Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - June 5th
Day 50: Wednesday 5th June
Crestline Saddle – Siberia Trail Junction
I got away at 6.15 in the morning and walked for 3 hours, initially climbing to 10,700ft,
followed by a gentle descent to 9700ft through open pine forest. The poor gravely soil and
dry climate hardly supports any undergrowth. On the exposed ridges Foxtail pines were
the only tree to prosper and there were many gnarled dead trees still standing. At lower
altitudes Lodgepole Pine predominated. The trail followed the broad ridges, avoiding the
meadows below them to avoid damaging them. Early in the 20th century these meadows
were overgrazed and they still haven’t fully recovered.
I still hadn’t seen anyone by the time I reached Chicken Spring Lake at teatime.
Chicken Spring Lake was the first of the corrie lakes on the route. There were still
melting snow patches in the corrie so the tarn wasn’t warm enough to swim in, but there
was an isolated pool, which gave me a chilly swim. There was continuous calling from the
Clarke’s Nutcrackers and Marmots and Chipmunks were much in evidence. In popular
camping areas such as this, the animals and birds can become quite tame as they
supplement their food supplies by begging or stealing from the campers.
Two years ago I met a man being helped down from here with altitude sickness. It is
unusual to get altitude sickness at 11,000ft, but for those suffering from it is essential to
drop down to lower levels as soon as possible. There is about 35% less oxygen here than
at sea level. I find that as long as I don’t try and go too fast that the altitude doesn’t
affect me badly until about 15,000ft so I didn’t anticipate any problems on this trip.
I left Chicken Spring Lake at 6pm, after dinner, and hiked for a couple of hours,
walking into the setting sun. At nine hours this had been my longest day so far and I was
happy with the progress I was making. Inevitably I had a few minor aches and pains but
no major problems.
Again I haven’t seen anyone all day.
I am now in bear territory and the National Park Authorities require hikers to carry
“bear canisters” for food storage. These canisters weigh about 3lb, only have room for
about 4 days food and are awkward to fit inside a rucksack. Very few of the thru-hikers
carried these, even though they are a legal requirement. Traditionally food is hung from
the trees overnight, but in the popular mountain areas the bears have got very skilled at
getting food bags down from the trees. In Yosemite Valley, in particular, the bears have
even learnt to break into cars for food. Unfortunately the National Park has had a policy
of relocating troublesome bears into more remote regions and this has merely exported
the problem. On this trip I have just stored my food in canoe dry bags, which are
waterproof, and hopefully they stop any odour from the food getting out. The food is well
packaged anyway. I then just keep the bags in my tent overnight.
Day 50: 21.0 miles 8.57 hours Camp: Siberia Trail Junction
Crestline Saddle – Siberia Trail Junction
I got away at 6.15 in the morning and walked for 3 hours, initially climbing to 10,700ft,
followed by a gentle descent to 9700ft through open pine forest. The poor gravely soil and
dry climate hardly supports any undergrowth. On the exposed ridges Foxtail pines were
the only tree to prosper and there were many gnarled dead trees still standing. At lower
altitudes Lodgepole Pine predominated. The trail followed the broad ridges, avoiding the
meadows below them to avoid damaging them. Early in the 20th century these meadows
were overgrazed and they still haven’t fully recovered.
I still hadn’t seen anyone by the time I reached Chicken Spring Lake at teatime.
Chicken Spring Lake was the first of the corrie lakes on the route. There were still
melting snow patches in the corrie so the tarn wasn’t warm enough to swim in, but there
was an isolated pool, which gave me a chilly swim. There was continuous calling from the
Clarke’s Nutcrackers and Marmots and Chipmunks were much in evidence. In popular
camping areas such as this, the animals and birds can become quite tame as they
supplement their food supplies by begging or stealing from the campers.
Two years ago I met a man being helped down from here with altitude sickness. It is
unusual to get altitude sickness at 11,000ft, but for those suffering from it is essential to
drop down to lower levels as soon as possible. There is about 35% less oxygen here than
at sea level. I find that as long as I don’t try and go too fast that the altitude doesn’t
affect me badly until about 15,000ft so I didn’t anticipate any problems on this trip.
I left Chicken Spring Lake at 6pm, after dinner, and hiked for a couple of hours,
walking into the setting sun. At nine hours this had been my longest day so far and I was
happy with the progress I was making. Inevitably I had a few minor aches and pains but
no major problems.
Again I haven’t seen anyone all day.
I am now in bear territory and the National Park Authorities require hikers to carry
“bear canisters” for food storage. These canisters weigh about 3lb, only have room for
about 4 days food and are awkward to fit inside a rucksack. Very few of the thru-hikers
carried these, even though they are a legal requirement. Traditionally food is hung from
the trees overnight, but in the popular mountain areas the bears have got very skilled at
getting food bags down from the trees. In Yosemite Valley, in particular, the bears have
even learnt to break into cars for food. Unfortunately the National Park has had a policy
of relocating troublesome bears into more remote regions and this has merely exported
the problem. On this trip I have just stored my food in canoe dry bags, which are
waterproof, and hopefully they stop any odour from the food getting out. The food is well
packaged anyway. I then just keep the bags in my tent overnight.
Day 50: 21.0 miles 8.57 hours Camp: Siberia Trail Junction
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Owen's Lake
Foxtail Pines
Trail Peak from
Mulkey Pass
Mulkey Pass
Big Whitney Meadow
Cirque Peak
Foxtail Pines
Chicken Spring Lake