By Dave Duncan
The Pacific Crest Trail follows a very scenic ridge between the Squaw Valley Ski Resort and the Old Donner Summit Road trailhead south of Interstate 80. Panoramic views of Granite Chief Wilderness and amazing spring wildflowers make this area a hiking favorite.
In this section, the PCT passes along the south flank of Anderson Peak, a prominent, volcanic knob, atypical of Sierra granite. The south face of the peak is a talus slope consisting of Andesite, a hard volcanic rock. There are intrusions of a hard, white mineral in the trail base rock. These intrusions form several large hoodoos, an unusual sight in the Sierra and an indicator of the hardness of this rock.
It had been many years since a PCTA work party upgraded the trail near Anderson Peak and it needed work. Rocks on the steep talus slope had tumbled onto the trail; a section of trail had eroded to the underlying bedrock creating a steep, marginal crossing for horseback riders; brush had grown into the trail corridor; and the trail bench needed to be re-cut in several sections. Anderson Peak is far enough from trailheads to make a one-day project impractical; and because it’s on a dry ridge, logistics for a backcountry project were somewhat challenging.
PCTA volunteers in front of Benson Hut (L-R Matt Guziejka, Paul Grimm, Bill Holt, Laina Rose, Chris Fox, Cindy Whitaker and Dave Duncan)
There are two key ingredients for all PCTA projects, hardworking volunteers and cooperative partners. This year’s Anderson Peak backcountry backpack project had both a great group of volunteers and fantastic partners who made it possible. Along its 2,650 miles, the PCT passes through 25 National Forests, eight National Parks, five California State Parks and five Bureau of Land Management Districts, so we work with a great many government partners. Private landowners and other volunteer organizations are also key partners.
For the Anderson Peak project, our partners included the Tahoe National Forest, Back Country Horsemen of California’s Mother Lode Chapter, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort and the Sierra Club. PCTA projects always support the agency partner responsible for a given section of trail, in this case the Truckee Ranger District of Tahoe National Forest. The Back Country Horsemen Mother Lode Chapter provided our water. We based the project at the Sierra Club Benson Hut, a backcountry hut built by the club and a popular winter destination for skiers and snowshoers. Sugar Bowl Ski Resort gave us permission to use their service roads to access the trail, eliminating 1,000 feet of elevation change and two miles of climbing. Truckee Ranger District folks shuttled volunteers up to the PCT thru Sugar Bowl.
Back Country Horsemen, Motherlode Chapter riders Jerry Heitzler, Larry Raner and Mike Kohlbaker delivering water to Benson Hut.
We had seven hardworking volunteers for this five-day project. This size group allowed working in two teams. One group focused on clearing brush and repairing the trail tread, while the other alternated between cutting a bench into the base rock of the washed out section, clearing talus rocks and re-cutting the trail bench.
This was a backpack project so volunteers carried in their own gear, food and the tools and personal protective equipment provided by the PCTA. As a side note, there is no cost for participating in PCTA work projects and the PCTA provides all meals, if not reimbursement for food cost.
The PCT followss a ridge between Squaw Valley Ski Resort and Donner Pass Road.
The PCTA would like to thank our volunteers, agency partners, the Back Country Horsemen, Sugar Bowl and the Sierra Club for their contribution to a successful project. We are grateful to the Sierra Club’s Clair Tappaan Lodge for providing use of the Benson Hut for our crew. Note that the Clair Tappaan Lodge is a historic, hostel-style lodge located 1.5 miles west of the PCT trailhead on Donner Summit that provides hot meals, free showers and laundry, and access to its hot tub to the general public. It is a great place for resupply and layover that can be used by thru-hikers, section hikers or anyone else visiting the Donner Pass region. Also note that the Benson Hut and several other mountain huts are available for a nominal fee and can be booked through Clair Tappaan Lodge. This chain of huts along the PCT in the Tahoe region can be used for winter section skiing or snowshoeing on the PCT.
Anderson Peak to the right side of the image. Benson Hut is above the strip of timber just below the peak.
Wildflowers along the trail (Photography by Matt Guziejka shown above)