[pct-l] A plan for detouring around the Sierras

[sabra985]

Well, given all that's going on in my personal life and with the snow pack
in the Sierras, I'm going home to reassess my hiking plans. It'll take me a
couple of seasons to hike the PCT, I guess. No shame in sectioning, right?
Thanks for all the input.
~Evenstar


On Sun, May 22, 2011 at 10:45 PM, sabra985 <sabra985 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Due to a number of factors, I've decided to detour around the Sierras. I
> know this is sacrilegious to some, but there are factors both within and
> beyond my control that make this the most sensible option for my hike. The
> mountains will be there, and it means that I get to ENJOY the remaining 1500
> miles of my hike this year without stressing about being able to get home on
> time AND I get to come back next summer. How lucky am I?!?
>
> For those who might be facing a similar scenario in their own hikes, here's
> some information that might be useful for travel planning:
>
> 1) From Walker Pass, get to Bakersfield (it's rumored that if you hitch
> towards Lake Isabella, practically everyone is heading into Bakersfield
> anyway, since that's the next big city on 178)
> 2) Take Bakersfield Amtrak to Redding (the RABA stop). The train leaves
> 4x/day. www.amtrak.com
> 3) The Redding Area Bus Authority has two buses, Monday thru Friday, which
> run express out to Burney. www.rabaride.com
> 4) Hitch from Burney back to the trail.
>
> Schedule-wise, it looks like it makes sense to plan to stay overnight
> somewhere in Bakersfield (and get cleaned up, haha). Be on the 7:15 am
> Amtrak, you arrive in Redding at 4 pm, then catch the 5:45 pm bus to Burney
> and maybe the guy (or gal) sitting next to you on the bus will give you a
> ride to the trail when you arrive in Burney at 7:10 p.m. Hope that helps!
>
> ~Evenstar
>