Diane's Big Adventures (and News)

Hiked on the PCT this weekend

I went for a hike on the PCT this weekend. I drove out to San Francisquito Road and hiked northbound on the PCT for 20 miles to Sawmill Campground. I camped there in the windy, cold campground.

There was a PCTA work crew there and they invited me for brownies and a warm campfire. This was appreciated. I enjoyed talking with the thru-hikers and trail workers around the fire.

I planned to hike back to my car in the morning but the trail crew offered to give me a ride back to my car so I could continue hiking north if I wanted. I decided to do that. I wanted to see the view into the Sespe Wilderness you get from Liebre Summit.

The weather was so cold! It went down to the teens with snow showers. I spent some time around the fire over breakfast watching the tops of the hills turn white. As I hiked north I gained altitude and soon was in the whiteness. It was really pretty.

It's a really pretty place up there in the Liebre mountains. The elevation is around 5000 feet. The grass was still green and wildflowers were blooming, although not in big carpets. There are interior live oaks, big cone spruce and these beautiful oak trees with soft leaves like you get back east. It's like an enchanted forest.

From the Liebre summit I could see into the backcountry I walked through last May to get to the PCT. I could see a little bit of Pyramid Lake and the Slide Mountain Lookout station. I could see the interesting rock formations that I think are near the Devil's Gateway. I think Bryan is considering having the Condor Trail go through Devil's Gateway. If it does, it looks like it would be spectacular.

At the spot where I turned around there was a thing called a guzzler. It was a fiberglass tank that was open on one end with a grippy interior surface so that small animals could go inside without slipping and drowning in the water. The water was collected by a corrugated roof over the tank. The roof was slanted and had a gutter at the lower end to funnel the water into the tank. It would be nice if there were guzzlers installed through the Los Padres so that we could have more access to water in drier places. Of course that will never happen. So maybe we should build these in our back yards so we can keep our gardens green with rain water.