Miles 1127-1143
I manage to wake up at 5:30, even though I pulled all the curtains shut last night to keep out any light. It's like my body knows when the sun is rising even when I'm tucked away in a motel room cave.
I look at my phone and see that Carl, the guy who gave me a ride to Tahoe City yesterday during the storm, texted me during the night. He and his sister have to work earlier than expected today and can't give me a ride back to the trailhead. Damn! I sit in bed and devise a plan; I'll walk to the bagel place down the street, take a bus to Barker Pass road, and hitch the last 12 miles up the mountain.
There are public docks everywhere on the roads leading into Tahoe City and I choose the closest tp the bagel shop to sit and eat my breakfast.
Surprisingly the rest of my plan goes smoothly. The bagel is delicious, the bus comes right after I get to the bus stop, and the first car to pass me on the road picks me up. They drive me most of the way to the pass, but I have to walk the last 2 miles up the steep road. Does this count towards my daily mileage total, I wonder, because it should.
Back on trail I immediately start climbing up a ridge. The trail crests the ridge and enters the Granite Chief Wilderness. Cool name.
The trail stays high for most of the rest of the day. I take my lunch break on spot overlooking Lake Tahoe and notice that I have cell service. I record videos and send them to my friends and coworkers back home.
Walking along the ridge, I wonder when I'll see another thru hiker and who it will be. After my unexpected stop in Tahoe City I'm at least a day behind Go-Go, Washpot, Soapbox, and Butters.
As the trail enters the Squaw Valley Ski Resort, home of some old Winter Olympics, I spot someone far ahead of me taking photos. I recognize the backpack... it's Tortuga! I haven't seen Tortuga since Kennedy Meadows North, so I catch up and say hello. He's equally excited to see me and mentions that he has been camping alone the past few days. He also says that he saw the Bubbies this morning and they should only be a few miles ahead. Awesome! This means I'm sandwhiched between a ton of people I enjoy; Moxie, the Bubbies, Soapbox, and the rest are in front and the Germans, Rocket, and Sug/Lingo are behind.
I hike with Tortuga for a time and stop when I reach Squaw Creek. This is the last water source for a while and I want to be able to cook my dinner and drink my fill before moving on tomorrow. I set up my tent on a windy ridge, put on the rainfly and tie everything down tightly. It's nice having solid, sturdy gear that I trust. Life is good back on the trail.
Day 84
Miles 1143-1163
I get out of my tent quickly between strong gusts of wind to avoid freezing my butt off. The sun is up and I shove everything into my bag and start down the mountain as quickly as possible.
I hike alone for most of the day, stopping often to look at the huge fields of Mule's Ear and Indian Paintbrush that seem to cover entire hillsides in this area.
Over the past few days butterflies have been flying around everywhere. Tiny white ones, big monarch-looking yellow ones, and these beautiful medium ones painted fiery shades of orange, yellow, and red.
Getting close to Donner Pass (both a mountain pass with a history of cannibalism and a highway) I come across Reno Dave giving trail magic to passing hikers. He has a bear can full of ice, Sprite, and PBR. He gives me a cold PBR and I drink it as he tells me about what's in front of me- easy trail and a ski-lodge restaurant open for the weekend. FOOD! I say goodbye to Reno Dave and finish the descent into Donner Pass drinking a PBR and dreaming of restaurant food.
Right before reaching the highway I pass Robin, who I also haven't seen some Kennedy Meadows North. She's injured and limping, but still managing to hike some pretty big miles. We walk to the restaurant together and find Quinoa sitting, eating, and watching the World Cup. We join him for a while and I eat a big chicken sandwhich, fries, and a nice cream sandwhich. I have another beer, my second of the day, and cringe at he idea of leaving the restaurant to walk more. I need a nap.
