Sunday, July 29, 2018 - Zero Day Gone Bad

8.60 miles - Total to date - 207.9  miles

Ascent - 3614’’ , Descent - 1101’ - Belden (1284.43)  to Camp at Chips Creek Crossing (1284.43)

While hiking with Derek for 3 days my daily distances took a radical positive jump -a 28, and a 26. In my first 10 days of hiking I covered 195 miles for an average of 19.5 miles per day. This is what I hoped for. I know from previous experience that a zero day does wonders to ward off injuries and allow the body to recover from the daily pounding. I decided to zero in Belden. Of course, I did this before I got to Belden and saw the magnitude of the festival. However, my resupply was mailed to Little Haven, about a mile up the road and around enough bends that the music was totally blocked. Unfortunately, they don’t allow zeros. After much thought I resolved to hike in a few miles to a known campsite and swimming hole, lounge away the day and then begin the 5000’ climb out of the valley on Monday morning. So now my zero was a nero-2 Miles of nero. 

Brenda drove me to town and dropped me off. The festival was in full motion with music filling the valley. I began the hike out of Belden, the Techno music pounding. It lasted for over a mile down the trail before it finally died out. What a party!  I hiked the 2.3 miles into the swimming hole/campsite, set up my tent, went in the water to cool down and retired to my tent and sleeping pad to sleep. This I did successfully - until I got to thinking. “What if I climbed half the hill this afternoon and then the other half in the morning?  I have already been over 24 hours without hiking.  Isn’t that a zero?”  At 3:30 pm I returned to the pool to cool down, swim and fill my dinner pot with water. I cooked Top Ramen I took from the hiker food box at Little Haven, then started up the trail about 4:20 pm. I made it another six miles and 2000’ by 7:30 pm. I was hoping to make it 9 miles, but the trail was steep and I was slower than anticipated. Still, the extra miles will help in the days ahead. You see, from Belden to Lassen National Park is 59 miles. It is 19.5 miles across the park. To stay overnight in the park you must have your food in a bear can or face a fine. I am hoping to get the 59 miles out of the way in the next two days (8.6 already done). This way I can cross the park in a day - I do not have a bear can. 

The air was very hazy all day, I assume from the smoke of the fire near Redding. At times it was thick enough to completely obscure the sun, yet I did not detect any smell. 

Tonight I am camping with Flash from Hawaii, Pickle from Michigan, Fireball from New York and Sam from Hong Kong. Pickle built a small fire in the fire ring and he and Flash sat around it for a time. I went to bed and asleep. 

My room at Little Haven

The house at Little Haven

Looking back at Belden

The trail

Saturday, July 27, 2018 - Belden

16.50 miles - Total to date - 199.3  miles

Ascent - 1640’’ , Descent - 5884’ - Campsites above Buck Summit (1267.81)  to Belden (1284.43)

During the night I smelled smoke. This was not the first time on this trip but it was stronger than back near Tahoe. Was this the Yosemite fire blowing north, or was another blaze now underway?

I was stuffing my tent and preparing to leave in the half light of 5:20 am as I noticed the hiker nearest me was also stirring from bed. 

Once on the trail it was a gradual ascent for two miles, then the trail gently climbed and descended as it meandered along or near the ridge top. My throat was a little sore from the smoke in the air. After about six miles I stopped to eat some cheese and crackers. As I munched I heard some one approaching. I was pleased to see Riley of Mercer Island come into view. A minute or two later Medicine Pocket (Pocket for short) arrived. We chatted for a few minutes, each snacking, then loaded up and began hiking together. I found out it was Riley that was getting out of her tent as I started hiking this morning. Pocket is from Fairbanks, AK where she works at the high school with failing students. Riley just graduated from Princeton in neuroscience, but will seek employment at REI when she gets off the trail. She wants to work at the corporate headquarters in Bellevue. Both girls are delightful and we had a great conversation over the next four hours as we dropped 4000’ down the steep switchbacks to Beldon. While six miles and 4000’ above Belden the music of the festival came booming up. The debate was whether the festival was Jazz or Techno. It was techno. Halfway down Double D joined us, adding to the fun. 

