There are reports on Farout, saying there is a false trail near mm 202. Below here is where Robert Budinski was found in a ravine. Hikers are either trying to cut the large switchback or it could have been made when hikers had to come off the trail due to brush on the trail and come back up. Either way, this could be very dangerous for future hikers. The ravine is very steep in areas.
Private logging operations will be occurring near Jackson Meadows Reservoir in the area where the trail crosses Pass Creek Loop Rd. and Henness Pass Rd. Operations will be occurring along the PCT from mile 1184.5 – 1189. Please stay on the trail when passing through the area(s) of operation.
Just went through this area. From tentsite marker at mile 235 best advice is to follow washout to mile 227.2 and regain trail there.
NOBO/Mile 20.3 There is an old steel pipe/culvert that has corroded away resulting in a 12″wide x 24″deep x 8′ long hole across the trail. The grass is grown up on the trail here and it is very hard to see the hole (can easily be missed). This is an extreme danger to hikers and to horses.
From mile 2416 to 2429 going Sobo there’s no trail anymore. The erosion and land slides makes it hard to navigate through what there is left of this section. On the last 5 or 6 miles you’ll have to cross mission creek countless times to finally make it back to the trail.
PCTA has received reports of poor water quality at Golden Oaks Spring. We encourage people to use caution and filter or treat water sources along the PCT.
If you’re planning on skipping the northbound section from Highway74 and want to go directly go into the town of Idyllwild please read the following. Highway 74 and 243, beyond Herkey Creek Campground are extremely unsafe roads for hikers!
Either find a ride from Paradise Corner Cafe or start your re- route at Herkey Creek Campground, past Lake Hemet on Highway 74. At the back of the campground is an old roadbed the follows the creek, continue on the trail and you will see it go up towards the left. After another mile, it will bring you to May Valley Road which is dirt. Stay to the left in the fork of the road and continue approximately 3.5 miles until it brings you to Saunders Meadow Road. Go right on Saunders Meadow which will bring you into the town of Idyllwild.
There is steep, dangerous snow along the PCT on Mount San Jacinto, and in the mountains further north all the way to Canada.
If you don’t have previous steep snow experience, please seriously consider whether it’s a good idea for you to hike where snow is on the ground. Hikers in the past have died, and more have been seriously injured. There are many close calls on the trail in the area every year before the snow melts.
In 2020, Trevor Laher died after falling on snow during his thru-hike. Please read his father’s call for safety.
The specific snow and ice conditions change frequently. And people’s skill levels, equipment, fitness and risk tolerance also varies. Just because someone else did it, doesn’t mean you’ll be fine. Some PCT hikers are skilled mountaineers, some are beginner wilderness travelers.
Think conservatively and make sure you will be hiking in conditions comfortable for you.
Excerpt from our “When to hike the PCT” page:
“Don’t be fooled by “the desert.” The PCT often crosses high, seasonally snow-covered mountains in Southern California. You’ll pass ski resorts. Between each mountain range, the trail drops to low elevations and is usually snow-free. Higher elevations typically become snow-covered in the winter, possibly by late October or November, but sometimes not until January. Snow can remain an obstacle into early May, and new snow has been known to fall on Memorial Day weekend. Winter snow is usually deepest in the San Jacinto mountains above Idyllwild (widely, but especially Apache Peak, Antsell Rock, and Fuller Ridge), the San Bernardino mountains above Big Bear (especially south of Coon Creek Jumpoff), and the San Gabriel mountains along the Angeles Crest Highway near Wrightwood (especially on Mount Baden-Powell). At the southern end, Mount Laguna above San Diego gets periodic winter snow. On the northern end, the Piute Mountains between Tehachapi and Walker Pass can regularly be snow covered.”