PCT Days 94-103: Chester to Shasta

Day 94 & 95

Zero days

For the last two days I've taken a break from hiking and blogging to just relax in Chester with Ethan. We had an incredible time and I feel a million times more relaxed, refreshed, and motivated now than I did when I got to highway 36 a few days ago.

I want to give a shout out to my friends at the CIS, the job I left in Seattle. They sent some trail magic down with Ethan including wine, two boxes of snacks, and this awesome handmade card with over 40 messages from my coworkers. Reading their notes of support and encouragement almost brought me to tears. THANK YOU CIS buddies for your incredible thoughtfulness (and for fighting the good fight every day against ignorance, fear and cancer misinformation). :)

Chester itself was a great trail town. The business are very hiker-friendly and Ethan got to experience trail magic galore. Look, the town even prays for us! I love how they provide hikers with the three things we need most: food, water, and wifi.

The dental office in Chester even gives hikers toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, homemade cookies, and a $20 coupon to a local restaurant. They also squeezed me in for a quick visit with the dentist after I mentioned that I've been having some sensitivity in one of my molars for the past week. Apparently I have exposed denta (sp?) from either clenching or overbrushing. I don't think I'm clenching, so maybe I'll just brush softer. Anyway, THANK YOU Dr. Webb! 

The dental office let me use their back lawn to sort my resupply. It's so strange to take a bunch of junk food (high carb, high fat), seperate it into ziplocks, and pack it into my bag knowing that it's all I'll eat for the next few days. Maybe next time I'll include a list so you can see the kind of filth that sustains me.

Ethan and I also went to Lake Alamanor. While we were sitting on the beach a family offered to let us use their kayaks. Off-trail magic!

Ethan helped me relax and get my mind off the trail. Bye bye Ethman! I've loved every second of this visit. Thank you for taking the time to drive 12 hours each way just to hang out with this stinky hiker.

Day 96

1335-1344

I stayed with Moxie last night at the Antler Motel. She left at 6:30am, but I stayed in the room with the curtains drawn and the air conditioner on high.

I'm back on the trail by late afternoon and I spend a lot of time thinking about how I feel about the second half of this journey and what I've learned from the PCT so far. 

Considering the amount of days I have before going back to work and the number of remaining miles, I've calculated that I only need to hike 17 miles each day (plus a few to account for zero days). I have a pretty typical end date (9/25), so why do I feel like I'm in such a hurry all the time?  Why does it seem like every other hiker is trying to hike 25-30 miles a day?

It has left me hiking alone most if the time, but continuing to maintain my own pace. At this point the PCT feels almost completely psychological rather than physical and I need to find ways to better adapt to the natural rhythym of the trail. No more sacrificing rest and breaks just to make more miles. I want to finish this hike in a way that's positive for me.

For days now I've been watching Lassen Peak get closer and I've almost reached its base.

I stop after nine miles at the north fork of the Feather River. Must bathe whenever possible. Even a bird bath in a small river leaves me feeling clean and refreshed.

Two other hikers are camped near the river and I introduce myself. Gypsy and Dusty are from Boston and they're hiking the PCT before making a big move to the Seattle area. I cook my dinner of two ramen packets with olive oil as I answer their questions and we talk about Seattle. I think my love of Seattle is contagious. Great first day back on trail.

Day 97

1344-1363

I wake up at 1am, it's dark and I instantly feel awake and alert. I hear a noise, is it an animal? No, it's thunder. I lay my head back down on my pillow of extra clothes and look up at the sky. The moon is so bright. Why am I awake?

I toss and turn for half an hour before I feel the first drop of rain. I didn't put on my rainfly last night, I love sleeping under the stars, so I jump out of my tent and quickly put on the rainfly. The pitter patter of rain on my tent quickens as I zip myself back inside. I wonder if my body knew that it was about to rain before my conscious mind did. Weird, I think, as I drift back to sleep.

I was planning on getting up early and trying to get close to 30 miles today, but the rain keeps me in my tent until 8:15am. I tell myself, "go with the flow, be flexible, don't force your agenda on the trail." 

I manage to pack up my things before the rain starts again. It's light rain and the sweet smell of the newly damp forest floor is overpowering.