Reluctantly I hike out of Donner Pass with Robin and Quinoa. Back on the trail we pass Estero, Acorn, and Fence, all going to the same destination that we had in mind. We all walk the remaining 5 miles together to the Peter Grub Hut, a Sierra Club hut built for skiers who find themselves in incliment weather.
We all pack in to the top floor of the hut and lay out our bags. We're quickly joined by Tortuga and a hiker I've never met named Sock Pot. Apparently he got his name for cleaning his socks in his cooking pot. Gross!
We all chat and push our bags close together, making more room for the other hikers. It smells awful having this many hikers in such a confined place, but Fence finds some playing cards and we all play Egyptian Ratscrew until we're too tired to continue. Long day, good night.
Miles 1163-1193
Although I had high hopes of getting up today by 5, I wake up at 6 and roll over to sleep a half hour longer. When I leave the cabin at 7 I'm the first to hike out.
The trail today is gentle, cresting a few ridges early in the day then descending lower and lower into a long valley. My goal is to hike as far as possible today, making tomorrow just a short walk into Sierra City. Some of the other folks I camped with last night plan on hiking 30 miles today, so I tag along for the support. It's much easier to keep a steady pace when you're moving with a group.
The day goes by in a blur. We stop for few breaks, trying to keep up our momentum. We hit 30 miles by 7pm. I'm fed, in bed, and falling asleep by 8. My feet took a beating today and it shows!
Day 86
Miles 1193-1205
I wake up to the sound of an animal outside of my tent. It's still dark out and I sit up to see what's going on.
My backpack doesn't fit inside my tent and I usually lean it up against the front corner of the tent next to my head. As I lift my head to look out, a mouse scurries across my backpack, not two inches from my face. They must smell the food in my pack and are trying to chew their way in. I get up, hang my pack from a tree branch away from my tent, and go back to sleep.
When I get up again it's light outside and I pack my things while everyone else is still sleeping. There's food, showers, and laundry in 12 miles and I don't want to delay.
Six miles into my hike the trail deadends and I turn onto a road. I step out onto the road and suddenly there's a big crash. I look to my left and see a huge black bear maybe six feet away, turning and running back into the forest. It's funny, but my first thought is, "Oh shit, where's my camera?!" It's too late though, the bear is gone. That was my first bear sighting on the PCT!
Sierra City is a tiny town with a few motels, a bar, and a general store with a food counter. They welcome PCT hikers, which seems logical as they don't seem to have many other customers. "For sale" signs are in from of almost every business in town.
I stop at the Red Moose Inn for some breakfast, then walk down the street to the little store. The store doesn't open till 10am, so I lay in the shade and relax for a while.
A bunch of other hikers have been in town for a few days watching the World Cup: Relay, Soapbox, Pedi, Baggins, and many more. Some of these trail names are so weird I have a hard time remembering them! I also meet Colin, a really friendly guy from San Francisco who started the trail in Echo Lake a few days ago. He's planning on hiking from Echo Lake to Canada, then coming back to finish the first 1200 miles southbound.
Once the store opens I pick up my packages (new insoles, water treatment drops, and a book) and resupply for the next few days. I'm so excited to change my insoles, I've had the old ones since Campo!
As I'm packing the next few days worth of food into my pack, I notice a hole in the side of one of my hip pockets. It's the pocket where I always have some snacks and my mind immediately goes back to the mice last night. One must have chewed it's way through the pocket while it hung on the tree. Damn mice! Luckily Soapbox lends me his needle and thread and I roughly sew the hole back up.
Back in the store I order one of their trail-famous Gutbuster Burgers. It's a one pound beef patty topped with onion, tomato, bacon, pickle, lettuce, and cheese. Holy cow it's delicious.
After eating the giant burger and an equally giant burrito, it's time to hike out. The temperature was over 100 degrees earlier, but has cooled off to 90 degrees by 6pm. I hike out of town with Colin and quickly get a hitch back to the trailhead. It's a long climb out of Sierra City and we switchback up the mountain for two hours until we reach the top. The sunset is incredible as we ascend.
