#etna summit

[pcttrailsidereader]

A most ephemeral PCT mile post David Hough encountered just north of Etna Summit in early July.  He returned several hours later to find it inadvertently scattered by passing equestrians.

This area of the PCT, north of Seiad Valley and on to Mt. Ashland receives little attention on this website.  Most photos that we receive are at the California/Oregon border sign . . . which is does an injustice to this section blessed by some amazing crest walking and abundant views of Mt. Shasta.

David reported that “the wildflowers were FANTASTIC. In a normal year, thru-hikers probably miss the peak of the season.”

[pcttrailsidereader]

Monte Dodge walked Section P ( Dunsmuir to Etna Summit ) in late October.  He said that that it “was a lot of new trail to me as much of it didn’t exist on my 1977 thru-hike.  Clear, sunny skies and few hikers. Solo solitude, no Bigfoot, not even a deer.  Lots of bear scat. Heavenly trip.”

He took several photos of old signs slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature.

[pcttrailsidereader]

My friend and hiking partner, Bruce Johnston, sent me this photo taken by a night ops firefighter while working in the area of Etna Summit on August 24th.  Note the PCT emblem on the tree.  Certainly an excellent reason to close the trail. 

[pcttrailsidereader]

Russians in the news

I just returned from a loop through the Russian Wilderness that included a day on the PCT.  The sheer number of thru hikers on the trail were reminiscent of the first hundred miles of walking north of the Mexican border back in April. While on the PCT, I talked with some three dozen thru hikers about their experience this year. This year, as has been widely reported, the great PCT migration north was interrupted by snow. Most hikers I spoke with left the trail shortly after Kennedy Meadows (Cottonwood Pass or Kearsarge Pass being the most common exits) and rejoined at Donner Summit or Sierra City or Belden (some times Chester or even Castella). Those that crossed Forester Pass noted that the conditions were much more extreme than they were prepared to tackle. Not a single one of these hikers had navigated the full High Sierra.  Several noted that it had been a test to walk more than 10 miles a day given the snow and the need to search for safe water crossings . . . so they didn’t expect many who had persevered to reach Northern California for a while yet.

(Photo credit: Gabi aka ‘Forward’ and Dave aka ‘Aps’ . . . see their blog at www.thirst4adventure.com)

The Russian Wilderness is one of the real gems of Northern California.  For most PCT hikers this 18.5 mile stretch of trail will be a total and pleasant surprise. After a climb up from Carter Meadows Summit (6,160′) the trail crests at about 7,300 feet and quickly emerges into a landscape of glacier-carved granite crags similar to the Sierra Nevada. The PCT hugs the east side of the u-shaped South Russian Creek valley for the next six miles. The trail then continues its transit of the Russian Mountains overlooking the Scott River drainage to the east with Mt. Shasta and Mt. Eddy dominating the further view . . . before dropping down to Etna Summit (5,960′).

(Photo credit: Gabi and Dave . . . www.thirst4adventure.com)

When I first walked this stretch of trail some 18 years earlier, we lingered so long on the stretch high above the South Russian Creek that we ran out of daylight before we rounded the steep canyon wall and could begin looking for a place to jam a tent and three desperate hikers.  The 2014 Whites Fire cleared out the rather impenetrable underbrush and, on this walk, revealed just how steep a slope we had chosen for our bivouac.

This time, we diverted from the PCT to follow a section of the Bigfoot Trail past more of the 20 named lakes in the Wilderness (the PCT really only passes one, Paynes Lake) . . . Syphon Lake, stunning Russian Lake, and tranquil Waterdog Lake.  Perhaps this will be an adventure that will draw thru-hikers back for a closer look on another day.

(Photo credit: Gabi and Dave)

[pcttrailsidereader]

While much of the world was locked down during the first year of the pandemic, Jackson Parell and Sammy Potter were busy planning their escape. The Stanford University students had weathered shared coronavirus infections and quarantines. And after spending months cooped up in online classrooms, they were itching to break free.

They decided to walk the Calendar Year Triple Crown . . . walking the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and the PCT in a single calendar year. They started at the southern terminus of the AT on January 1, 2021 and finished on October 22 at Etna Summit in Northern California.

Following their beginning at Springer Mountain in Georgia, Parell and Potter bounced between trails over the next 295 days in order to chase the best conditions. When the snow became too deep on the AT in February, they transferred to the CDT in New Mexico, and shortly after started southbound on the PCT in Kennedy Meadows, CA. After reaching the Mexican border on the PCT, they traveled east to finish up the northern portion of the AT. The rest of the CDT followed, and finally, Potter and Parell ended their journey on that northern stretch of the PCT. Why there you might ask? And, how'd it go? We refer to their recent Instagram post for the explanation:

THE LAST 40 MILES OF THE CYTC... are different than we expected! But maybe we should’ve seen that coming? Earlier this year (July 5th), while hiking northbound on the PCT, we had to go AROUND a 39.4 mile stretch of trail in Northern California between Scott Mountain Summit trailhead to Etna Summit trailhead due to a fire that shut down the section. That story itself warrants its own post (spoiler: we had to run from an oncoming wall of smoke), but essentially, that meant we “skipped” 40 miles of trail. Obviously, that’s not gonna cut it for a Calendar Year Triple Crown, so to connect our foot steps, thus completing our thru hike of the PCT (and thus of the entire CYTC), we knew we would have to come back and complete that section. Buuuuuut as luck would have it, that section of trail is now CLOSED once again for a totally different fire!! So what does this mean? We’re finishing with a road walk to put the final piece of the puzzle in, creating a continuous footpath from Mexico to Canada on the PCT. A bizarre ending to an even more bizarre journey.