At the bottom of the hill the trail crosses a double set of railroad tracks then follows the road through the center of Beldontown. 

Beldon is a party town, literally!  Every weekend there is a festival of some kind attracting hundreds of people and four times a year there are major events attracting about 1500. We walked right through the middle of one of the big celebrations. Down off the side of the road toward the river were hundreds of tents packed wall to wall. People in all manner of weird dress were wandering up and down the road. Vendor booths were set up selling tie die, food and trinkets. The four of us walked through “town” and dropped our packs outside the main building in town, a bar, store, restaurant. We went in and found a booth. The service was slow. There were only two waitresses for a large room, but the food (hamburgers and fries all around) was good and the entertainment was non stop as one amazing tattooed-dredlocked-tiedyed-shimmering costumed customer after another strolled in to eat. 

We left the restaurant about two, completed our stroll through town to the sweet smell of cannibas and crossed the bridge to the main highway, hoping to hitch a ride to the Caribou Crossroads Store about 1.7 miles up the highway. On the bridge we looked down to see hundreds of party goers on floaties out on the river bouncing to the music. They waved as we took pictures.

The main highway was under construction and was a one lane road with stoplights controlling the traffic. This made hitching a little different as the cars only came in pulses when the light turned green for east bound traffic. We tried to catch a ride through three cycles of the light to no avail. An awesome and terrifying rope swing out over the river caught Double D’s attention and he, Riley and Pouch were making their way down the embankment to give it a go when I caught a ride. The vehicle had two open seats amongst the clutter (think Wolfman in Toledo). I called back to the group and Double D scrambled back up the bank to catch the ride. The girls had been debating whether to hitch up to the store for a milk shake or just continue on the trail and the lack of a ride sealed their decision. 

Double D and I climbed in with our packs on our laps, me in the front, he behind the driver and we were quickly at the store. Along the way we passed “Little Haven”, the trail angel I had mailed my resupply box to. Our driver was quite the character, a stoned out hippy from the 60’s with a Santana T-shirt on, about my age with about half my teeth. He asked if we smoked pot, wanting to share a joint. We politely said no. He went into the store, as did we. 

The store is a combination tiny store with minimal snacks as supplies and a cafe with reportedly great milkshakes. Here we found Derek, Bailey, Logan and Braxton drinking shakes, charging phones and talking. 

There is no ATT service anywhere near, and no WiFi. I had not contacted home for the past few days. Verizon had service, so I tagged onto Logan’s iPhone and called Sally to let her know I was okay and to catch up on the news. Then I called “Little Haven” to get my resupply. Brenda said for $10 I would get a bed, a shower and be able to wash my clothes but that I could not zero a day and spend two nights. She was headed up to the store to deliver or pickup some packages and would give me a ride down in about half an hour; long enough to have a chocolate shake and catch up with the gang. 

Brenda arrived as described. Derek, Braxton and I loaded in her truck. She dropped me off at Little Haven and then took the other two down to Belden. They planned to hike a couple miles up the trail to a swimming hole, camp and then tackle the 5000’ climb out of the valley in the cool of the morning. 

Brenda’s place, “Little Haven” is an old house with two wings. She lives in one wing with her husband. She donates the other wing to PCT hikers. Two bedrooms, a living room, bath and kitchen. Outside she has a laundry sink for hand washing clothing and a clothes line. All the waste water from the sink waters her strawberries. 

I climbed up the front deck stairs, left my trekking poles in the appropriate bucket outside the door and entered the screen door to find Obe Wan inside sorting his food for the next leg of his hike. Obe Wan is a 43 year old from Amhearst, MA. We got along well all through the afternoon sharing lives and stories as I washed my clothes, bagged up my resupply, charged my devices and rummaged through the hiker food left by previous occupants. 

