The Brown Mountain section of the PCT was supposedly the most expensive portion of the PCT to build, due to all the dynamite and blasting it took to clear a path! We hiked this north part of Brown Mountain as a shuttle hike, leaving one car on a short nondescript Forest road (FS 525), and the other car up on Highway 140 where we started from, heading south.
The problem with doing this Brown Mountain hike as two separate shuttle hikes, North and South, (besides the shuttling) was having to bushwhack about a mile to get to the PCT from the end of Rd 525. Thick brush, crossing a ravine, and no clear trail all make this approach not recommended! Be sure to have your GPS with you.
Access: From Ashland, head out Dead Indian Memorial Rd, past Hyatt Lake, to the junction of FS Road 37. Take a left and head toward Big Elk campground. Just before you get to the campground, turn right on Rd 3705, Brown Mountain Rd, and head east. Take a left on Rd 500, and look for a barely legible sign for Rd 525 on the left, where you'll park. Head a mile out that road where you will have to bushwhack through a ravine and over a creek to reach the PCT. Not really recommended...though doable!
