[pct-l] Section O 37N30 exit route + topo

[greg mushial]

In my posting two days ago, I alluded to returning back to Lake Britten via 
Forest Service road 30N37. [this was after finding the PCT almost dry, me 
with too little water storage/carry capacity, having dropped all the way 
down to Rock Creak from Peavine Crk, and not wanting to reclimb the hill 
back to the PCT to walk out; likewise, not wishing to walk out on a dry 
route.] I've put on our website a 1:24K composite topo of the route, from 
Peavine Crk out to Lk Britten. Link to topo 
www.gmdr.com/PCTstuff/Section-O-37N30exit.jpg  warning: the topo is large - 
5000x3800 pixels, 3.24mb. I reason I'm posting the composite topo is: while 
walking out this route, I found that I was off HalfMile's topos, and the 
topo in the PCT book didn't contain enough detail to be useful (actually was 
misleading because of the lack of detail) - this is the map I dearly wished 
I had at the time - hopefully others won't be left wishing and hoping they 
knew where they were and were going.

The bail-out starts at Peavine Crk, mile 1437.3. As one comes to Peavine on 
the PCT (NoBo) one crosses the creek and is faced with a gravelled road 
leading both left and right (where the PCT goes basically straight across 
said road and up into the trees). This road is 30N37. If one goes to the 
right and downhill, in a half a mile one reaches Rock Creek (this is all in 
section 18 on the map, in the NW corner). If one follows 30N37 to the east 
and along the north bank of Rock Creek one reaches the North Fork of Rock 
Crk coming into the main creek in section 16. (this is where I camped the 
night after leaving Burney Falls.) The route choices btwn Peavine Crk and 
section 21 are easy - stay on the well graded gravelled road and follow Rock 
Creek downhill. At the top of section 21 is a tricky bifurcation in the 
road: the heavily traveled, the gravelled road goes to the left, and uphill. 
DO NOT TAKE THIS ROAD. [I did in trying to find my way out and after getting 
way above Rock Creek and according to the compass, heading the wrong 
direction, I backtracked and took the right-hand fork. This right-hand fork 
is a very inobvious choice - the road is bare dirt, is mostly overgrown, had 
deadfalls across it, even a couple ton rock in the middle making it 
impassible other than on foot or maybe a quadrunner. The road continues to 
be the inobvious choice until the middle of section 22, when it widens out, 
is clear, but never gets its gravel back. There is one choice in routes 
before reaching 37N75 - this is a dirt road which heads uphill away from 
Rock Creek - stay to the right and slightly downhill. In the SE corner of 
section 22 one reaches 37N75, a major gravelled road - it almost looks like 
a continuation of 37N30, and maybe a continuation of the uphill choice back 
in section 21 - it is not! At the intersection of 37N75, take the across and 
to the right choice; do not take the acute right-hand steep downhill 
choice - this simply leads down to Rock Creek and deadends. 37N75 actually 
ends at this intersection, and one is still on 37N30 (actually has been all 
through the inobvious section). About a mile and a half, south and downhill, 
on 37N37 one encounters Rock Creek Campsite and 37N02. If one crosses Rock 
Creek and follows the road to the right, one will encounter the PCT in a 
half mile (at mile 1429.6) - One could walk it back from there, crossing 
Rock Creek on the PCT bridge and follow the route back to the lake. The 
other choice is to turn left on the gravelled road before crossing Rock 
Creek. This is 37N02, and will take one to a point on Lk Britten about a 
half mile to the east of the dam on the north shore. A little confusion 
here: the road, 37N02 is gravel until the road from the mine, in section 25, 
joins N02 in section 36; then 37N02 becomes a paved road - the map doesn't 
indicate this change and can lead one to think they're not where they 
thought they ought to be. Don't panic - just continue ahead and downhill for 
a half of a mile. At that point one will encounter a paved road from the 
left, a paved deadend straight ahead, and two roads leading to the right 
(both paved). The left of the two right-hand choices is blocked to traffic 
and there is a sign saying the road to Pitt Dam 3 is closed - hop the gate, 
follow that road for a third of a mile and one will be at the Lake Britten 
dam - from there one can road walk to Burney Falls Park, or take the PCT 
which leaves the south end of the dam to the right and uphill.

I hope this narrative and the map save others time, effort and concern.

put one foot ahead of the other, repeat until done,
TheDuck