May 9, 2005 to May 15: Warner Springs Ranch to Anza
After a day of non-hiking -- with hot springs and ice cream as the highlights -- I was in a very cheerful mood as I returned to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT.) To match my spirits the trail was beautiful and inviting. Once again, red flowers carpeted the ground, blending with the red blossoms of this beaver-tail cactus. (Red ground and cactus.) To the east of the PCT towered Hot Springs Mountain in the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation, in sight for over two days. (Hot Springs Mountain.)
The PCT led through a canyon containing Ague Caliente Creek, where I found a tree-shaded campsite next to a pure side stream. (Pristine stream.) As on much of the PCT, hummingbirds were buzzing everywhere -- two or three kinds. My favorite in its male plumage was a brilliant green with a dramatic orange throat that flashed in the sun.
Despite all this, I was somewhat glum over the news I had learned that on May 5th Bush had reversed a Forest Service policy from early 2001 to protect eligible wilderness candidates from road construction that would destroy their wild character. These national forest wildlands, called "roadless areas," totalled over four million acres in CA alone, including many crossed by the PCT. For much of my career at The Wilderness Society I'd worked to preserve roadless areas around the country; maybe someday the policy would be re-instated.
The PCT climbed past fields of creamy-colored boulders (Boulders) and past mountains with rocky shoulders. (Mountain.) The next night I was at Lost Valley Spring, where I was spoiled again with fresh water bubbling from the hillside. I also encountered there Susan and Ralph Alcorn from Oakland, whom I had met at one of my REI talks in March. Susan is the author of a book on backpacking for women and is an active promoter of backcountry hiking. How fun to run into them at such a remote spot!
For the next few days the temperature was turned up -- HOT, HOT, HOT. It did make for happy Great Horned Lizards; I must have seen two or three dozen of these warlike, prehistoric-looking creatures moving slowly around. Shade became scarce too as the PCT entered an area massively burned a decade ago. There were miles of charred pine trunks casting their thin shadows. (Dead trees.) Burnt manzanita bushes were scattered among the rocks too. (Burnt bushes.) Of course, it will all grow back eventually. Meanwhile, it made for incredible open vistas of the landscape, like this basin covered almost totally with rocks. (Basin.)
On the slopes of Bucksnort Mountain I ascended into another state wilderness -- Sheep Canyon Wilderness -- named after the bighorn sheep native to the area. With no flat terrain anywhere I actually set up my tent on the trail itself that night -- as an incentive too to get an early start the next day. Waking from a mid-day nap I noticed two black vultures swooping overhead; I thought: all I'm missing here are some rattlesnakes!
Sure enough, before long, I was approaching a bush along the PCT when a really loud rattle startled me and made me jump back. It was a diamond-backed rattlesnake, about as thick as my forearm and about four feet long. It never retreated an inch but kept flicking its tongue and shaking its loud rattle. Its brown color blends it with the bush and the ground. (Rattlesnake.) Curiously, after the rattle started two wrens flew down and perched in the bush only a foot from the snake and made a furious alarm song. I guess they had a nest and young near.
Fortunately I had mailed myself powdered Gatorade to Warner Springs Ranch. It helped revive me during these days of blazing heat. I was drinking about two gallons of liquid a day! It was a blessing to reach a well-stocked water cache (Water Cache) with a local phone number for "Hiker's Oasis."
I was not planning a "zero" day but realized it would really help to be rested before starting the steep and snow-covered San Jacinto Mountains coming up. So I called the number when I got to the Paradise Corner Cafe on the Pines-to-Palms Highway. A "trail angel" by the name of Bill Jennings soon drove up and took me to the hostel in the nearby town of Anza.
What a wonderful retreat -- showers, food, laundry, place to camp, Internet access, rides to town to resupply, plus a hikers gallery of all visitors. It's run by Ziggy and The Bear with help from Bill, aka, Teutonic Knight, all devoted to hikers like family. (Photo of PK with Trail Angels.) There was one other hiker there -- George! He had gotten a ride to the hostel from further south on the PCT and was recovering from the heat. On Sunday, our zero day, we each indulged our weaknesses: he drank a giant bottle of root beer; I read both the LA and San Diego papers.
