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Lake Fire burns Pacific Crest Trail segment, forcing detours
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A Riverside City firefighter monitors a burnout operation along Jenks Lake Road Thursday afternoon at the Lake Fire.
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Stuart Palley for KPCC
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The Pacific Crest Trail was backdrop to the movie "Wild," about a woman who backpacks solo while confronting life's problems. The Trail has its own problems now.
A segment of the Pacific Crest Trail burned in the Lake Fire and has been closed indefinitely. That means hikers will need to find a way around the San Gorgonio Wilderness area, which is south of Big Bear.
Maps displayed by the Pacific Crest Trail Association show the burn area that overlaps the trail.
Endurance hikers trek the famed Pacific Crest Trail, usually from Mexico to Canada. Most have already passed through the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area below Big Bear.
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But southbound hikers will have to take a detour when they start arriving in October. It's just too dangerous.
"A lot of the trees that burned are still standing but they could fall at any time," said Teddi Boston, volunteer coordinator for the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association.
Boston hiked the trail border-to-border 39 years ago. She was 49 then, and was the first woman to hike the southbound route.
Hikers forced to detour around the burn area will miss giant pines, and the southernmost grove of aspens in California. Wildlife will also steer clear of the areas
"There won't be much of nature there for them to enjoy, it'll be just a black scarred area," Boston said.
She said hikers will most likely catch rides from Cabazon up to Onyx Summit before picking up the trail near Big Bear.
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