What is the place like?  Imagine a 1940’s house with peeling  plaster walls, old wood cupboards, a mishmash of flooring from vinyl to fir to carpet chunks. Perfect for a PCT hiker who is filthy beyond description. 

Brenda is an outgoing, energetic 60+ woman quick to laugh. She is kind, but runs her place with a firm hand. The gardens around the property show she likes to tinker outside. 

By the time I got all my chores done, including a heavenly shower and catching up on my blog, it was nearly 9:45 pm, the latest I have been up for over a week and I was sorely tired. It was still about 85° out and in. I just laid on the bed and slept. What an awesome adventure!! Great people. Great trail. Great sites to see up close and personal. 

Smoke so thick the nearby hills are obscured. 


Part of the tent city of Belden Town

Party goers in Beldentown with Riley taking a picture.

More of Belden

Belden Party goers.

Floaty party bouncing to the music.

Clothes washing station at Little Haven

This is what the water looks like after three rinses and one washing

The PCT end of the house at Little Haven. 

Friday, July 27, 2018 - The Big Drop

26.00 miles - Total to date - 182.82 miles

Ascent - 6762’ , Descent - 5208’ - Fowler Creek Trail (1242.80) to Campsites above Buck Summit (1268)

Last night we were camped on the edge of a precipice. Well that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but we did have a 2000’ drop from where we camped down to the Middle Fork of the Feather River. It was very warm last night. So much so that I only put my sleeping bag over me sometime around 2:00 am and only just over my mid section. 

Derek and I both were awake at 5:00 am and packed and moving by 5:30 am. We worked our way back to the trail, then began the 5 miles descent to the river. We talked as we descended, discussing Africa and safaris and adventures. At one point, a bee of some type flew up from near Derek’s feet and stung me on the forehead, right between my eyes. I quickly scraped the spot with a credit card to remove the stinger, then took two Benedryl, hoping to stop any swelling. It felt like someone was pushing a thumbtack into my forehead for the better part of an hour or so as we approached the bottom. 

A beautifully constructed steel and wood bridge spans the river. Once on the other side we followed a side trail to the river shore to soak our feet and wash up a bit. It was cooler near the river, yet still warm. Once we had eaten a bite, we started the long climb back up the other side, 3000’, from 2955’ to 5946’. At the top is Lookout Rock, an outcropping of rock overlooking the expanse to the east. With stops for water all along the way, we made the top about 1:00 pm. We met and leapfrogged Top Notch, Hercules, Braxton and an older hiker along the way. 

From Lookout Rock it is only three fairly flat miles to Big Creek Road that leads to the town of Quincy to the east and Bucks Lake, 2.3 miles to the west. Another road left Bucks Lake and crossed the PCT just 4.9 trail miles north. Much discussion ensued as to whether to visit Bucks Lake for a soda via the first road and return to the trail via the second road. It would have added about 2-3 miles to the day and made for 7+ miles of road walking. When we finally reached the first road, which was 19.5 miles for the day, we quickly decided to continue on the PCT. One long stop midway on this 4.9 mile section for water and food at a stream and we were at Buck’s Summit where the trail crossed the road. Here we found Water Rope, a kid from Austria who had just been dropped off, hitchhiking back from Quincy. He joined the group. 

It was here I thought I would say goodbye to Derek, Bailey, Logan, Braxton and Water Rope. They had plans to go another 7.5 miles up the trail to a camping spot that previous hikers had reported ATT signal. We already had 24 miles down. An addition 7.5 would make it nearly a 32 mile day. I knew I didn’t have it in me. As the crew left the road and started up the trail I walked across the broad expanse of parking lot for snow sports to a pit toilet bathroom, leisurely used the facility, then walked back and began up the trail. There was water in one mile where I planned to fill up for dry camping at a spot another 1.3 miles up the trail. This would give me 26 for the day, on the heels of a 28 mile day. Plenty.  At the water I found the crew cooking dinner. I chatted as I filled my bottles then slowly continued my climb to the camping site. I pitched my tent and crawled inside. For the first 15 minutes I just lay on my back, relaxing, recovering and resting. Then I began blowing up my sleeping pad and cooking dinner. The crew said hi as they hiked past and to look for them in Belden the next day, 16 miles down the trail. 

