[pct-l] Trail Closed at Belden

[Brian Lewis]

I did the walk-around last year from Belden to where the PCT crosses hwy 36
near Chester, following pretty much the route that Diane cut & paste. I
estimated at the time that the route I followed was about 43 miles total vs.
46.5 miles on the PCT.   So it's not one of those walk-arounds that make you
do twice or more the road distance to go around or anything like that.

The beginning part on hwy 70 is indeed busy, but doesn't last all that long
before you turn off, and the last 5 miles or so (possibly less if you can
navigate the forest service roads better than I opted to try) on hwy 36 is
of course busy but I didn't find the latter to be particularly dangerous,
just less pleasant.  Hwy 70 arguably is a bit more dangerous, but I wasn't
that concerned over that fairly short distance.

The rest is very lightly traveled, really not bad for a road walk. Note that
you don't have to walk on busy hwy 89, there's a logging road that parallels
it (so close that they're sometimes in sight of one another).  I found it
pretty easy to camp ~mid-way; even when walking on paved roads there was
enough reasonably open country where a person could just wander a ways off
and stealth camp in open forest, or it could be that your pace through finds
you at an actual campground to sleep at.   I was a bit short of water later
in this little journey, but if I recall more from my own false expectations
(carried too little from last source) than a fundamental problem.

So if they really don't open it up by the time folks are getting there, I'd
definitely do the road walk.  I know that some people just walked through on
the PCT in the Fall last year (after the fire was well and truly out), so
it's always possible it will get to be like the walk-around near Big Bear
that almost everyone but the most rigidly lawful (like myself, sigh :-))
ignore and walk-through.   Who knows.     For possibly slightly more detail
(?), my journal of those two days started Oct 3rd at
http://postholer.com/brianle.


Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
http://postholer.com/brianle