PCT I-10 to Big Bear and snow?/ Snow creek PCT report.

[Backwoods]

My next PCT section is I-10 to Big Bear hopefully farther if the weather permits. My resupply packs are on standby if needed. Anybody ever do that section this time of year? I just compleated the short snow'y and wind'y 29 mile 243/Black mt rd - Snow creek - I-10 section and spent at least 3 hour's halfway up to my knee's 4 hour's up to my knee's and a hour over my knee's hiking in snow . I must admit it was a good calf workout postholing for hour's with a 23Lb backpack on realy work's them calf's diffrent from my normal hiking. And the wonderfull windstorm we had Thur's night was a great test for my Big Agnes Fly creek 2 tent at 5400ft in the middle of the trail becouse it got dark becouse I kept going way to late looking for a flat spot out of the wind that I never found (I know better but this trail is so dam flat and the snow slow'd me down so much it was driving me crazy and I just wanted to lose some elavation) my tent would complety flatten over me when a big gust hit then spring back up. It was also blowing pretty steady around 20-30mph It would get calm and I would think hold on she's building up for a big one and that train would come howling up the side of the MT and BAMMM I'm smiling thinking back on it not that I would ride out a wind storm like that on the side of a MT again if I dident have to but it's a good memory. I just took my tent out a hour ago and checked her over for damage and she's fine I dont how it was crazy windy. Good tent super lite and super strong. Was I trying to Video some of this fun evening to put in my next video You bet ya I was. I'll work on that later this week I'm not sure what I got it was pretty crazy and dark. I was out of water and needed to melt snow it took around 30 min's for less than 1L in my Ti Jet boil no dinner tonight. That Snow Creek PCT could be 1/2 as long and still not be overly steep It seem's like your not even going down and even though I was looking at a 6000ft desent I ended up with 5499ft climbing on my GPS including the road walk. Now that I'm done I'm glad I had the challange of the snow and wind I think that section would be a bit dull and irratating in more favorable weather. I was expecting the trail to be realy overgrown from reports I have read but found it in pretty good shape compaird to some of the sections of PCT I have compleated so far there were a few blow downs up above 5k and a few spots that had bushes I had to creep around with dropoff's next to them but not what I expected maby The snow coverd the bad stuff ? I just turned sideways and powerd through it by my standards the trail was in pretty good shape. And I only found 3 tick's on me down by the bottom. Not bad for down low. I was looking down from the trail wondering why there was a truck blocking the RD down below I stoped at the water fountain and filled up seem'd nice that the water people put it there for us hikers then I walked down the RD there was a gard in the truck he was intrested in my hike a nice enough guy then I walked down the RD a bit more to a locked gate went under that took some pic's and wonderd what kind of water place need's a locked gate and a paid gaurd road block??????? Great mind's at work. I'm at PCT Mile 209 and would like to get back on the trail by the end of next week if it dosen't snow anymore. Take advantage of my new snow calf pain it would be a shame to waist this fine pain. I have all the book's and info on the PCT but none of it realy touches on the snow'y subjects that nut's like me that start too early need to know. Anybody done it and what's it like? Thank's Backwood's

[lilbitmo]

Yes Backwoods, I've done that section in 2007 with winter conditions very like the one we are having. With a bivy at mile marker 228 we made Highway 38 the next evening - my guess is that you will not reach snow on the first day unless you put in 25 miles from the 10 Freeway all the way to where you start coming up out of the Mission Creek Drainage at mile marker 237 (on PCT north bound maps) when you start to once again gain altitude. Before that you are in a canyon criss-crossing the creek for about 9+ miles. Because the range to the West is so large it grabs most of the snow and rain on a low percipatation year like we are having so the East side while it will get snow will be less on that side this year. What you will find if it's like the year I did it was some very slick snow early in the day and late in the day because of the heat/melt/thaw/refreeze cycle.

Once you are above 7,000 you might start getting deeper snow and the highest point back there is 8,200 feet as you head due west towars Fish Creek, then it turns east and north and it's here you start heading up again and I'm sure that you will get bigger patches of snow and deeper drifts, you have to go over two decent size ridges and it's easy to lose the trail under the snow on the second one, but chances are you'll find it if you walk down the road about 30 yards to the east near the Heart Bar Road. We lost it late in the dark and just walked the 6 miles out to highway 38 because someone was waiting and we didn't want a full blown search to get started, they had called it in but it was called off when we popped out at Highway 38 one hour after our drop dead to call time.

As you get to the other side of Coon Creek Jump Off the going get's fairly easy, you can make great time from there to the highway crossing at Baldwin Lake Highway 18 it's 19+ miles but all rolling hills with no significant gains or losses.

How many day's do you plan to take from 10 Freeway to Big Bear?

[Backwoods]

lilbitmo it sound's better than I was thinking. It's 64 miles 11k elv gain I use craigs PCT planner http://www.pctplanner.com/plan.php I input my info and it figuers out the days between resupply point's it came out to 4.7 day's at 2mph 8 hour's a day add 30 min per 1000ft gain I have been useing these numbers since campo and have been early every time so far. 3 days early campo to hwy 74. Better safe than sorry. So just becouse I dont take chances with time when it comes to being that remote and snow'y I'll bring 5 days supplys and shoot for around 4 day's. I'll bring MicroSpikes-Gators and No ice Axx? extra warm clothing and should be at about 30lb's So great if the weather holds I'll give it a few days melt a bit more and head out. There was a lot of snow up in the San J's last week alot more than I'v seen this season and alot more than I expected. I have Halfmiles PCT waypoints on my GPS also his maps on paper and my trailfinding has come along way in the past few months I would have been screwd 2 or 3 months ago in the snow the other day. so hppefully finding my way wont be a proublem. Thanks for the info Ill take all I an get. It's a safer PCT trail than the San Jacintos from what I have been told ???

[lilbitmo]

Sounds like you have it well under control, looking forward to reading the next update, have fun, be safe, talk to you then