The PCT led through a canyon containing Ague Caliente Creek, where I found a tree-shaded campsite next to a pure side stream. (Pristine stream.) As on much of the PCT, hummingbirds were buzzing everywhere -- two or three kinds. My favorite in its male plumage was a brilliant green with a dramatic orange throat that flashed in the sun.
Despite all this, I was somewhat glum over the news I had learned that on May 5th Bush had reversed a Forest Service policy from early 2001 to protect eligible wilderness candidates from road construction that would destroy their wild character. These national forest wildlands, called "roadless areas," totalled over four million acres in CA alone, including many crossed by the PCT. For much of my career at The Wilderness Society I'd worked to preserve roadless areas around the country; maybe someday the policy would be re-instated.
The PCT climbed past fields of creamy-colored boulders (Boulders) and past mountains with rocky shoulders. (Mountain.) The next night I was at Lost Valley Spring, where I was spoiled again with fresh water bubbling from the hillside. I also encountered there Susan and Ralph Alcorn from Oakland, whom I had met at one of my REI talks in March. Susan is the author of a book on backpacking for women and is an active promoter of backcountry hiking. How fun to run into them at such a remote spot!
For the next few days the temperature was turned up -- HOT, HOT, HOT. It did make for happy Great Horned Lizards; I must have seen two or three dozen of these warlike, prehistoric-looking creatures moving slowly around. Shade became scarce too as the PCT entered an area massively burned a decade ago. There were miles of charred pine trunks casting their thin shadows. (Dead trees.) Burnt manzanita bushes were scattered among the rocks too. (Burnt bushes.) Of course, it will all grow back eventually. Meanwhile, it made for incredible open vistas of the landscape, like this basin covered almost totally with rocks. (Basin.)
On the slopes of Bucksnort Mountain I ascended into another state wilderness -- Sheep Canyon Wilderness -- named after the bighorn sheep native to the area. With no flat terrain anywhere I actually set up my tent on the trail itself that night -- as an incentive too to get an early start the next day. Waking from a mid-day nap I noticed two black vultures swooping overhead; I thought: all I'm missing here are some rattlesnakes!
Sure enough, before long, I was approaching a bush along the PCT when a really loud rattle startled me and made me jump back. It was a diamond-backed rattlesnake, about as thick as my forearm and about four feet long. It never retreated an inch but kept flicking its tongue and shaking its loud rattle. Its brown color blends it with the bush and the ground. (Rattlesnake.) Curiously, after the rattle started two wrens flew down and perched in the bush only a foot from the snake and made a furious alarm song. I guess they had a nest and young near.
Fortunately I had mailed myself powdered Gatorade to Warner Springs Ranch. It helped revive me during these days of blazing heat. I was drinking about two gallons of liquid a day! It was a blessing to reach a well-stocked water cache (Water Cache) with a local phone number for "Hiker's Oasis."
I was not planning a "zero" day but realized it would really help to be rested before starting the steep and snow-covered San Jacinto Mountains coming up. So I called the number when I got to the Paradise Corner Cafe on the Pines-to-Palms Highway. A "trail angel" by the name of Bill Jennings soon drove up and took me to the hostel in the nearby town of Anza.
What a wonderful retreat -- showers, food, laundry, place to camp, Internet access, rides to town to resupply, plus a hikers gallery of all visitors. It's run by Ziggy and The Bear with help from Bill, aka, Teutonic Knight, all devoted to hikers like family. (Photo of PK with Trail Angels.) There was one other hiker there -- George! He had gotten a ride to the hostel from further south on the PCT and was recovering from the heat. On Sunday, our zero day, we each indulged our weaknesses: he drank a giant bottle of root beer; I read both the LA and San Diego papers.
posted by peterkirby at
2:51 PM
