Pacific Crest Trail: Mile 110 to 118

Gary hiking through the flowered meadow close to
Warner Springs Resort. We started Sobo in the mountains
in the background.

Section B
Lost Creek Road to Warner Springs - Sobo
Miles: 8
Hiking with: Gary Driggs

Lodging: Warner Springs Resort, Warner Springs, CA. Ok…I manage hotels so I look at hotels differently than most people. Nothing bothers me more than hotel employees that act like they wish you weren’t there but I will try and be objective with Warner Springs. I’ve stayed here two different times while hiking the PCT. Both times I called the hotel several times and was never able to talk with someone who would reserve a room for me – I know it doesn’t sound credible but it’s true. Both times I finally gave up and booked the room on Expedia – which I hate to do because I know that 30% of what I’m paying will go to Expedia as a commission where I would prefer it to go to the hotel. Both times upon arriving they were very friendly at the front desk and at the front gate. Both times we stayed in the older Casitas which were spacious but a little run down (Super 8 quality bed/bath/carpet - older & worn). For $106/night in the middle of nowhere I would say this is an OK deal. About 1 week after my stay I got a letter in the mail from the Warner Springs Resort that was a receipt for a $10 “resort fee”. This is fraud – if they were going to charge me a “resort fee” they should have told me when I checked in. I called the hotel politely about 3 times with promises of getting a return call from the person that handles this – no call back. Finally I called my credit card company and told them I did not approve the charge and they removed it from my bill - which means they will suck the $10 back out of the Warner Springs Resort’s bank account. Would I stay there again – yes, but I’m irritated because they could be so much better and there is no other hotel within 45 minutes.

Car Rental: Hertz Car Rental – Imperial County Int’l Airport, El Centro, CA

Dining: Warner Springs Golf Grille, Warner Springs CA. This was OK. During slow times at the Warner Springs Resort this is the only restaurant open for lunch. We never ate dinner or breakfast at the resort.

Start: We drove a car up Lost Creek Road (paved) and watched the GPS to where the trail came the closest to the road. There happened to be a pullout on the roadside where we parked and there was a faint trail leading up to the trail 30’ uphill.

End: Mile 110 at Hwy 79 near Warner Spring Resort. A PCT sign is posted alongside the road and the shoulder is extra wide to allow for cars to park alongside the road. We were the only car when we parked early in the morning (sunrise) but when we picked up our car around 10 am there were 4 other cars parked there.

People along the trail: We saw no an ex-through hiker at CS115 (Camp Site at mile 115). There were a group of Australians attempting an ambitious through hike – 30 miles/day. I never met the group but had heard they were very macho – ex-ironmen/women. The hiker we met at this campsite was ripped (no fat – lots of muscle). He said he had enough of hiking every day that he was just going to tour around the west coast and hike in certain areas. In my opinion it was impressive he came this far. It seems that through hiking and long distance hiking takes a certain type of patience and mental preparation and is not for everyone.

Description: We were initially going to drive to the PCT on Chihuahua Valley Road but the road was blocked off. This would have put us at mile 127 which would have been a perfect distance after a long 20 miles from Fuller Ridge to I-10 the previous day. However there was a locked gate on the road and a no trespassing sign which we obeyed. After looking at the maps and reading Shem’s book a little more I think there is a way around this as Chihuahua Road is very well maintained where it crossed the PCT at mile 127. So came down to Lost Valley Road and started at mile 118 which shortened our hike to 8 miles.

This was an interesting stretch of trail as it transitioned from the high desert to the lower flowering meadows common around Warner Springs. Within 2 miles the trail crosses the Agua Caliente Creek and from this point on you’re never too far from water. Once we crossed Hwy 79 we went through a large field of stomach high yellow flowers with lots of bees….no worry though as the bees were occupied with the blossoms and paid no attention to us temporarily interrupting their feast.