[pct-l] desert camping

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

And I'll add that if you do decide to do some winter hiking in the  
desert, please understand that the whole Southern California section  
of the PCT is not desert. Only a small portion of it is actual desert  
with mesquite, cactus and all that.

Much of what you'll see is something called Chaparral, which is an  
elfin forest that grows in a few regions around the world, including  
the mediterranean region, parts of Australia and Baja California, and  
the coast ranges where you'll be walking. Yes, it is hot, yes it is  
dry, but it gets a lot of rainfall during a small window of time when  
most PCT hikers are not hiking. Sometimes a foot of rain in a single  
day. This is why the forest service protects the land. It is the  
watershed. The city of Santa Barbara is able to get enough water for  
its needs from this watershed (but it does have backups).

I spent time reading the list before heading out with a feeling of  
fear that I would spend a month in the desert baking in the sun. I  
pictured the mojave all the way. I was surprised to find myself  
mostly in forest above the desert, looking at the desert floor below.  
I enjoyed the Big Cone Spruce and live oak forests on the north  
slopes, and the small bit of riparian and oak woodlands and oak  
savannah near Warner Springs. There were wildflowers and places with  
oaks that don't grow in the even drier places where I live. I was  
happy there was so much more beauty in So Cal than I was led to believe.

So, be prepared for long stretches without water, but realize it is  
not because the region is such a dry desert there is no water. It's  
only because the PCT is a slave to the crest. Look at any regional  
trail map and you'll see that the older trails follow the creeks,  
which is the smarter thing to do.

Good luck and please try to appreciate the chaparral for the unique  
ecological community that it is.

Diane



On Jan 7, 2010, at 8:41 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> For those of you who are not looking forward to the desert section  
> of the PCT,
> or just consider it a section to get through as quick as you can to  
> get to the
> pretty mountains, consider winter hiking in the desert.