[pct-l] Sequoias and the PCT

[Nathan Miller]

Another place once can go to see Squoiadendron
giganteum in its native habitat is Big Trees
State Park.  Although there will be far fewer
people here, you will need to hitchhike to and
from the park on Hwy 4.  Time-wise, the easiest
way to get there might be to hitchhike from the
trailhead at Ebbetts Pass, although traffic is
much lighter east of Lake Alpine, from which it
would be much easier to find a ride.  To get
there, leave the PCT at Gardner Meadow in the
Carson-Iceberg Wilderness on a side trail that
takes you a mile or so to Highland Lakes.  Hike
along a dirt road to the other end of the perched
valley to the opposite trailhead.  There's a
small semi-primative campground near the west end
of the valley at which you might be able to
procure a ride.  If you are unsuccessful, follow
the trail down Highland Creek and then around the
northwestern shore of Spicer Meadow Reservoir. 
After about a mile, the trail veers away from the
lake and then after another mile cuts more or
less north and then after another miles comes to
a T.  Go right toward Rock Lake and Lake Alpine
along a trail that hovers around 7200 ft.  I
figure this to be probably about 18 miles.  Lake
Alpine is a recreation hotspot throughout the
summer, so you shouldn't have much trouble
hichhiking down to the park, the entrance to
which is right on the hwy.
There's a day-use fee for the park which is
charged per vehicle, although I don't know what
the policy is for people entering on foot.  A
couple of times I biked in the back way from
Arnold (small down just down the hill from Big
Trees) via a Forest Service road and avoided the
whole thing (although at least one of those times
I was passing through the park on my way to
Dorrington, the small town just up the hill from
Big Trees).  If you need to camp, you can either
try to jocky for a site, or you can do it the
cheap way and bivy outside the park in the
surrounding Stanislaus National Forest.  Be aware
that in the summer, fire danger will be extreme
and the ponderosa pine duff that blankets the
forest floor is highly combustible to the point
that the Fire Marshall requires all residences to
have a 30-ft. firebreak around all structures
after the first of June and the raking and
burning of pine needles is pretty much an annual
event in April and early May every year.  Ergo,
you may want to plan on cold-camping or at least
hiking to a nearby picnic area to do your
cooking.

-Nathan Miller
Newberg, OR



 
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