u/numbershikes

• https://app.watchduty.org/i/110721

• PCTA trail map: https://arcg.is/14n0Hv1

• https://closures.pcta.org/closure/ui2ueehPbbUoBsdu5lyQ

>The Grasshopper Fire is burning east of the PCT on the Mount Hood National Forest. There are multiple county evacuation levels along the PCT near the fire, though the PCT remains open. > >Hood River County has issued a Level 2 - BE SET Evacuation Warning that overlaps sections of the PCT. The PCT remains open, but hikers are to be advised that conditions can change quickly. Please regularly check for updates and have a back-up plan ready if hiking through this area. > >Clackamas County has issued a Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation alert in coordination with the California Incident Management Team 6 that is battling the Grasshopper Fire. This alert is for the Mount Hood corridor, from Rhododendron east through Government Camp and surrounding areas of the Mount Hood National Forest. The area extends north to the Hood River County line and east to the Wasco County line.

CORRECTION: The update on WD says that the control line is from Harts Pass Rd, not from Harts Pass itself. That likely means it's not the entire distance from Deadhorse Pt to the Pass.

The Caltopo map in the image is available here.

The Ptarmigan (17,278 acres on Wednesday 8/5) continues to advance north, east, and south. So far there has been relatively little movement west toward the PCT.

A "control line," in general terms, is a line that is supposed to stop a wildfire.

Excerpt from the Wednesday, Aug 5, 9:52 am update on Watch Duty:

>Construction of control line between Harts Pass Road and Deadhorse Point is progressing and will tie in with the Rattlesnake Trailhead. From the east, crews are advancing control line from Yellow Jacket SnoPark toward Rattlesnake Trailhead to complete the connection.

The image (Caltopo map) shows VIIRS hotspots and the Ptarmigan perimeter as of 8/4/26, with a red line for the described control line from Harts Pass to Deadhorse Point, Rattlesnake TH, and the SnoPark.

Also shown is the West Fork Methow River Trail (mile 2,612), which is the southern end of the current PCT closure; Rock Pass (mile 2,642), which is approximately the same latitude as the fire's current southern edge; and the northern terminus (mile 2,656). The PCT runs north/south on the left.

Links:

• PCTA trail closures page: https://closures.pcta.org/closure/hHoU3938k3tT98vfXrV4
• PCTA trail map: https://arcg.is/4TbXX0
• Watch Duty: https://app.watchduty.org/i/109195
• Official closure order page from OkaWen NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts/ptarmigan-fire-closure-methow-valley-ranger-district-0
• Caltopo: https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=48.92896,-120.66948&z=12&b=mbt&o=r&n=0.26&a=modis_mp
• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/waowf-ptarmigan-fire
• Official incident page on fb: https://www.facebook.com/ptarmiganfireinfo2026/ (requires fb login for anything past the most recent few posts)

Haven't seen any product announcements from Spot yet and a r/ul search for "Spot 360" turns up nil. It's listed as a new arrival / preorder on rei.com here.

According to the REI listing it's 4.48 oz, sells for $300, and has an inReach Mini form factor. For comparison, the inReach Mini 3 listing says $450 and 4.31 oz.

This post isn't specifically ultralight, but seems consistent with the "trails" post category, and the route (in season) appears well suited to sub-10 lb kits.

Tbc, this is a new route, but it is not new trail: it is a collection of existing paths. But imo in this case that doesn't make it any less interesting. The person who pieced it together, Donovan “Iceman” Rice, is attempting a thruhike of it right now.

Caltopo map: https://caltopo.com/m/A561NRQ

Project site: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/

GPX download (bottom of page): https://greatcoloradoroute.com/route

FAQ: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/about

Brief descriptions of each of the 32 sections: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/sections

>Route Stats > >* 1,700 miles >* 381,000 feet of gain (13 Everests) >* 32 Sections >* 3 National Parks >* 2 National Monuments >* All 11 of Colorado’s National Forests >* 29 Wilderness Areas >* 8 Wilderness Study Areas >* 13 Fourteeners >* 47 Thirteeners >* Seasonal Window: May through October (depends on section) >* Anticipated Completion time: 4 months.

