SummitPost.org

I was out hiking along portions of the PCT the past few days and got to wondering - Hiking north, when's the last time in CA the PCT crosses:

13,000ft? - Forester Pass
12,000ft? - Pinchot Pass
11,000ft?
10,000ft?
9,000ft?

Steve1215 wrote:this is a trick question! "when" implies a time dimension. PCT can be crossed at any time

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Only if the trail grants you the permission to cross it. While not as picky as mountains trails must still grant their permission for one to pass.

goddamned English majors...

Have at it
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/nz_usa/charts.html

the JMT part
http://www.pcta.org/images/elevation_new.jpg

12000 feet appears to be mather pass not pinchot

Thinking the last 9000 point in CA was somewhere at about Dicks Pass. 10000 was coming out of Kennedy Canyon just south of Sonora Pass.11,000 would be just north of Donohue Pass.

Scott M. wrote:Thinking the last 9000 point in CA was somewhere at about Dicks Pass. 10000 was coming out of Kennedy Canyon just south of Sonora Pass.11,000 would be just north of Donohue Pass.

Me thinks you are correct. At least that's what I came up with by perusing the maps the other night.

Ok, next:

What's the most difficult summit (by its easiest route) in CA that is both over 10,000ft in elevation and has at least 500ft of prominence?
The last qualifier will discount Castle Rock Spire, Thunderbolt, and Starlight. I have only a vague guess what the answer might be, btw. I'm curious what others might come up with...

Just off the top of my head... Clarence King?

Bob Burd wrote:What's the most difficult summit (by its easiest route) in CA that is both over 10,000ft in elevation and has at least 500ft of prominence?

Matthes Crest (5.6)?

Matthes Crest has only about 300ft of prominence. Clarence King (5.4) is possible, but it seems there could be others. I saw this one recently:


which got me thinking about it. It may or may not be a difficult summit, but unfortunately I was too tired to go up and check it out that day. It's about a mile south of Tryon Peak near Highland Lakes. Anybody been up there?

I was just looking over at the crumbly, overhanging volcanic things near Emigrant Wilderness yesterday. If that's the same kind of rock, I wouldn't want to be the one to figure out how difficult it is.

Bob Burd wrote:

Scott M. wrote:Thinking the last 9000 point in CA was somewhere at about Dicks Pass. 10000 was coming out of Kennedy Canyon just south of Sonora Pass.11,000 would be just north of Donohue Pass.

Me thinks you are correct. At least that's what I came up with by perusing the maps the other night.

The last 10,000-foot part of the PCT is actually just north of Sonora Pass, not south of it (it goes up to about 10,500' on the eastern slopes of Sonora Peak). Otherwise, the other answers are correct.....

Scott M. wrote:10000 was coming out of Kennedy Canyon just south of Sonora Pass.

Slight correction: the trail goes over 10,000ft a short distance north of Sonora Pass, while wrapping around the SE side of Sonora Peak.

As I was posting this, I noticed Iron Hiker got it in a few moments ahead of me...

Bob Burd wrote:

Scott M. wrote:10000 was coming out of Kennedy Canyon just south of Sonora Pass.

Slight correction: the trail goes over 10,000ft a short distance north of Sonora Pass, while wrapping around the SE side of Sonora Peak.

As I was posting this, I noticed Iron Hiker got it in a few moments ahead of me...

Right you are. I think, and it was way back in 1980 I hiked it, that you hardly get any higher than this all the way to Canada.

You guys did the Hermit - tougher than King?