Date: Friday, June 16th 2023
Day 28
Miles Hiked: 0
Mile 375.7 to 395.2 (Cooper Canyon trail camp)
- Trail: The Baden-Powell climb was definitely over-hyped. The trail is steep, but snow was avoidable until .7 before the summit, where there was a well-established boottrack cutting across the switchbacks. The summit itself was clear, as was the ridgeline on the way down. Wherever the PCT itself was still covered in high snowdrifts, there was a parallel trail (unofficial) on top of the ridge, about ten feet above the actual trail. The sketchiest part was the dirt scrambles on steep hillsides to avoid snow, not the snow itself. After Little Jimmy campground, the trail was entirely snow-free. A few miles of the PCT are closed to protect an endangered frog, but the section immediately before the closure (approaching Mt Williamson) was mostly washed away and what was left was overgrown with poodle-dog bush, so I started my road walk along Highway 2 about 1.5 miles early. The views were beautiful, and most of the highway section was still closed to vehicles. The Buckhorn Campground trail let me reconnect to the PCT, and I also got to see a giant pine that had burned to charcoal on its lower half but that had a spring flowing through its trunk and roots (very magical).
- Campsite: A pretty nice trail camp next to a big stream. It has a pit toilet, picnic tables, and bear boxes, all of which are nice to have. Sadly, no trash cans.
- People: Ran into the Fuller Ridge couple again shortly before the road walk, but I'm not sure where they ended up camping. They were behind on miles, so theg may have taken the road further to camp by the fire station. There's another guy ag this campground, but we haven't met before and he seems to want his solitude.
- Tomorrow: Hike until I find a good campsite 🏕️ There aren't any major climbs or environmental concerns between here and Acton, so it's more easygoing.