I cooked a huge pan of rice and chicken, struggled to eat it all and listened through the fabric as another party set up camp in the site. I also watched part of The Vietnam War series.  I was asleep by 8:45 pm.

Thursday, July 26, 2018 - A Day With Derek Cullen

28.00 miles - Total to date - 156.82 miles

Ascent - 4800’ , Descent - 2035’ - Campsite (1214.81) to 0.8 miles past Fowler Creek Trail (1242.80)

Our three tents were very close together, especially Derek’s and mine. This made it difficult to get up at 5:00am and leave by 5:30 am without disturbing my two camp mates. Derek had said he wished to leave at 5:30 am, and I had heard his alarm go off at 5:00, then 5:05, then 5:10 am as he hit the snooze button repeatedly. Finally, he emerged from his tent just as I shouldered my pack. I said “See you down there” and headed down the trail. 

The trail headed gently downhill.  At about two and a half miles I stopped at A-Tree Spring to replenish my water supply. Generally, there is water every five miles or so, but you have to be vigilant because there are sometimes stretches as long as 15 miles with no water sources. I usually carry 2 liters in my pack to drink between sources, but that can grow to four or five liters if I hit a long waterless stretch. Nearly everyone on the trail uses Guthook’s app on their phones to locate water sources. By tapping on the water source symbols on the map the comments section is accessed. Here you can see recent reports as to the quantity and quality of the source posted by recent hikers. It would be difficult to plan when and where to carry water without this feature. 

Derek joined me at the spring within three minutes of my arrival. We filled up and Derek ate a “Honeybun”, one of many that day. 

We hiked together the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. We made our “10 at 10” by 9:15 and had nearly 14 miles by noon. 

About 15 miles in for the day, we crossed the Quincy/LaPorte Road. There, sitting next to a tree was my first trail magic of the trip-2 cans of Coca-Cola and ten cans of Coors beer. Derek gave up drinking years ago, so we each savored a Coke before crushing the empty cans, stowing them in our packs and hiking on. 

Our goal was to get to Alder Spring at 19.5 miles. This we did a little after 2:00 pm. Normally, this would be the end of my day of hiking. The spring was down about 100 vertical feet and about 0.2 mile off the PCT. Here we got some water. I soaked my feet in the spring, washed my shirt and socks, ate some snacks and chatted with Crouton, Hot Pocket and Top Notch as they came down to get water. About 3:45 pm we were finally on the trail again. Our afternoon goal was a water source 7.9 miles further down the trail. We would have liked to have gone the 12.9 miles all the way to the bottom of the canyon where the middle fork of the Feather River flows but we knew a 33 mile day was too much. 

We reached Fowler Creek trail junction and dropped our packs. It was 0.1 or 0.2 down to the creek and down about 100’. We had now done just under 28 miles. Derek said the bottom of his feet were quite sore. My feet shared the same plight. The water source was on a steep side hill.  This provided no place to camp. At one point the trail was about 40 vertical feet below the crest of the ridge. Derek climbed up to the top of the ridge and found a flat space for us to camp. I soon followed. It was now after 7:00 pm and we were tired boys. We each set up our tents, then I boiled some water for Derek’s Top Ramen followed by more hot water for my spaghetti dinner. I watched a bit of the Vietnam War documentary after eating, then switched off the phone and was soon fast asleep. 