Day 87
Miles 1205-1230
Today I hike most of the day with Colin. Its another scorcher and I dream of jumping into a lake. We see lake after lake below us, but the trail stays high and dry.
I make it to camp by 6 and sit down to cook my dinner. More hikers start rolling into the tiny campsite wanting to stop for the day: Fence, Colin, Cheese, Sockpot. They say that even more hikers are planning to stop here tonight and I'm not sure how everyone will fit. Although I hate night hiking, I decide to continue for a few more miles until I find another spot to camp.
I only plan on hiking a mile or two, but I quickly find myself on the side of a steep mountain with no campsites or flat areas to be found. I keep moving forward, exhausted from a long day, searching for somewhere I can pitch my tent. Close to 10pm the trail finally flattens and I see a large campsite with a fire pit. I quickly set up my tent and crawl inside.
I wake up around midnight to a noise outside of my tent. I sit up and see the light if another hiker's headlamp. I say hello and the hiker screams; it's Colin! Colin laughs, then sets up his tent near mine. I put my head back down and fall asleep much easier, knowing that I'm not camping alone.
I wake up again around 2am to the sound of sticks breaking outside of my tent. I open my eyes, but keep my head on my pillow. The noise gets closer and closer until I hear something crinkling my groundsheet within a foot of my head. The noise moves to my pack, pulling, hitting, maybe even scratching. I think about lifting my head or making noise to scare the creature away, but I don't. I think about what it would be like to lift my head and come face to face, within inches, with a deer or another animal. I'm so tired I just keep my head on my pillow and think to myself, "just go back to sleep." It works and I fall back to sleep, letting the creature outside have it's way with my pack.
Day 88
Miles 1230-1254
This morning there are a few bite marks on some of my straps, not a big deal. The trail today is gentle and I cross logging roads and small cold springs on my way towards my next stop in Belden.
There's a typo in my guidebook and an important water source isn't where the book says it should be. My water is running low when I spot a road and what looks like trail magic in the distance. I walk towards the coolers, imagining what I might find inside. Maybe there will be water? beer? fruit? I get to the coolers and they're empty, save some bags of trash.
I'm out of water, but I'm not worried. It's a hot day, but the trail is shaded by forest abs I know I can make it to the next water source in an hour or so. Today I feel like a hiker-trash badass. I'm thirsty, skinny, dirty, tan, and happy.
After lunch I start a long descent to the Feather River. The brush gets thicker as I descend, as does the heat and humidity. When I reach the river I climb down to the shore, strip off my clothes, and jump in. The water is warm and the rocks have created a huge swimming hole, larger than a standard swimming pool. I swim and lay on warm rocks for at least an hour before any other hikers show up. Soon Colin and Fence are swimming too and this spot feels like paradise.
Getting ready to leave, I put on my dry clothes and wade back into the river to fill my water bottles. The rocks are alippery and I fall backwards into the river next to Colin and Fence, soaking my clothes. Oh well! I take my clothes off again and wait for them to dry out before hiking on.
He trail after the river is another climb before dropping down into another river valley. I find a campsite next to Bear Creek and settle down to unpack my things. Looking around I can see that this campsite is full of trash. Someone left a big bag of trash next to the river and half burned Mountain House bags fill the fire ring. They even left their shoes and socks tied to a tree branch. Who hikes out without their shoes, I wonder, maybe they're doing something else and will come back for this stuff?
This might be the buggiest campsite yet and I cook my dinner from onsude of my tent, only sticking my hands outside to work the stove. Colin hikes in a few minutes later, other hikers stayed at the Feather River, and sets up his tent near mine.
It's amazing how clean I feel after that swim. What a perfect day!
