friend Jan Ellis who I’d not seen in years. Then breakfast in Truckee and home on the train.

Flickr: Granite Chief 2014-07-28

brushing and strange weather 2014-06

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I spent two days last week brushing part of the Pacific Crest Trail that runs through Granite Chief Wilderness. This section, north of the PCT-Tahoe Rim Trail junction by Twin Peaks, is one that I started working on in 2006, when I discovered that that trail was brushed closed and people were getting lost. The part I just did was nearly but not quite brushed closed again. Brushing by myself goes very slowly, particularly when I come to an area that has a lot of small stems instead of a few big ones. I finished about 200 feet of trail. There is about a half mile of trail remaining to do. Some plants get bushy when trimmed back, others grow again in the same pattern of a few large stems that can be pretty easily cut. I realized last year that unless I spent much more of my summers brushing than I wanted, I was not going to keep up with this brushy section. Nevertheless, I like doing the work and will continue to do some every summer.

PCT before brushing

PCT after brushing PCT before and after brushing

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short PCT and brushing

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GCW_PCT-ridge-north

north along the PCT across Whiskey Creek basin

A short three-day trip into the Granite Chief Wilderness this week. I went in at Squaw Valley on the Granite Chief Trail, which is the most convenient entry point for me because the TART bus stops a hundred yards from the trailhead. I’m glad to have completed brushing on this trail last year, as it makes for a nice walk. The trail has been logged out, so is in good shape, but there are erosion problems on some of it that make it rocky going. I turned south on the PCT where there is a new trail sign to replace the one that had deteriorated and eventually disappeared. Two small creeks still cross the trail here, but both are small and will probably dry soon.

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PCT survey backpack

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snow on the trail at the wilderness boundary

On two short backpack trips from June 11 to 16, I surveyed the PCT from Barker Pass to Tinkers Knob. About half the trail was snow covered at the time, so I can’t say too much about tread conditions, but I did record the downed trees, of which there are a moderate number, some from last year (or several years ago in one case), and some from this year. Since over a month has passed since these trips, I won’t post the details about snow and trail conditions because they have changed.

There is a sign at the junction of the PCT and what I call the Western States Trail that says Tevis Trail and points at an angle for the trail departing to the west. I don’t remember seeing this sign before, thought it is well weathered, so perhaps it was on the ground and only recently placed back on a post. I still think this trail should be called Western States Trail since it seems to be the most common route of that trail over the years. The course for both the horse and running races has changed many times over the years.

Since the road to Barker Pass was still closed by snow, I walked up the 4WD road and back down the paved road. Once was enough, for both.

2009-06-11 to 2009-06-16

photos on Flickr