A few words about Derek. He was born and raised in Dublin and led a typical life, going through school and earning top marks. Both his parents died within two years of each other. He struggled with their death for a couple years, then decided his life was not going in the direction he desired, so he sold everything he owned, quit his job, flew to South Africa, bought a bike and gear and rode from South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. From there he boated to France, then rode north to LaHavre and boated to England and then back to Ireland. This was in 2008. Since then, he has traveled the world, making some income off of adventure writing and using the Internet to build a series of marketing businesses. Somewhere in this time span he was a tour guide in Africa for three years, leading 10 to 12 week adventures for groups of 28. Among other places he has lived over the years are Thailand, Poland, Croatia and others too numerous to recall. He has a big presence on the web, posting travel videos, written pieces and online travel books. He is currently writing a African travel guide to help people on tours decide which side excursions are worth doing and which are not. Not to be stereotypical, he has that Irish twinkle in his eye, is quick to joke and make friends, is very kind and thoughtful of other. I was behind him on the trail and hiked up to see him sitting on a log. It seemed too early for him to stop. He pointed out the older gentleman working slowly up the trail in front of us. He said we had already passed him earlier and didn’t want to embarrass him by passing him again so he was sitting, waiting for the man to get far enough ahead we wouldn’t pass him for a while. Nice guy. Very inclusive. Very open about his life. Very fun to hike with.

Wednesday, July 25, 2018 - Sierra Buttes

19.39 miles - Total to date - 128.82 miles

Ascent - 4800’ , Descent - 2035’ - Sierra City (1195.42) to Campsite (1214.81)

I camped just off the PCT about 200 yards south of where it crosses the highway, planning to get a quick start in the morning. Straight away, the trail climbs a couple thousand feet to the base of the rock promontory called Sierra Butte. It has been exceptionally hot the past few days. I lay on my sleeping pad sweating until after 9:00 pm.  I hoped to get a good jump on the hill before the sun comes up to scorch us again. 

I set my alarm for 4:15 am and was packed and on the trail by 4:45 am. Last night I was concerned that my pack would be too heavy with the new food resupply, but I arranged the contents of my pack differently, putting the food bag near the bottom to lower the center of mass of my pack. I wedged it between the tent and my sleeping bag. As the day wore on I found it a much better arrangement than putting the heavy food bag on top. 

The trail switchbacked up the east face of the slopes below the buttes and topped out on a wonderful flat, heather laced area with the stoney buttes rising above. Here I found Derek’s tent, but no Derek. I thought he might be out on the prominent ridge end enjoying the views back down to Sierra City. I ran out to take a look and on my return Derek returned from the woods, toilet paper in hand. As he put it “I was out dropping the kids off at the pool”.   It took a minute for me to get what he was talking about. Once I did I chuckled about the saying all day long. As Derek and I left together to pound out some miles we noticed another hiker emerging from his tent. This was MT, a audio specialist from Redmond, WA and a volunteer fire fighter. He would catch up with us later at the Sierra Buttes Spring when we stopped to fill up with water. At the spring we also met Braxston, a hiker that Derek had met in the desert near Tehachapi. Braxston soon left and we followed a few minutes later. We were checking our phones constantly on the high ridge for signal. Derek has many Internet based business ventures and he needs to check up on them.  Within a few miles the trail passes Tamarck Lake. It was begging to be swum in so I obliged, washing off a layer of trail dirt. 

Cleaned up, Derek, MT and I hiked together for the rest of the day. The trail ran around the uphill side of the lake, yet the trail was little more than a poor fisherman’s trail. I checked the Guthook app and sure enough this was the trail. Further down, less than half a mile, we ran into a group of Conservation Corp people coming uphill to work on that section of trail. 

We stopped at a parking lot/campground to use the toilet and met Joe and an Asian girl there. I had met Joe at the store in Sierra City yesterday. He is from Washington DC. They left and we sat and ate a bit before traveling on.  After the campground we continued on the trail in the uncomfortably hot afternoon, ascending and descending until we came to a stop 19.39 miles in. Our camp was overlooking a beautiful valley with a few lakes tucked into it. MT let me tag onto his phone service to download some movies and TV shows as the evening came to a close. A great day. 