I meet Pollack during a break on one of the climbs. He's an AT alumni from Rhode Island. Pollack and I leap-frog for the next few hours, cruising on the gentle terrain. 

Someone has been writing on the white blazes which pop up on the trail every 5 minutes. Most of the messages seem pointless, a bit like graffiti, but this one makes me laugh.

Drakesbad Resort is a small resort on the PCT with a few cabins and a hot spring pool. Pollack mentioned earlier that this place serves lunch, so I quicken my pace to make it before they stop serving food at 1pm. On the way to the resort I pass Boiling Spring Lake. The lake is pale green and holes dot the shore, bubbling with hot mud.

I reach Drakesbad with 15 minutes to spare, pay $14, and dig into the all-you-can-eat sandwhich buffet. I chug 3 glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice before even sitting down to eat.

After eating I take a short nap in a hammock near the lodge. The hammock comfortable and I could stay here tonight, but it's early so I get some water from a hose behind the lodge and I walk back to the trail.

After Drakesbad, the PCT goes through more of Lassen National Park and passes Upper and Lower Twin Lakes

I stop at Lower Twin Lake and decide to take a swim. I'm trying to make it a point to rinse in a river or lake as often as possible, it's these little things that keep the trail exciting. There's no one else in the lake and I take off my clothes and wade in. The water is warm and clear.

Free of dirt and deet I hike on for a few more miles, quickly walking into a large burn area. I set up my tent under an  incredible display in the sky. The sun setting to the east and the moon rising in the west and they sit equal distance above their respective horizons. It's a full moon!

It has been a tough day, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but right here, right now. It's hard to be anything but grateful in such a beautiful place.

Day 98 

1364-1381 

I wake up to my phone playing soft jazz, it's 5am and my sleeping bag is too comfortable. I hit the snooze button what feels like 12 times before I roll out of my tent at 8. I can't keep doing this, but it's so nice to sleep for 9 hours! 

The morning takes me through more burn areas without accessible water. Am I back in the desert? Today will be another short day and I plan to stop just short of an exposed 29.6 mile waterless stretch on Hat Creek Rim. The views of Lassen are incredible in this section.

The trail finally renters the forest and the shade is a huge relief. It's 11am and it's already over 90 degrees in the sun.

A few mes before the town of Old Station, where I plan on getting a snack, I see a sign in the trail that reads, "POP-UP TRAIL ANGELS GOOD FOOD YUMMY 1 MILE."

I'm expecting root beer floats or beer or something equally cheap and portable, but when I arrive I'm blown away by something completely different. 

A sweet couple, Chef and Jimmy Can, are preparing gourmet food for hikers in a trailer that's covered in a huge mural of Crater Lake. Chef used to work in a restaurant at Crater Lake, but this year she's trail angel-ing all over the PCT. The menu today is emu chile tacos with a   micro Mediterranean mango salsa. I sit and talk with the couple for a while, play a round of 420 rummy (an interesting twist on the classic card game) and learn all about the health benefits of emu. 

I'm really loving this couples layed back, friendly style. I mention that I only have $1 on me, haven't been to an ATM in a while, and Chef waves get hand. "Don't worry," she says as she walks into the trailer and puts on her chef jacket and tall white hat. "You hungry?"

Chef's family imported emus into the US from Australia a few generations ago and now it's one of Chef's personal goals to bring emu meat into the American diet.

After nearly two hours of chatting with Chef and Jimmy Can, I see Princess and Mr Sandals hiking into the elaborate setup. We all sit and eat tacos on the shaky folding tables. I have two servings of tacos because they're SO GOOD and Chef puts an incredible amount of heart into her cooking. I would have given them a $20 bill I if had one, they deserve it. I hope I see these folks further up the trail.

The Oregon Country Fair is going on right now in Veneta, Oregon. I was upset to miss OCF this year, I've been six  years in a row, and it seems serendipitous that Oregon would come to me this year on the form of this Oregonian couple. Every year something wonderful happens to me at OCF and this year is no exception.

An hour after eating emu tacos I arrive in Old Station and order a giant chocolate shake. The shake is nothing but milk and  Dryers ice cream, scooped out of big cardboard tubs. I get a mix of Chocolate Fudge and Cookie Dough and it comes out to me overflowing in a clear plastic cup. I drink the shake quickly and lay back on a picnic table to digest. 

