Pacific Crest Trail: Northern California. Jeffrey P. Schaffer
environment with a great deal of care. One consideration is where to camp. Set up camp at least 100 feet away from lakes and streams (200+ feet is better) to prevent water contamination and damage to protective shore and bank vegetation. Also, try to camp at least 100 feet or more from trails. Avoid the fragile sod of meadows, lake shores, and stream banks. You’ll sleep better on a forest floor: it tends to harbor fewer mosquitoes than found in wet areas, and you will stay warmer and drier if you sleep under the trees rather than in the open. The forest retains heat better, tends to have drier ground, and certainly has less nighttime condensation. Once you have selected your campsite, minimize your impact on it. Don’t clear away brush, level the ground, cut trenches, or build a fire ring. Don’t destroy, deface, or carve up trees, shrubs, or any other natural or cultural features.
16 Litter and food scraps not only are unsightly intrusions on a wilderness experience, but also are an unnatural food source that attracts animals—bears and rodents in particular. Your food source in the long run is detrimental to the well-being of these animals. All trash, including cans, bottles, metal foil, tampons, disposable diapers, toilet paper, orange peels, apple cores, etc. must be packed out. Do not burn or bury trash or scatter organic wastes. Carry plastic bags for trash. An old cliché is still true: If you can pack it in, you can pack it out.
17 Chemicals found in both biodegradable and nonbiodegradable soaps and detergents pollute backcountry lakes and streams. Pollution by organic wastes has led to bacteria spreading through many lakes and streams, so you should bring your water to a boil, or treat it with chemicals, or—most conveniently—purify it with a water filter. Unfortunately, our own bodies, as carriers of bacteria, contribute to the bacterial population. Keep the bacterial count low by cleaning pots, washing clothes, and bathing yourself—at least 100 feet away from any body of water. On the trail, soap is unnecessary and is best left at home. You can let the toughest of the baked-on food accumulate and then clean your pots thoroughly when you get home. To eliminate the need for pot scrubbing, as well as the weight of pots, a stove, and fuel, you could eat cold meals, and indeed, many trekkers have hiked the entire PCT this way.
18 Proper disposal of human waste is another serious environmental consideration. Pick a spot at least 50 yards away from any trail, camping area, meadow, stream, or lake. Dig a hole about 6-8 inches deep and 8-10 inches across. After use, put the toilet paper in a plastic bag; don’t bury it. Cover the hole with the soil and duff you removed, and make the site blend in with the surroundings. Women should not burn or bury tampons or sanitary napkins, and parents should not burn or bury disposable diapers. They are difficult to burn and require years to decompose. Pack them out in a plastic bag. If you have a large group, make a latrine site, then thoroughly cover it when you leave.
19 Wildfires are caused by lightning strikes and human stupidity. The first is not anything you can prevent; the second is completely under your control. If you must build a fire, use only dead wood lying on the ground, and build a fire no larger than you actually need, in an already existing fire ring. Put it out at least ½ hour before you are ready to leave, adding water to it and stirring the ashes. In the High Sierra, fires usually are banned at elevations above 9000 feet. At a few popular backcountry lakes camping and/or campfires are banned, and these are mentioned in the text.
Animal and Plant Problems on the PCT
If you hike the entire California PCT, you’ll see dozens of bird species. You’ll also pass by dozens of mammal species, but will see very few, except for deer, marmots, pikas, and squirrels, particularly the nearly ubiquitous California ground squirrel. However, the animals are around; just camp near a spring in southern California, and you’ll hear quite a flurry of activity during the night. Without a tent, you may hear or feel toads and mice traversing around or over you, and a scorpion or two may get under or, worse, into your sleeping bag. The rodents are harmless, although they can carry fleas that transmit diseases. What follows is a brief synopsis of animal and plant problems you can face on the PCT.