Tuesday , July 24, 2018 - Trail Town Day

4.9 miles - Total Miles to Date - 105.5

Ascent - 513’, Descent - 1159’ - Campsite at Miller Creek (1190.7) to Sierra City (1195.4)

Nero day!!  Almost as good as a zero. I had to walk 5 miles down the PCT to the highway, then thumbed a ride for the 1.5 miles into Sierra City. Usually I worry about my odor when I get into a car that stops for me but this guy was rough in a logger sort of fashion so I doubt he noticed my aroma added over his.  He had a chainsaw, oil and fuel in the back of his pickup so we discussed wood cutting for our short ride. He dropped me at the grocery store at 7:45am. Both the store and the Post Office were closed, so I walked up to the public bathrooms next to the Methodist church where I found Hip sitting at the picnic table. The right hand restroom had a shower, free and cold water only. No one was waiting so I jumped in. I took all my dirty clothes, soap, rain gear pants and a ditty bag and washed myself and my clothes. 

I hung my clothes on the bike rack to dry and chatted with Hip and a new-to-me-hiker Double D. Derek showed up shortly and he availed himself of the shower. At 9:00 am we moved to the store. Earlier I had noticed the three plastic garbage cans had been spilled during the night so Derek and I picked up the pile of trash and cleaned up the area. 

I chatted up the store owner. I had noticed It’s It ice cream wrappers in the trash I had been picking up and asked if he had any. He said yes, but some hiker had unplugged his freezer cases to plug in their phone and all the ice creams had melted and then refrozen.  He said all the ice cream was free!  Breakfast!!  Each time I took a free ice cream I was sure to buy something as well, trying to support the store. He tried to give me my Gatorade for free because I picked up the trash, but I insisted I pay and thanked him. 

The rest of the morning was hanging out on the “group W” bench with hikers, learning names and sharing backgrounds and telling stories with occasional trips into the store for more ice cream and drinks. 

About noon Derek and I moved to the church lawn to pitch our tents in the shady spots before they were all taken. Then it was back to the rigors of a Nero day-sitting around talking and eating. Double D found someone had taken his resupply box, a bitter disappointment although he took it lightly and decided to buy enough food from the store to get him to Belden. I charged my battery and phone and sat in the shade, belly full of Gatoraide, Fritos and ice cream (oh, did I mention I ate an apple, too?). 

The French couple that was arguing loudly as I passed by yesterday made it to town about 10:00 am. Gourmet was having another bad day. While we were sitting on the front porch of the store she stood and inquired about how to get to Reno. She was ready to quit. Her and her boyfriend were at odds with each other and finding it difficult to spend 24 hours a day together. As I mentioned earlier, she is a verbal thinker. This means we get quite a story. It did not come all at once. Later in the day as I sat with my back against the bathroom wall charging my devices she came up the hill and went into quite some detail about the shortcomings of her boyfriend and the tribulations of their relationship. She is not a quiet talker. Everyone within 60 ft gets included in the conversation. As it appears now, they will stay a night here in Sierra City waiting for a package, then hike to the next destination 70 miles up the trail and see if they can resolve their differences. If not, they will fly back to France. 

City Girl, a beautiful German woman has shared her boyfriend woes with everyone on the trail. It appears her French boyfriend verbally listed off all the things wrong with her, then left her while they were traveling in the Middle East. Some of the faults included too fat, has a stupid job, can’t speak French and more. Everyone on the trail that knows her speaks to her about this situation. I got talking to her while she was waiting for the shower. She actually wrote down all the points he made and is working to change her life to “correct” these “faults”. On questioning her, she is not doing it to try to win him back, she just thinks he was probably right and wants to improve herself. She has lost 40 pounds, is taking French and is going to school to be a tutor.

