[pct-l] advice on sections D, E, F

[Arthur Cimento]

Hi Susan

I've section hiked C,D,E, and F three or four years ago. Almost all of it was in the late-March to early-May timeframe, so here are my answers based on what I experienced:

1) Highway 2 is well-traveled (relatively speaking) but there are really no services along that stretch. Trailhead parking (eg, Mt Baden Powell) was busy. However, if starting section D, why not use Cajon Pass - I started at the Best Western, who let me leave my car there for the hike.
2) I think all of C, D, E and F will be snow free in the time frame you're planning. Looking at my pictures, there was only a few snow patches along the high sections of C, which would not be of concern for any experienced hiker. On the contrary, some of these sections are very hot even by that time frame (C out of Whitewater, E through the Mojave) and you would want to get them done certainly before May.
3) Agua Dulce sets you up for E (see above)
4) I didn't see the pack in these sections until May. I did see the random thru hiker frequently enough. Parts of Section D close to highway 2 get a lot of day hikers as does  Deep Canyon in C. Section F was very lonely - I saw only two other people in the 6 days I was on that section and there aren't many road crossings. Of course, more thru hikers are starting earlier so this may have changed.
5) Water caches were hit and miss - some owners said they were surprised that someone was at their cache that early. Section F requires careful water management - I self cached at two road crossings and I was glad I did. The springs in F are terrible.

As I'm sure you know, each year is different. You can probably get an idea of the snow pack by checking conditions at the Big Bear and Wrightwood ski areas (section D runs along the top of the latter, and the high points of C are roughly at the same elevation as Big Bear).

Regards,
Art


________________________________
From: Pct-L <pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net> on behalf of Susan Virnig <susan at newstories.org>
Sent: Monday, February 4, 2019 6:52 PM
To: <Pct-l at backcountry.net>
Subject: [pct-l] advice on sections D, E, F

Dear Hikers,

I’m a long-time section hiker who’s walked from Echo Lakes to Manning Provincial Park, and Campo to Paradise Valley Cafe, now looking to cover some more ground.

I’m hoping to do about a month of section hiking starting around March 24.  Just checked the Sierra snowpack and found it’s 100% of normal — does that also apply to the southern CA mountain ranges?

If they will all be snow-covered, rather than finish Section B, and get into Section C and D — all of which have 9000' sections, I’m thinking about starting around Highway 2 which crosses the PCT about 46 miles into Section D at 6700’ or when it re-crosses the PCT 10 miles later at 6800’ and then go into Sections E & F.  What do you think?  Here are some questions:

1.  Is Highway 2 a good place to get a ride to or is it off in the middle of nowhere?
2.  Is that 50-60 mile stretch of the PCT ending in Agua Dulce likely  to be snow-free the end of March?  Or if not, is it still relatively ok to hike?
3.  Or is it better to just start at Agua Dulce and head straight into E & F?
4.  Any idea if there will be other hikers in that part of Section D, then into E and F on the trail at that time, or will they all be closer to Campo?
5.  I know I’m not supposed to count on water caches, but would any be maintained in late March/early April?
6.  Other thoughts or advice?

—Sunshine (Susan from Spokane)
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