schmalz wrote:Sounds great. Does section A enter Anza Borrego or any other state parks? (aka is it dog friendly?) I haven't spent enough time investigating that.
The cool thing about section A, besides its natural beauty, is that it doesn't require any overnight permits. Most of it is in either the Cleveland national forest, which while having four wilderness areas, only one is near the PCT (up Hauser canyon where no one really camps), Anza-Borrego state park, or BLM lands. The two sections I liked the best, Mt Laguna to Scissors crossing, and Scissors to Barrel springs, are mostly in Anza-Borrego:
Mt Laguna to Scissors can either be 36 or 30 miles, while Scissors to Warner/Barrel springs can be 32 or 24 miles. By far the easiest logistics in terms of both getting there and shuttling cars is Scissors to Warner springs. (To which Jim can attest in getting a ride so quickly.) Mt Laguna is more circuitous and time consuming, as well as expensive if you were to pay someone.
The slam dunk, easy-breezy trip would be to take off after work Friday down the I-15, get to WS in about 1.5 hrs and drop your car there or Barrel springs, get shuttled to Scissors by 7-8pm, camp like a hobo in the sketchy, creep-a-troid wash by the Scissors underpass (just kidding - there's hikers, trail angels and all sorts of activity since it's such a major crossroads - again, reference Jim's quick ride), and charge up the switchbacks into the San Felipe hills by 6am the next morning.
If you're only going to Barrel springs - which would be my suggestion - then you're looking @ 24 miles max. 3rd gate - the big stopping spot since it has a water cache and flat spaces for camping - is 13.7 miles and a 1.3k net gain to 3.6k from 2.3k @ Scissors. (There are dips and climbs that add to the gross total.) That would leave 10.3 miles for the second day, with another 1k gain to 4.6k @ the crest, and then a long, slow descent back to 3.5k @ Barrel.
Special note: even though 3rd gate has a water cache, it's for thru-hikers. That means you would need to carry enough water for the entire 24 miles, including dry camping @ dinner & breakfast. If you hike 2.5mph, that's 10 hours. The general rule-of-thumb for water consumption is 1 pint per hour or 1L per two hours during heavy exercise ie hiking. That means 5L just for yourself, + maybe 1-2L more for cooking, drinking at night, etc. Cali could carry her own water. Water is 2.2 lbs per liter, so you're looking at 15lbs or so of water alone. If it was only one night, and pretty warm, then the rest of your gear could be pretty minimal. Of course, you've got all that fancy photography equipment, so add that as well.
I don't know what your timing or active interest is, but if you're serious and have the time, the next week or so is going to be perfect. I was surprised at the amount of color from all the different cacti blooming, and that was before this storm hit. The herd has already gone through - now there are only smaller numbers leaving until maybe the first week of May, then it will be too hot & dry, so it will actually be pretty quiet.
In the future, I will probably do this hike again as a spring-time hike. Rather than start from the border & take 4 days, I would do either Laguna or San Felipe as one nighters. Or, I might even treat either as a very long day hike - take some bivy stuff in case of trouble, otherwise just hike on through in one day. I know Jim is probably chomping @ the bit to try out San Felipe.