Why did I include this in the blog? A couple reasons. One, it illustrates how close and trusting everyone on the trail becomes. They feel they can share personal details of their lives with people they have only known a few weeks or months, or in my case, a few minutes. Two, it highlights that there is drama on the trail. These are just regular people working through the difficulties of life. And, three, when I am old and feeble of mind rereading this will hopefully bring back memories of all the events that happened while I was in Sierra City. 

It is 1.5 miles from the town to trail, uphill. It was about 85° this afternoon and I did not want to walk the road so I packed up about 4:15 pm and walked toward the trail thumbing for a ride. 5 minutes and about the fourth car to pass picked me up and dropped me at the trail head. I had seen a place to camp a couple hundred yards southbound on the trail on my way to town this morning. I found a flat pine needle covered spot, pitched my tent and crashed for the rest of the afternoon, conserving strength for the 3500’ climb tomorrow morning, hoping to avoid the heat of the day. 

As I lay here resting, I feel a bit lonely for the first time. I left 35+ hikers in town and am camped by myself. I think the contrast between mass people interaction in town and isolation at my camp has made me feel separated. Before I knew so many hikers I did not feel alone. Now that I know they are back in town or heading out on the trail and I am here I feel a bit separated from the group. No worries though.  Tomorrow on the trail I will see many again and throughout the rest of the journey to Oregon. 

Monday, July 23, 2018 - International Day

22.2 miles - Total Miles to Date - 100.6

Ascent - 2467, Descent - 5279 - Campsite before Snow Springs (1168.5) to Miller Creek Bridge (1190.7)

Isn’t anybody on this trail from the US?  (Not that it really matters!)

I had heard from numerous people that the PCT from Donner Pass was just in the trees and b-o-r-I-n-g. That was not the case yesterday and certainly not the case today. It was spectacular!  The trail ran on open ridge tops with wide vistas. I could look in a 270° arc and see nothing but mountains for as far as the air would allow. “Far from the things of man” (Joe vs the Volcano). When it did drop into the forest between ridges they were majestic and beautiful. 

As I hiked this morning, I was troubled that the trail was not going north. From my ridge top perches I would look north to try to devine what route the trail might take, what ridges and valley it would climb and traverse, then invariably it would angle to the west. Suddenly, it popped into my head that the mountains in California do not align north and south. The Sierra range runs SW to NE. With that in mind, the path of the trail made a lot more sense. 

I made my 10 miles by 10 am this morning with over 15 minutes to spare, even though I stopped to talk with Judith at her campsite 5 miles further up the trail from where I camped. 

As I hiked down the trail I heard a woman screaming, not in terror, but in anger. As I approached, I saw a couple camped 40 feet off the trail, obviously engaged in a heated argument. They interrupted their dispute to say hi as I passed, then went back to screaming at each other. 

At 11 miles, I stopped at one of the few water sources for the day. It is 100 feet off the PCT on a dead end trail.  There, I met a man with a strong, yet unrecognizable accent. His name is Daniel, and he is a 60 year old genetics professor at Pomona State University, an immigrant from Argentina. We chatted a few minutes, then he put on his pack to leave. Just then the couple that was in the heated argument arrived. The woman (Gourmet) said she was having a bad day. Her accent was thick and we soon learned they were French. Daniel started talking to Gourmet, asking if she was the famous cartographer he had heard about on the trail. Much discussion ensued (she was) while Daniel stood with his pack on, about 15 minutes. Then Judith, from Leipzig, Germany walked up. So now there are five of us having a lively discussion, two French, one Argentinian, one German and me. 

