[pct-l] Marble Mountain Wilderness :: Sec Q is Closed!! due tofires!!

[Bob Bankhead]

It sounds like you can still get as far as Etna Summit. Hitch down to Alderbrook Manor, take a bath, eat REAL food, drink real beer or the excellent local root beer, and get the latest info. Hopefully you can jump up to Siead Valley; if not, you'll have to go to Ashland.

You can catch a STAGE bus in Etna that will take you to Yreka, where you can get another STAGE bus into Siead Valley (stops at the store/PO) - assuming the trail is open from there north. Here's an excerpt from my article I wrote in 2003:


Sections P, Q, and R (Castle Crags State Park to Ashland, OR) encompass 215 miles of rocky terrain with four really long hills. You climb 5000 feet out of Castella, drop 5000 feet into Seiad Valley, climb Cardiac Hill - a 4400 footer, and  finally 2800 feet down to I-5 near Ashland. During my summer trek, I discovered a way to go DOWN three of the four big hills in these three sections, thanks to the excellent Siskiyou County bus system, known as STAGE.

 

Based at 4th and Butte streets in Yreka, CA along I-5, STAGE provides regularly scheduled service to and from such PCT towns as Seaid Valley, Etna ($2.25 one way), and Dunsmuir. There is no service to Callahan at this time. Also goes to Shasta City.

 

SEIAD VALLEY:   STAGE bus leaves from the store at 8:00 am Monday and Friday only and runs to Yreka.

 

YREKA:  STAGE buses leave for Etna from in front of the STAGE office at 4th and Butte Streets at 11:12 am, 2:05 pm, and 5:05 pm. The one-way fare is $2.25. Other STAGE buses run to places such as Dunsmuir and Mount Shasta. Greyhound has five buses stopping at the Yreka Texaco station daily. The northbound (to Shasta City/Ashland) buses stop at 1:15 pm and 3:40 pm; southbound (to Redding) at 8:50 am, 2:40 pm, and 8:50 pm

 

ETNA: STAGE buses to Yreka leave from City Hall  at 6:55 am, 12:22 pm, and 3:12 pm. This allows you to go into Yreka for special needs and return to Etna the same day.

 

DUNSMUIR:  STAGE buses run between Yreka and here daily. Amtrak service is available from Dunsmuir northbound to Seattle at 5:00 am; southbound to LA at 12:20 am.    (Added 2006: Greyhound buses no longer stop here.)

 

Contact STAGE at 1-800-24STAGE or 530-842-8295. The schedules can be accessed on the internet at http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us   Click on "Public Interest" and then "STAGE Schedule".





Wandering Bob

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Deems 
  To: pct 
  Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 4:54 PM
  Subject: [pct-l] Marble Mountain Wilderness :: Sec Q is Closed!! due tofires!!



  PCT Hikers!
  I just received breaking news at work *USFS* today, that the Marble Mtn 
  Wilderness is closed to hiker use due to fires, that are mostly many many 
  miles away. The Forest Supervisor made this decision, based upon wilderness 
  user safety. I believe it is a very very overboard decision, but the law is 
  in effect now. SO in essence, the PCT is closed thru the Marble Mtn 
  Wilderness as of Aug 2! until the fires are extinguished, which could be 
  months away...... stay tuned for updates.. This is Section Q of the PCT, and 
  there are no reasonable road/trail routes around it.

  This is such breaking news that it isn't even posted on the Klamath NF 
  website yet.. My heart goes out to the PCT 2006 Thruhikers that are just 
  approaching this incredibly beautiful, (and personal,) stretch of the PCT, 
  and may not get to hike it due to the stroke of a pen..

  http://inciweb.org/forest/21/
  http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/klamath/

  This decision raises many questions: Is the wilderness user's safety 
  guaranteed by the Klamath Forest Supervisor when it isn't closed??  I've 
  never heard of a whole wilderness being closed, even the areas that are so 
  far away as to not be affected by the fire zones.. 


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