I walk on the highway that constitutes the main, and only, road through the town of Old Station. On the way I pass Hat Creek and decide to take a dip. Some nice women warm me that the water is cold, but I jump in anyway, washing the sweat from my body. Why are baths so nice? How do I get so damn dirty?

Back on the road it's a short trip back to the trail.

The next hour is a blur. I took a "shortcut" that turned into a crazy detour through spiky manzanita bushes and over lava rocks. Ugh.

Exhausted and back on trail, I stumbled upon Princess and Mr Sandals already going to bed. I said hello, rolled out my groundsheet on the closest flat spot, and jumped into my sleeping bag. No time to set up the tent tonight. I have to get up at 4am to start the notorious Hat Creek Rim section. 

Day 99

1381-1407

Today has been rough. Have I ever mentioned that I hate hiking in the dark? Because I really, really dislike it. I fell and hit my elbow 3 times this morning in the dark before I realized that I lost my compass. It used to attach to my watch.

Looking back, here's the moon over Mt Lassen-

Hat Creek Rim is a high rim over a huge volcanic valley formed by the last eruption of Mt Lassen (sometime around 1915, I believe). The trail follows the rim for 30 miles allowing for unubstructed views of the valley to the east, but also making the trail hot and exposed for most of the day. Luckily, local residents keep up water caches along the way-

It's beautiful up here, but it gets hot by 7am and the temperature continues to rise into the afternoon.

After 17 miles I've arrived at a big water cache with at least 25 gallons of water. It's so awesome that non-PCT'ers contribute so much to making this dry stretch a little more manageable.

On a road a little passed the cache I came across a large RV with a PCT sticker. I've seen this RV before, outside of Tahoe, so I know it belongs to Coppertone. Coppertone is a PCT alumni who is driving his RV up and down the trail this year doing section hikes (in the nude, from what I've heard) and offering trail magic in the form of rootbeer floats. He's nowhere to be seen, but I plan on waiting out the heat here. I hope he shows up; I could really go for some ice cream right about now! 

Princess and Mr Sandals show up and we all relax in shade of Coppertone's RV. Soon we hear a motorcycle coming up the road, it's Coppertone! He gives us all rootbeer floats and they taste magical. I have been resting here for almost 3 hours and I need to move on. Eh, maybe after another nap.

It's still hot and I have to use my umbrella to block the sun even though it's almost 8pm. The sun is setting slowly over the distant mountains and, on this exposed rim, no trees are shielding me from its rays. I'm sweating, but it's the golden hour and the views are stunning.

Mt Lassen behind me-

Mt Shasta in front (hard to see, but it's right in the center of this photo)-

Made it to camp! It's dark, but still at least 85 degrees. It's so hot I can't think. I left the rim and hiked into these lava fields (so cool) but the sharp lava rocks made it really tough to find a campsite. Oh look what I found near my tent. Very comforting!

Day 100 (7/14)

1407-1423

It's hot and humid as I descend into the warm, wet valley past the lava fields. The first reliable watersource is a fish hatchery owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. It seems like they own the majority of forest land up here in Northerm California. I've seen their signs everywhere since passing through Belden.

Eventually, through the thick, moist air of the valley, the trail leads me to highway 86. It takes me 30 minutes to get a ride, standing on the highway with the big sign  that reads, "PCT HIKER TO TOWN." The driver let's me hop in the bed of his truck. It's illegal to do this on Califorina, but it's oh so effective for hitch hiking. 

I get into Burney, the driver drops me off at Safeway, and quickly buy the extra food I need after that snafu with the resupply I sent to the wrong place from Chester.

Burny isn't quite as hiker-friendly as most towns I'm used to. The McDonalds and Subway don't let customers use their wall outlets and the waitress at the diner looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if they had a table next to a power outlet. 

Luckily I stumble onto a small coffee shop attached to a nondescript stucco church. It's hot and the coffee shop is empty. I'm so excited! They have ice and espresso and USB outlets right in the walls. I slump in a chair with my two bags of groceries and begin to recover from the heat.

