[pct-l] east end of section D - trail conditions

[David Hough on pct-l]

Section D from Sharpless Ranch Road to Acorn Trail is
free of trees and rocks, but there is a lot of brush 
that is thinking about overgrowing the trail in spots,
which I noticed when hiking in shorts.     The worst
is in fire areas.     

One section is the first two miles to the west of
Sharpless Ranch Road.    The worse section is from
Gobblers Knob to Wright Mountain, and part of the 
trail tread is eroding away in spots in a burn area.

I encountered a bighorn sheep near Wright Mountain.
I also enjoyed making a loop with the PCT by
 walking up over the summit of Wright
Mountain (which is densely wooded, with I think
some white fir, which I hadn't seen before so far
south) and just west of that one stands at the top
of the enormous slide that constantly threatens
Wrightwood.

The amount of geologic uplift must be phenomenal to
force such crumbly mountains so high.    There's
scarcely a solid rock face to be found hereabouts.
The arroyo of Sheep Creek is very impressive where
it runs through Wrightwood.

I ran into only one late through-hiker named Cole.

My walk ended on a flat note when I didn't notice
the condition of one of my tires and drove down
a rough 4WD road on a rim until I could change the
tire.     Fortunately I was able to change the
tire by myself... and only broke off one stud.

If you drive up Sheep Creek Truck Road (as the Sembs
recommend) or Sharpless Ranch Road, just remember
AAA isn't much interested in helping you if you get
stuck.     Fortunately the cell phone service is
excellent in the Lytle Ridge/ Blue Ridge area.