[pct-l] Trip Report Section N & O (SB Castle Crags to Chester)

[Herb Stroh]

I just completed a southbound hike of Section N and O (Castle Crags to Chester) June 10-19. Below is an update of the water report for those interested. Generally there was water in all places identified in the report and, as one might expect, at higher levels than older accounts. Note that the cache at Forrest Road 22 ("Cache 22") was not being stocked when I went through June 14.

Maybe it is old news, but snow is no longer an issue in these sections. I hit some snow in the Chimney Rock area about June 11, but the one tricky section by now is no doubt gone or easily circumvented. Patches in Lassen were nominal and presented no technical or navigational issues.

As far as cites and their amenities, Chester is big enough to provide a full range of services. I stayed at Antlers , which at $85 per night was about half the cost of the Best Western just down the street. Friendly staff, efficient, clean rooms.  Across the street from Antlers is the Holiday Market-full on grocery store, deli, prepared sandwiches, donuts, beer-what more could you ask? I ambled across the street and secured a night's worth of gluttony in minutes. Regional bus service picks up at the Holiday Market as well, which is where I caught my bus to Redding, then Amtrak home.

I didn't go into Old Station other than a side trip to JJ's Café. Note that if you are going to JJ's anyway, you can water up at the Visitor Center and skip the side trip to Subway Cave for water.  Exit the trail as it crosses Highway 44, turn left and just before Highway 89 turn left on a paved forest service road that cuts across to 89 and actually saves a few steps. The road will take you by the visitor center with water and outhouses. There is a Chevron next to JJ's that is probably too limited for a full resupply but has sufficient hiker food for a supplement. They did have tortilla in 10 count bags.

The Burney Falls Camp store is another place where one can supplement but probably not fully resupply. They sell a few things for hikers like pop tarts (sold individually), top ramen-type things, and of course candy. The handling cost for sending a package there is $7 cash. And they said "cash" several  times so don't expect to use plastic to cover the handling fee. Sandwiches are ok, plenty of ice cream and hot dogs, bathrooms with running water are adjacent to the store.

Multiple hikers extolled the virtues of Drakesbad, so I had to give it a try. We camped at Warner Valley campground ($16 per night, but you can stack six to a site), which is a short walk from the Drakesbad resort. You will need reservations in advance to eat at the restaurant, so pop over there asap if you plan to eat there. I highly recommend breakfast-a hot plate (French toast and sausage on our morning) along with a run through the buffet line (lox, granola, yogurt, fresh fruit, fresh baked scones-killer). I didn't test it with all the other food, but I am told you can get a refill on the hot plate. All this for $8.95 (with nice hiker discount). As good as the food was, the service was even better. I cannot speak highly enough of how well they treated us-squeezed us in on a busy morning, set up heaters for us to sit comfortably on the patio, bottomless cup of coffee, etc. By far the best stop on my trip.

I didn't spend much time in Dunsmuir, so can't provide too much intel there. It was a slow hitch out of town due to low traffic flows. It was maddening to spend hours by the freeway onramp just 5 miles from the trailhead and still unable to get there-there are no roads from town to the trailhead other than Highway 5. A follow hiker and I had just pulled out maps to check the feasibility of walking the railroad tracks to the trailhead (which do go right by the trail) when we finally got a ride.

As to trail conditions,  for the most part these sections are clear of deadfall. The formally snowy section in Lassen has not been cleared, but almost all the obstacles have easy work-arounds. From Moosehead Creek to the top one does have to scramble over/around some blowdowns, but all manageable.

I was actually a bit disappointed with the stretch through Lassen. There are many miles of burned out forest that make this section largely uninteresting. Views of snow covered Lassen Peak did make up for it some. I really enjoyed the Hat Creek Ridge section, notwithstanding having to carry extra litters of water. We hit it on a cool and rainy day, thus able to travel  through this exposed area relatively easily.  Low clouds obscured the valley below, affording intriguing views from the ridgeline. Wildflowers were still in bloom, showing off their brilliance whenever the sun broke free of the clouds.  The days hiking close to Dunsmuir/Castle Crags/Castella provided many breathtaking views of Shasta-I must have 50 photos of Shasta at different angles and proximity.

Great trip-would have loved to go on, but somebody has to go to work...

Water report details:

1332.3 Stover Spring-water from small "V" shaped metal trough. Many gallons a minute, cold and clear. 6/19/16.

1338.2 North Fork Feather River-plenty of water, easy to collect. 6/19/16

1347.6 Warner Valley-Campground open and spigots on. Camping $16 per night, convenient to Drakesbad Resort. 6/18/16

1347.6 Drakesbad Resort-open and water on. (Need reservations to eat in restaurant, well worth it). 6/18/16

1361 Badger Flat Spring-good flow from pipe. 6/18/16

1367.2 Hat Creek-huge flow. 6/17/16

1374.9 Old Station Visitor Center [not currently on report]. Exit the trail at Highway 44 turn left toward highway 89 as though heading toward JJ's. Just before 89 turn left on a paved forest service road that cuts over to 89. Visitor Center on the right has water fountains and outhouses. If going to JJ's anyway, easier to water here than off-trail at Subway. 6/17/16

1383 Lost Creek Spring-(Second hand report, source is "Pack"). Trail goes to the bottom of the canyon. Agree, there are worst sections of the PCT proper than the two scrambles. Doable without a pack by shifting water containers between hands to manage the technical sections. Don't take a full pack down there, the work bringing it back up would be too much. Plenty of water, beautiful, even a pool to swim in. Circa mid-June.

1391.1 Forest Road 22. Cache 22 was not being stocked as of 6/14/16. Nice place to sit in the shade though.

1404.4 Small creek-great flow, easy to draw. 6/14/16

1416.5 Burney Falls State Park-as noted, camping, water, showers. Also, Visitor Center has installed a covered charging station on a patio with plenty of plugs and places to sit. There is free Wi-Fi 9-5 daily. 6/12/16

1430.2 Seasonal Peavine Creek. Thought I found the trail to the creek, but lost it in the brush. Looked like too much work, as it was very overgrown. I returned to the road, and there is a use trail that goes to the pools just to the right of the road. It was overgrown, so I set up a small cairn to raise its visibility. Walk in 15 feet to a large pool. There are floaties on top of a large pool, but once cleared away I was able to draw cold, clear water-it is not stagnant. 6/12/16

1438 Kosk Spring-plenty of water, easy to draw. Although off-trail, it is an easy walk and does not require significant elevation loss. 6/12/16

1444.8 Moosehead Creek-Plenty of water, easy to find. 6/12/16

1460.1 Deer Creek-confirm plenty of water. 6/11/16

1461.2 Another branch of deer creek-confirm good water. 6/11/16

1464.2 Small creek-confirm, plenty of water. 6/11/16

1464.6 Butcherknife Creek-many gallons per minute. 6/11/16

1464.8 Small spring-decent flow, not hard to collect water. 6/11/16

1479.4 West Trough Creek-good flow, easy draw. 6/10/16

1492.4 North Fork of Fall Creek-great flow, 6/10/16

1497.8 Small spring-adequate flow to collect water. 6/10/16

1498.3 Cross a bridge over a river-plenty of water, a bit easier to gain access then 1498.4. 6/10/16

1498.4 Cross another bridge over a river-big flow. 6/10/16

Herb