Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - Day 12 April 19th
Day 12: Friday 19th April Highway 74 – Cedar Springs
When I left the “Hikers Oasis” with Paul at 7.15am, “Flutterby”, “Fancy” and
Andrew were still dead to the world, intending to make a late start slackpacking the
section I had hiked yesterday.
At the trailhead on Highway 74 a memorial commemorated the death of a trail
worker.
The walk today gave a foretaste of the delightful terrain to be expected in the
Southern Sierras, further north, with a sandy trail winding through granite blocks in the
shade of Coulter Pines. Despite being sunny, it was rather cool, and by mid-morning it
had started to cloud over and the temperature started dropping rapidly.
By the time I met “Sage” in the afternoon I was wearing all the clothing I was carrying.
“Sage”, from Chicago, was section-hiking the trail, heading north to south, and aiming to
go to the thru-hiker kick-off party, taking place at Lake Morena Campground the
following weekend.
The kick-off party, usually held on the last weekend in April, is a gathering of thru-
hikers, “trail angels” and other PCT hikers. Up to date information about the trail,
particularly the position of water caches, is distributed. The thru-hikers are given a lift to
the border and are then able to slackpack the first 20 miles to Lake Morena
Campground. About 80 thru-hikers were expected to start on this weekend. This is fine
for those walkers who start trail fit, but there is a danger that those who are not so fit
could be tempted to start too fast and end up with injuries. The advantage of starting this
weekend is that there would be plenty of company for those who did not want to walk on
their own.
I dropped off the trail down to Cedar Springs, the only permanent water along this
desert divide in the San Jacinto Mountains. This was a lovely spot with campsites under
the Cedar trees. Jerry and Ken, up for the weekend, were already camped at the spring.
They were locals, runners in their younger days, who now spent much of their spare time
backpacking in the High Sierras. They had recently discovered this enchanting spot and
often came up at the weekend. By the time I arrived it was beginning to snow, reminding
them of their last visit which had been in January, when it had been very cold. I got my
tent up and in this weather I would normally have disappeared into my tent to cook and
eat before an early night, but Jerry and Ken were cooking their meal on an open fire and
they offered to share it with me. I was fed with steak, potatoes and green beans washed
down with overgenerous quantities of Jack Daniels whiskey. I was rather inebriated by
the time I snuggled down into my sleeping bag.
Although snow was falling outside it was lovely and warm in my down sleeping bag,
rated down to 12ºF, even without wearing any clothing. In fact down bags are designed to
be worn with a minimum of clothing and with too much extra clothing can cause the bag
to become squashed, lose its loft and become less warm.
Day 12:16.9 miles 6.42 hours Camp: Cedar Springs
When I left the “Hikers Oasis” with Paul at 7.15am, “Flutterby”, “Fancy” and
Andrew were still dead to the world, intending to make a late start slackpacking the
section I had hiked yesterday.
At the trailhead on Highway 74 a memorial commemorated the death of a trail
worker.
The walk today gave a foretaste of the delightful terrain to be expected in the
Southern Sierras, further north, with a sandy trail winding through granite blocks in the
shade of Coulter Pines. Despite being sunny, it was rather cool, and by mid-morning it
had started to cloud over and the temperature started dropping rapidly.
By the time I met “Sage” in the afternoon I was wearing all the clothing I was carrying.
“Sage”, from Chicago, was section-hiking the trail, heading north to south, and aiming to
go to the thru-hiker kick-off party, taking place at Lake Morena Campground the
following weekend.
The kick-off party, usually held on the last weekend in April, is a gathering of thru-
hikers, “trail angels” and other PCT hikers. Up to date information about the trail,
particularly the position of water caches, is distributed. The thru-hikers are given a lift to
the border and are then able to slackpack the first 20 miles to Lake Morena
Campground. About 80 thru-hikers were expected to start on this weekend. This is fine
for those walkers who start trail fit, but there is a danger that those who are not so fit
could be tempted to start too fast and end up with injuries. The advantage of starting this
weekend is that there would be plenty of company for those who did not want to walk on
their own.
I dropped off the trail down to Cedar Springs, the only permanent water along this
desert divide in the San Jacinto Mountains. This was a lovely spot with campsites under
the Cedar trees. Jerry and Ken, up for the weekend, were already camped at the spring.
They were locals, runners in their younger days, who now spent much of their spare time
backpacking in the High Sierras. They had recently discovered this enchanting spot and
often came up at the weekend. By the time I arrived it was beginning to snow, reminding
them of their last visit which had been in January, when it had been very cold. I got my
tent up and in this weather I would normally have disappeared into my tent to cook and
eat before an early night, but Jerry and Ken were cooking their meal on an open fire and
they offered to share it with me. I was fed with steak, potatoes and green beans washed
down with overgenerous quantities of Jack Daniels whiskey. I was rather inebriated by
the time I snuggled down into my sleeping bag.
Although snow was falling outside it was lovely and warm in my down sleeping bag,
rated down to 12ºF, even without wearing any clothing. In fact down bags are designed to
be worn with a minimum of clothing and with too much extra clothing can cause the bag
to become squashed, lose its loft and become less warm.
Day 12:16.9 miles 6.42 hours Camp: Cedar Springs
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Approaching
Penrod Canyon
Penrod Canyon
Approaching
Penrod Canyon
Penrod Canyon
Sage
Ancient Brit
Jerry and Ken