Tbc, this is a new route, but it is not new trail: it is a collection of existing paths. But imo in this case that doesn't make it any less interesting. The person who pieced it together, Donovan “Iceman” Rice, is attempting a thruhike of it right now.

https://greatcoloradoroute.com/

Caltopo map: https://caltopo.com/m/A561NRQ

GPX download (bottom of page): https://greatcoloradoroute.com/route

FAQ: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/about

Brief descriptions of each of the 32 sections: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/sections

>Route Stats > >* 1,700 miles >* 381,000 feet of gain (13 Everests) >* 32 Sections >* 3 National Parks >* 2 National Monuments >* All 11 of Colorado’s National Forests >* 29 Wilderness Areas >* 8 Wilderness Study Areas >* 13 Fourteeners >* 47 Thirteeners >* Seasonal Window: May through October (depends on section) >* Anticipated Completion time: 4 months.

The PCT, which is the magenta N/S line at the left of the image, is currently closed from mm2,612.7 to the border, according to the PCTA trail closures page. The same page also indicates that the West Fork Methow trail is closed. That means that currently the northernmost exit point is probably Rainy Pass (mm2,594.3) east into Mazama.

Watch Duty currently reports 14,047 acres and 0% containment. The image is from the PCTA trail map as of 8/1 with the IRWIN, VIIRS, and YTD NIFC perimeters layers on. The red and yellow dots are hotspots recently observed by satellites.

The southern perimeter now has a straight shot to the PCT near mm2,644 through the heavily forested Rock Creek valley, though the treeline is ~1/2 mile east of the trail. The eastern half of that valley already burned in the 2022 Kid fire. It's unclear how thoroughly the area burned at that time, and how much fuel may remain.

This post has a few crowdsourced / unofficial / unendorsed ideas for alternate ways hikers can potentially reach the border on foot without hiking through any closures.

Links:

• PCTA trail closures page: https://closures.pcta.org/closure/hHoU3938k3tT98vfXrV4
• PCTA trail map: https://arcg.is/4TbXX0
• Watch Duty: https://app.watchduty.org/i/109195
• Official closure order page from OkaWen NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts/ptarmigan-fire-closure-methow-valley-ranger-district-0
• Caltopo: https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=48.92896,-120.66948&z=12&b=mbt&o=r&n=0.26&a=modis_mp
• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/waowf-ptarmigan-fire
• Official incident page on fb: https://www.facebook.com/ptarmiganfireinfo2026/ (requires fb login for anything past the most recent few posts)

The 8/1 update from the USFS incident management team says, in part:

>The Ptarmigan fire is expected to experience a significant weather event Saturday and Sunday with sustained winds up to 20 miles per hour, and gusts to 35. Four smokejumpers remain at the Pasayten Airstrip to activate protection measures for historic cabins. The fire has remained north of Soda Creek and is expected to push toward the northeast.

It would be a 300 acre limestone quarry on a 400+ acre site, the "Lone Pine Canyon Quarry," located right on the north side of Lone Pine Canyon Rd, which is the road that goes southeast out of Wrightwood toward Cajon Junction. The PCT parallels this and Hwy 2 for most of the way between Cajon Pass and Vincent Gap / the foot of Mt Baden-Powell.

The mine would be licensed to operate for 150 years. Sounds like plenty of Wrightwood locals aren't very happy about it, for a variety of reasons.

The PCT is just up the ridge to the south of the road, less than a mile crow distance. The proposed site is about 1.5 miles northwest of where the PCT crosses Swarthout Canyon Rd. Here's a Google Map with a pin at the coordinates from one of their government filings. The quarry would be on the north side of the road on that ridge.

For maps of the proposed surface mine site, see pages 7-9 from this planning document (PDF), also part of their government filings, which are linked from this ca.gov site: https://ceqanet.lci.ca.gov/2026030881

Here's the page for organizing against the mine (also linked above): https://www.lonepinecanyonprotectionalliance.org/

According to that .org, the next community meeting about this is on August 6 in San Bernardino at 385 N. Arrowhead Ave. Thanks to u/Meant4the60s for mentioning it in this comment.