Poison Oak
Some botanists have claimed that there are places in the chaparral belt, stretching from Southern California’s coastal plains north through Sierran foothills, where poison oak is the single most common plant! In some locations, optimal conditions allow the waist-high shrub to assume the proportions of a small tree, or a thick, climbing vine. Certainly, many PCT travelers would agree that, with the possible exceptions of flies or mosquitos, poison oak is the most consistent nuisance along the trail in California. The allergic rash it causes in most people leads, at worst, to a few days of insane itching and irritation. It may, however, completely incapacitate a luckless few.
Poison-oak dermatitis is best managed by avoidance, and avoidance is best accomplished by recognition of the plant, in all phases of its life cycle: In spring and summer, it puts forth shiny green leaves, each divided into three oval, lobed leaflets, which, even on the same plant, exhibit an unusual variety of sizes. Toward fall, the leaves and stems turn reddish, and the small whitish flowers become smooth berries. In winter and early spring, when its leaves are gone, identification is most difficult: look for gray-dusty bark on stems, with smooth green, red-tipped new growth, and possibly some white-green berries left over from the previous season.
Avoid touching any part of the plant in any season—all parts contain an oily toxin that will, in a few days, lead to an allergic reaction where it has penetrated the skin. If you do brush against the shrub, wash the area immediately. Water helps to inactivate the toxin, and alcohol helps to extract the oil from skin, as does soap. Try to avoid spreading the oil by rubbing, however: because it takes a few minutes to an hour to fully penetrate the skin, you might actually spread the dermatitis by rubbing the oil around, without washing. Better yet, avoid exposure entirely by wearing loose, long-sleeved clothing, tucked into boot tops. But beware—poison-oak oil on clothing can, hours later, be wiped onto the skin, with toxic results. If you must wear shorts, try applying a commercial barrier cream, which catches the oil before it can reach your skin. Above all, avoid smoke from burning poison oak, and never eat any of the plant—fatal internal reactions have occurred.
If you do develop the itchy, red, blistering, weeping rash of poison-oak dermatitis, console yourself with the knowledge that it will be gone in a week or so. In the meantime, try not to scratch it—infection is the biggest hazard. Use calamine lotion, topical hydrocortisone cream and oral benadryl for itch relief. Severe allergic reactions, characterized by trouble breathing, dizziness, or swelling around the eyes or mouth, should be treated promptly by a doctor.
Waterborne Microscopic Organisms
Many of the PCT’s springs, streams, and lakes have clear water, but what you can’t see might make you ill. The microscopic organisms probably are far more threatening than virtually any black bear you’ll meet on the trail. One microscopic organism is Giardia lamblia, which causes giardiasis (jee-ar-dye-a-sis). Although giardiasis can be incapacitating, it is not usually life-threatening. After ingestion by humans, Giardia organisms normally attach themselves to the small intestine, and disease symptoms usually include diarrhea, increased gas, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, and bloating. Weight loss may occur from nausea and loss of appetite. These discomforts may last up to six weeks. Most people are unaware that they have been infected and return home from trips before the onset of symptoms. If not treated, the symptoms may disappear on their own, only to recur intermittently over a period of many months. Other diseases may have similar symptoms, but if you drank untreated water, you should suspect giardiasis and so inform your doctor. If properly diagnosed, the disease is curable with prescribed medication.
There are several ways for you to treat raw water to make it relatively safe to drink. The treatment most certain to destroy Giardia is to bring your water up to a boil. Chemical disinfectants such as iodine tablets or chlorine drops may not be as reliable, although they work well against most waterborne bacteria and viruses that cause disease. However, they are not effective against a certain intestinal parasite, Cryptosporidium, which can occur at water holes fouled by cattle. The most convenient safeguard is to use a portable water purifier. While relatively expensive and somewhat bulky, it gives you safe water in a minute or two—no chemical taste and no waiting for chemicals to act or for boiled water to cool.
Mosquitoes and Other Invertebrates
“Truth bids me to say