Day 89
Miles 1254-1274
I'm put of bed early, once again motivated by food. There's an alternate option on today's hike, taking you off the PCT for 4 miles into a resort area called Bucks Lake. Bucks Lake has a few restaurants so taking that alternate, 6 miles of road walking, is a no-brainier for me.
First though, I have about her huge climb out if this valley. I huff and puff, but make it out of he valley in pretty good time. Before I hike on, I turn around and take this picture if the valley I just hiked out of.
The road to Bucks Lake is flat and beautiful. A few drivers pull over to ask what I'm doing and offer me a ride into town. I decline; I'm taking an alternate, but I still have to walk!
I reach a restaurant and sit to have a cold beer. Not five minutes after I arrive, a truck pulls up full of other hikers. They decided to skip the road walk and just hitch the alternate. At first I'm bothered; I woke up earlier than they did and walked on the side of a long, hot road to get here. They're just randomly skipping 4 miles of the PCT and the alternate. I remind myself that we each have to hike our own hike and I try to let go.
Colin is one of the hikers that hitched instead of walking and he walks with me to the next resort, which is supposed to have fantastic made-from-scratch pizza. We split a pizza and a sandwhich and I have three beers. Full and a little drunk, we walk down to the shore of Bucks Lake to have another swim.
From the restaurant it's still 2 miles back to the trail. Halfway to the trailhead I see the others fly by me again in a car. Sigh.
Back on the trail, it's another long climb out of town. Do you see a pattern here? So many great stops are followed by long, hot, grueling climbs. I enjoy this climb though, the trail is shaded and there are new wildflowers to enjoy.
I pass at least three new types of wild lillies on the side of the trail.
I think this one is called a Washington Lilly, named after Martha Washington, not the state.
I reach the top of the climb as the sun is setting. I see some cliffs in the distance and I really want to call my boyfriend, so I go off-trail plowing my way through bushes to what looks like an outcropping of rocks that I can sit on. To my surprise, there is a flat campsite right below a rock. This might be the most beautiful campsite I've ever seen and I have no choice but to stay. I set up my tent and watch the sun set, casting golden light over Lassen Peak in the distance.
Day 90
Miles 1274-1290
I wake up at 6:30 to the sun shining in my eyes. I slept passed the sunrise, but the view is still incredible. It's only a 14 mile day, so I pack up slowly and let my solar charger soak up some sun.
The hike today is a ridge walk and a long, steep descent into Belden.
The trail goes through Belden Town, which is actually some sort of resort that hosts raves most weekends. I've never been to a rave and the crowd is a shock to my system. There are tents set up in every field, packed in so tightly that one is literally touching a port-a-potty. A guy walks passed me in skin tight leopard print shorts and I pass a tent full of people hugging pillows and doing a synchronized dance.
I go into the restaurant at the resort with Fence and we see Cracker Keeper and Joker. I eat a burger, drink a beer, and decide that it's time for me to leave Belden Town. Although the river looks nice, this rave really isn't my scene right now.
The incredible trail angel Brenda Braaten lives a few minutes from Belden Town and picks up Joker, Cracker Keeper, and myself. She takes us to her home where her family has built an entire seperate apartment just for hikers. There's a shower, kitchen, and a massive hiker box with free food. Arabia is already here and we wake her from her nap when we're looking around. I find a scale in the bathroom and it says that I weigh 152lbs. Holy shit, that means I've lost close to 50 pounds.
After some primo relaxation the four of us walk to the convenience store down the street. I put on some loaner clothes, they have laundry machines at the store and I need to do some laundry. I instantly fall in love with a sleeveless plaid button-up shirt. I'm definitely keeping this as my new town shirt!
The store has food and milkshakes, so we all sit and eat while our laundry is being cleaned. The owner of the store mentions that they have a parade every year and we should stay for it. Awesome! Today is the fourth of July and a parade sounds like just the thing I need.
The parade is adorable. A bunch of kids on bikes ride in circles around the dirt parking lot trailed by adults in a decorated car. The parade is so cute and small, what a perfect way to spend the holiday!
