Apr-May 2011, Southern California Pacific Crest Trail

Itinerary, with resupply locations in boldface

35 nights wild camping including 6 (17%) on the trail itself, 1 night camped at trail angel, 7 nights in motels.

Wed, Apr 20, fly into San Diego from Reno, take bus to Campo, camp south of town
Thu, Apr 21, Lake Morena campground, mile 21
Fri, Apr 22, morris meadow, mile 39
Sat, Apr 23, oriflamme canyon upstream of road, mile 57
Sun, Apr 24, scissors crossing, mile 77
Mon, Apr 25, just north of Barrel Springs, mile 102
Tue, Apr 26, Warner Springs (room at resort), mile 109
Wed, Apr 27, before Tule Spring, mile 133
Tue, Apr 28, highway 74, mile 151
Fri, Apr 29, Fobes spring, mil 166
Sat, Apr 30, before strawberry Junction (ferocious winds send stake flying through the tarp like a missile), mile 181
Sun, May 1, Idyllwild (Idyllwild Inn motel), mile 184
Mon, May 2, (on trail) descending from fuller ridge, mile 196
Tue, May 3, whitewater preserve, mile 218
Wed, May 4, forested flats, mile 235
Thu, May 5, before deer springs, mile 254
Fri, May 6, Big Bear Lake (motel 6), mile 260-274
Sat, May 7, "
Sun, May 8, before crab flats road, mile 289
Mon, May 9, past highway 173, mile 314
Tue, May 10, (on trail) before cajon junction, mile 341
Wed, May 11, near Acorn trail, mile 362
Thu, May 12, after Guffy camp (with day trip to Wrightwood), mile 366
Fri, May 13, before crather's creek on detour route (high desert national recreational trail)
Sat, May 14, near Sulfer Springs Camp, mile 406
Sun, May 15, (on trail) after Mill Creek Summit, mile 423
Mon, May 16, (on trail) after Soledad Canyon, mile 445
Tue, May 17, Agua Dulce (camped at trail angel), mile 454
Wed, May 18, (on trail) at San Francisquito Canyon Road, mile 478
Thu, May 19, Bear Camp, mile 505
Fri, May 20, Cottonwood Creek bridge, mile 535
Sat, May 21, oak creek, mile 558
Sun, May 22, Mojave (motel 6), mile 558-568
Mon, May 23, "
Tue, May 24, past Golden Oaks Spring, mile 589
Wed, May 25, Landers campground, mile 610
Thu, May 26, bird spring pass, mile 632
Fri, May 27, before walker pass, mile 649
Sat, May 28, before spanish needle creek, mile 669
Sun, May 29, past Munter Creek, mile 696
Mon, May 30, (on trail) past Monache Meadow (with stop at Kennedy Meadows), mile 719
Tue, May 31, Dutch Meadow, mile 743
Wed, Jun 1, Lone Pine (dow villa hotel), via mulky pass, then long walk down road

Comments

Start date for southern California section should be Thursday or Friday, to avoid hitting towns on weekends when inns might be full.
Always bring earplugs, even if planning to wild camp every night. Always the possibility of changing plans, and being forced to sleep with noisy neighbors (e.g. motels with thin walls). Of course, this is not really a lesson learned, but rather a lesson relearned for the umpteenth time, after being forgotten/ignored for the umpteenth time. Perhaps the real lesson is to reduce the weight/space of the earplugs to the absolute minimum, so as never again to be tempted to leave them behind. Don't need more than 1 pair, as these are strictly an emergency item.
Always bring Grivel spiders or La Sportiva hobnails if any possibility whatsoever of ice.
PCTA maps much more readable than those of the PCT Atlas. Tom Harrison map @ 1:42,240 (purchased at Ranger's Office in Idyllwild) useful when Fuller Ridge snow-covered.
Socks wearing out at 400 miles rather than 600, perhaps due to change in gait. Holes in heels, while remainder of sock is still thick.
4 liter MSR Dromlite failed due to plastic opening pulling away from fabric at seam. 6 liter MSR Dromedary much stronger, due to heavier fabric. Avoid holding up fully loaded bladder by handle. Instead, put finger inside opening while filling, and rest bladder on ground when pouring water out.
3/4" side-release for sternum strap cracked. Replaced with spare in repair kit. Bring two spares in future.
If stakes pull out in high wind and guys are attached via clove hitches, then stake can swing back like a missile and puncture tarp. So don't elevate tarp if very strong winds. Just stake the four corners to the ground, with heavy rocks on the stakes, then crawl under tarp for protection from rain.
Silfix cures much more rapidly than Silnet. Feature, not problem. Worked well in repairing tear in tarp due to windblown stake.
Always bring sunblock for tip of nose. Another lesson relearned.
Newest version of OPSaks more durable (but also heavier) than older versions.
Pour water from bottle into bladder before going to sleep on cold nights, then put bladder under other gear and near head. Bottle freezes more quickly than bladder.
Double-check maps/guides before leaving, since they are not on packing list and hence are easy to forget.
Be sure to rinse salt off face at end of hot day, to avoid salt burns. More lessons forgotten and relearned.
Be careful about sitting on or otherwise crushing bugbivy cordlock. Bring spare cordlock. (Plenty of cordlocks on stuff sacks for emergency spares.)
Don't spend night with trail angels or take anything from them other than water and perhaps a shower and opportunity to wash socks in sink. Get in and get out and avoid the screwy vibes. If possible, avoid trail angels completely. Hikertown appears to be the only necessary trail angel, due to the water situation. Hikertown also has the best vibes of all the trail angels.
Other thru-hikers (especially younger one) also a potential source of screwy vibes: hiking as competitive sport; social pecking order based on how fast a person hikes; anxiousness to finish, as if trail were something unpleasant to be gotten over with as soon as possible; etc.