Three hours later the pastor drives me to the trailhead on his way to a chiropractor appointment. I feel especially dirty in the front seat of this spotless new sedan with the pastor and youth minister of this church. He askes me about the trail politely, but I think he knows that he and I live in two different worlds.

Back on trail I immediately walk into more trail magic. There are no trail angels, but there are coolers of drinks, a tall wooden cabinet of food, and a solar shower. That's right, someone built a solar shower and hauled it into the middle of the woods just for PCT hikers. 

My first shower since Chester! Feeling clean I stroll a few miles into a camp near Burney Falls State Park.

Day 101

Miles 1423-1441

The trail has left the flat, hot, dry Hat Creek area and today I'm back in the mountains. Yippee! I never thought I'd appreciate elevation change this much, but it's so great to have tree cover again. This morning I crossed Burney Falls State Park and the Lake Britton dam. 

Now I'm going to take a break and start another new daily habit- yoga! I'm hoping that more stretching will help with the foot pain and soreness. I know these pains are both inevitable on the PCT, but I hope stretching will help at least a little.

Oh my goodness. There's a frog in this tree and I don't think he realizes that I can see him.

I come across a footprint in the trail that someone has circled. Is this a mountain lion? 

As I go up in elevation the humidity stays high and the undergrowth gets thicker, blocking any wind that might otherwise blow through.The heat is opressive and I stop when I feel a breeze at every dirt road and power-line clear cut that I pass.

Camp site? No. This rabbit let me get within 2 feet of him and he won't run away. I think he's claiming this space as his own so I move on.

Hiking alone can be a huge relief for introverts like myself. I can hike entire days without worrying about anyone else's schedule or feelings. I don't mean that to sound harsh, in fact I love talking about feelings, but having days of absolute freedom and solitude is incredible. That being said, today I feel a little lonely. 

Hopefully I'll run into more hikers soon.

Day 102

1441-1458

The trail stays high on ridges and the views get progressively better as the day goes on. Mt Shasta is breathtaking from any angle.

I experiment with the timer function of my camera as an excuse to spend more time on a particularly flat rock looking south-east towards Lassen.

I float down the trail in a growing breeze. At the top of the ridge the sky is cloudy and there's motion in the air, but it's warm so the ever constant humidity feels more supportive than opressive.

I set up camp early. I got word today that my dad is flying into Redding and he'll be visiting me on trail. He'll be here in two days and I'm only 18 miles from where I'll be meeting him, so there's no need to hike quickly. I set up my tent on top of a hill with a clear view of Shasta. Once again, I'm blown away by these views.

Day 103

Miles 1458-1476

Like yesterday, today I let myself wake up naturally. I start packing when I hear other people passing my tent, but I pack slowly without regard for time.

It's drizzly this morning, feeling a little like Seattle does for much of the year. I use my umbrella to stay dry, opening and closing it with the rain, never having to stop moving. Who invented the umbrella? This thing is freakin' fantastic.

The bugs in this area are slowly consuming my entire body. I have bites on my toes, feet, legs, the backs of my knees, my lower back, my elbows, my neck, behind one of my ears, and on my face. Other people don't wear bug spray and have one or two bites; I slather my body in deet and am covered in bites literally from head to toe.

I'm also bad at scratching. I'm bleeding from somewhere new every day. I've thought about keeping a record just for the heck of it. I have an open wound on the top of my foot that won't heal and today my leg is bleeding. Bug bites drive me crazy 

It's an easy day and I cruise down the trail past a bunch of folks I know (hello Whistle, Go-Go Gadget, Scorpion, Pollack, and even Medicine Man from back in Idyllwild) and even more folks that I've never met. I've been alone for so long, it's almost over-stimulating to meet so many new people at once. I guess I asked to see more hikers and the trail provides!

Oh yeah, I met a girl named Tick Tock who said that my brother gave her a hitch back in Big Bear. Thank you brother for helping out a fellow hiker!

Tomorrow morning my dad will be here and we'll spend the day in Shasta City. After that he'll join me for a short day on trail. I'm thinking of skipping the next town and packing 9 days of food out of Shasta City. I wonder, can I do it or will I be crushed under the weight of that much ramen and granola?