Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - Day 3 April 10th
Day 3: Wednesday 10th April
Cottonwood Creek – Lower Morris Meadow
Early in the morning I passed through Boulder Oaks Campground, which was closed
by the USFS to protect the habitat of a rare toad that frequents the area around
Cottonwood Creek. The nearby RV (motor home) Park had been closed down and the
store demolished, which suggests that the USFS had won the lengthy legal battle they
had been having with the owners to get these facilities closed down.
Today thin high cloud and a slight breeze was keeping the temperature comfortably
warm rather than hot. The route traversed dry Fred Canyon where I took my first
break of the day. I was stripped off, drying clothes and tent when Manfred Shorkl from
Austria came down the trail. He was the first thru-hiker and also the first hiker I had
met. He was already trail-fit when had started on Tuesday and was making fast progress.
His English was heavily accented and I found it difficult to understand. Later on I heard
that most of the Americans, unused to Eastern European accents, couldn’t understand
him at all. He was buying food en route, which meant very long stretches between
supplies and he was therefore carrying a very heavy pack.
By the afternoon it was getting very hot again and as I was almost out of water, I was
relieved to find Long Canyon Creek still flowing. The creek was spring fed and was
therefore rather cold. I washed some clothes and had a refreshing “towel bath” before
stretching out in the sun waiting for the clothes to dry. Since I wasn’t carrying any
spare clothing I needed to take any opportunity to do the laundry.
Camping is a bad idea in Fred and Long Canyons, as they are notorious for
smugglers passing through during the night, so I continued on for another half hour
before camping near Lower Morris Meadow, a lovely grassy site under Jeffrey Pines
surrounded by a sea of chaparral. I was now in the Laguna Mountains, the crest of which
was wooded because warm moisture-laden air coming off the Pacific Ocean was cooled as
it was forced to rise over the mountain ridges, causing mists and sufficient rain to
sustain the pine trees. I was at 5830ft and the temperature started falling rapidly even
before the sun had set. When I had first come to California 9 years ago, I had only
brought a lightweight summer sleeping bag with me and was often cold at night. Now
with more experience, I had brought a good quality down bag and did not expect to feel
the cold at night.
Day 3: 13.5 miles 6.11 hours Camp: Lower Morris Meadow
Cottonwood Creek – Lower Morris Meadow
Early in the morning I passed through Boulder Oaks Campground, which was closed
by the USFS to protect the habitat of a rare toad that frequents the area around
Cottonwood Creek. The nearby RV (motor home) Park had been closed down and the
store demolished, which suggests that the USFS had won the lengthy legal battle they
had been having with the owners to get these facilities closed down.
Today thin high cloud and a slight breeze was keeping the temperature comfortably
warm rather than hot. The route traversed dry Fred Canyon where I took my first
break of the day. I was stripped off, drying clothes and tent when Manfred Shorkl from
Austria came down the trail. He was the first thru-hiker and also the first hiker I had
met. He was already trail-fit when had started on Tuesday and was making fast progress.
His English was heavily accented and I found it difficult to understand. Later on I heard
that most of the Americans, unused to Eastern European accents, couldn’t understand
him at all. He was buying food en route, which meant very long stretches between
supplies and he was therefore carrying a very heavy pack.
By the afternoon it was getting very hot again and as I was almost out of water, I was
relieved to find Long Canyon Creek still flowing. The creek was spring fed and was
therefore rather cold. I washed some clothes and had a refreshing “towel bath” before
stretching out in the sun waiting for the clothes to dry. Since I wasn’t carrying any
spare clothing I needed to take any opportunity to do the laundry.
Camping is a bad idea in Fred and Long Canyons, as they are notorious for
smugglers passing through during the night, so I continued on for another half hour
before camping near Lower Morris Meadow, a lovely grassy site under Jeffrey Pines
surrounded by a sea of chaparral. I was now in the Laguna Mountains, the crest of which
was wooded because warm moisture-laden air coming off the Pacific Ocean was cooled as
it was forced to rise over the mountain ridges, causing mists and sufficient rain to
sustain the pine trees. I was at 5830ft and the temperature started falling rapidly even
before the sun had set. When I had first come to California 9 years ago, I had only
brought a lightweight summer sleeping bag with me and was often cold at night. Now
with more experience, I had brought a good quality down bag and did not expect to feel
the cold at night.
Day 3: 13.5 miles 6.11 hours Camp: Lower Morris Meadow
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Looking south towards
Cameron Valley
Cameron Valley
Manfred in Fred Canyon