PCT Day 78, 29 July 2022 (Friday)
“Time Is Water”
Start Location: |
Clark Spring |
Destination: |
Deer Creek Spring |
|
PCT Miles Day 78: |
24.8 |
Cum PCT Miles: |
1,461.6 |
|
Non-PCT Miles Day 78: |
1.1 |
Cum All Miles: |
1562.6 |
|
PCT Miles Remaining: |
1,191.0 |
|
|
|
Elevation Gain Day 78: |
3,482 |
Cum Elevation Gain: |
252,080 |
To be honest, today wasn’t the greatest day on the PCT. You never expect any trail to be in perfect condition, though some always seem to be. But, the PCT is one of the premier trails in the entire world. People virtually everywhere in the world know about the PCT and want to hike the PCT, and it’s one of only a handful of national scenic trails. Yet, there are many sections of the PCT that seem to be completely unmaintained. I talked to several other hikers, we all agree today was the worst section of trail yet, even worse than parts of Angeles Crest National Forest.
The National Forest Service gets an F- for trail maintenance, it’s really pretty shameful. This is supposed to be a classic backpacking trail, not a jungle expedition. As someone who carries garden clippers on off-trail, peak-bagging day hikes—sometimes you have to clear your own path—I have a little bit of experience doing brushwork in the wilderness. I can say that it would not take a massive effort to improve the parts of the PCT that are most egregiously overgrown.
Another thing that made today more challenging was that all of the water sources were far off the trail. This is not that unusual for parts of the PCT, but it does mean spending a lot more time and effort just getting water than getting trail miles. I think this is one of the things that is overlooked about doing a hike like this, the amount of time you spend gathering and treating water. On a day like today, it probably cost me at least 3 to 4 trail miles because of the time I spent going to water sources and treating the water.
To make things even more interesting, often, when you get to the general location of the water source, getting directly to the water is often tricky and challenging. And bees and wasps love to hang around these water sources, so you are constantly worried about being stung while collecting the water.
Well, this isn’t my most positive post yet. But, it’s a dose of reality about what it can be like to do a hike like this.
This is what all of today's trail could be like if it were properly maintained.
Unfortunately, most of the trail today was unmaintained, like this, and even worse.
A better view of Mount Shasta this morning, you can now see the glaciers.
A Sooty Grouse
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