Back at the apartment I separate my resupply and get ready to hike out in the morning. I orgininally sent myself five days of food for this next section, but now I don't need so much. I'm
Meeting Ethan in Chester in just a few days (SO EXCITING), so I put some of the extra food in a hiker box.
Before going to sleep I get into a conversation with Joker about how we entertain ourselves while we're hiking. I mention that I enjoy audiobooks and he points out that music and books are major distractions for him. Having hiked the PCT many times before he says that one of his favorite feelings, what brings him back to the trail, is the peace he feels when he reaches Washington after having spent so long not distracting himself while hiking.
He's right, music and audiobooks are ways I distract myself from many of the neutral or uncomfortable feelings on trail. I know that I feel much better when I try to actively engage in discomfort rather than distract myself, but it's so much more difficult on trail than it is in my regular life. It's easier to avoid discomfort in a city than it is when you're walking almost a marathon each day. I wonder how my experience would differ if I dropped the distractions.
I decide to consider this more after some much needed rest.
Day 91
Miles 1290-1304
The climb out of Belden is one of the biggest yet, 6,700 feet elevation gain over 13 miles of non-stop climbing.
I took three naps, but eventually I made it to the top, setting up my tent early and dipping into the book I picked up in Sierra City. A while later came Arabia and Wall-E and they set up their tents next to mine. We cook dinner together and Arabia and I talk about Ethan's visit. I'm so thrilled to see him and she tells me about when her boyfriend visited a few weeks ago. She says that she enjoyed it, but that it was really difficult to get back on trail after he left. I think about what it will be like when Ethan leaves as I crawl into my tent and fall into a deep, restful sleep.
Day 92
I wake up as Wall-E is packing up his tent. I start stretching, then remember that I only have to hike 20 miles today so I go back to sleep. Camp is empty when I get out of my tent at 8. Damn I love sleeping in!
The trail today is relatively flat and easy, but i can't bring myself to hike more than a few miles between long breaks. I doze off during a few breaks, never for ore than a minute, but wake up each time panicked. How long was I asleep? What day is it? Am I going to be late meeting Ethan?
I haven't had many big mile or stressful days recently, but my body fights me all day. It says, "stop hiking, Glitter" and I reply "shut up body, keep moving!"
I see Arabia after 12 miles and I'm relieved to hear that she's also having a slow day. We relax for a while in the shade, then hike out together to finish the last eight miles. On days like this it's so nice to have company. We help one another keep a steady pace and our conversation distracts me from the pulsing pain in the bottoms of my feet.
Maybe my body needs rest or maybe my body knows that I'm about to take a few days off and is starting to slow down early. Either way it's a tough day and I'm immensely relieved when we reach camp. The flies are thick in the air, so I set up my tent quickly and jump in.
I can't believe I get to see Ethan tomorrow. I've been counting down the days until his visit for the last month. I want to get to sleep as quickly as possible so tomorrow will get here sooner. As I start to fall asleep I think of Ethan getting out of his Sunday matinee show, loading everything I asked him to bring into his car, and starting the 11 hour drive to Chester.
Day 93
I wake up way too early and hike down the trail way too quickly. I get to see Ethan today! He's meeting me at a highway at 11, but I'm on schedule to get there much earlier. I'm just so excited!
On the way to the highway I pass the PCT midpoint. I feel so accomplished! Only 1,330 miles to go!
I get to the highway early and sit to relax and wait. Maybe I'll make a sign with a big heart on it and stand in the road for when Ethan drives by. I'm about to pull out my groundsheet to make a sign when I see Ethan drive by. He's early! He jumps out if the car and I pick him up and spin him around. I haven't seen him in months and I'm so ready for a break from the trail. Trail-cation here I come!
That last picture of you two is a total tear jerker. Love you Glitter!
ReplyDeleteGreat Photo!
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