Sunny weather brought a large turnout for our hike on the PCT past Pilot Rock to the viewpoint and lunch spot at Babbit Gap.

This was one of those hikes that had a driving adventure before we started hiking. I hadn't led a group in this area since Pilgrim's Point which was pre-Covid. So we took Exit 6 off I-5 and drove up old Highway 99 under the overpass, then started looking for turnoffs. I stared at one for a while but then decided it had no obvious sign. So the caravan went another half mile up the road and found the sign for Cascade/Siskiyou Monument and Pilot Rock Road. The road is rough with some gaping potholes, but we slowly drove up looking for parking near the PCT. We found a wide grassing turnoff that was correct according to the Garmin, but that now had several private property signs posted. After assessing our situation, we decided to go for it and started the hike.

This section of the PCT started with a steady uphill until we came out into south-facing sunny hillsides with lots of spring wildflowers blooming, which you can see in the posted photos. Also, many colorful pollinators were photographed.

Something else that showed up in abundance, were the downed trees on the PCT and the trail up to Pilor Rock. Our AHG scouting group has agreed to take pictures of downed trees on the trail and send them to the Siskiyou Mountain Club so they can plan for trail clearing or notify another trail maintenance group.

Much of the PCT was through shaded forest that came out on a ridge with clear views of snow-covered Mt. Shasta (14,180') and Mt Eddy (9,037'). This is Babbit Gap, our lunch spot, with a brilliant view of Pilot Rock.

We had gotten separated from our visiting member, Texas Mike, who had taken the split-off trail up to Pilot Rock. He called me to let me know where he was and we met up with him on the PCT after we got our group photo up on the ridge.

Eight of us decided to go up to the base of Pilot Rock after lunch which added another 500' to the day's hike.

It was a beautiful, adventurous day with sunny, mild weather, the natural beauty of the wildflowers, and the clear views of the surrounding mountains and the impressive monolith which is Pilot Rock.

The large group hiked 5.2 miles with 500' of gain, while the smaller group that went, up to the base of Pilot Rock, accumulated 6.2 miles and 1,000' of gain.

BTW, no tickets on car windows, and none were towed away.

Happy Trail,
Rich