Gourmet can talk, and talk, and talk. She is like a verbal thinker. Anything that pops in her head comes out her mouth in an unbroken stream. After a bit I noticed you could have a two way discussion if you just interrupted her. If you did, she would quit talking and listen. It was cute, because it seemed so stereotypically French. I wonder if that is a cultural thing. Maybe the reported rudeness of the French is partly due to the fact you have to interrupt them to get your thoughts out. Gourmet’s husband, Pine Nut, is dispatcher/manager of a trucking company in Paris. I would have liked to hear more from him, but Gourmet successfully fills the air space. 

I arrived at the creek at 10:15 am. I left at 11:45 am. A much longer stop than I had planned, but I was really enjoying the international discussion. Unfortunately, it had gotten a lot hotter during that hour and a half so the afternoon of 11 miles was a hot one. 

Most of the day I hiked by myself, knowing Judith or Daniel or Hip are just ahead or just behind. I stopped about 3:30 pm to rest. As is my habit, I take off my shoes and socks so my feet can decompress and the sweat can dry from both feet and socks. As I lay in the dirt, Daniel, who I thought was in front of me came up. He rested a minute as I put on my socks and shoes, then we walked together the last 3 miles to Miller Creek Bridge where I am camped for the night. I am short of Sierra City by only five miles, but 22.2 miles is enough this early on. I don’t want to injure myself and have to take multiple zero days waiting for things to heal. Daniel rested at the creek for half an hour with me, then hiked the remaining five miles to town. Hip came by and told me Judith was back about 2.5 miles, waiting for Pig Pen. I thought she was in front of me, too. I finished up dinner and was typing this entry when two more guys walked by, Water Rope from Austria and Derek, age 36,  from Ireland. Water Rope continued on down the trail. Derek set up his tent next to mine. Derek biked across Africa, then stayed to guide for three years. He has traveled all over the world for the past ten years. He has his own businesses that he can manage via the Internet from wherever he is. 

Gourmet and Pine Nut soon arrived and are camped 50 feet away. What an eclectic group of people today!  Ya gotta love the PCT!!

Saturday, July 21, 2018 - Running the Ridge Above Tahoe

19.48 miles - 4060 ascent - 3477 Descent - Blackwater Creek (1127) to ridge campsite (1146)

The day had three ridge traverses of epic scenery with two descents into wooded valleys separating them. Glorious views, endless meadows of thick flowers, and a well placed trail hugging the ridge line were the highlights. 

It was a day of mostly hiking by myself. I passed tents with sleeping campers, both in the Blackwater and on the ridge early on, but encountered no one on the trail for miles. I had the first section of ridge all to myself. Not until nearly nine did I run into a father and dad out on the trail. For the day, I suspect I saw 30 people, more or less, most day hikers or trail runners hiking between Donner Pass and Squaw Valley Ski Resort. 

I am slowly learning that all the seasonal water sources are still flowing. This I find surprising as it is nearing the end of July. This will allow me to carry less water, thereby lightening my pack. I still error on the side of caution, packing more water than I need, but I am beginning to adapt. Guthook’s app does a great job of showing where the water sources are, and people commenting about each one has kept the information up to date. I am learning how much to pack for dry camping-usually much less than I carry. 

I ran into G. I. Joe and Foodie today at the last water source before Donner. They are section hiking southbound, G.I. Joe to Sonora Pass and Foodie just to Echo Summit. From there she will go to Washington to climb Rainier with friends, then be in Belden on July 30 to continue north on the trail. We agreed to look for each other on the 30th, but looking on my schedule after we parted I think I will be out of Belden a few days before that. 

Tonight is the first night I have camped with anyone. Hip, a marine biologist on floating Tuna warehouses in the Pacific is headed north, keeping nearly my pace.  We may get to spend some days leap frogging each other. 

I last saw Pievee last night as she headed a few more miles up the trail. As she is quicker than I and I didn’t pass her this morning, I was sure she was ahead of me and gone. But, I was sitting in my tent, eating dinner when I heard a voice outside. It was Pievee. She had side trip to Five Lakes during the morning and I had passed her by. We chatted for 15 minutes, then she headed down the trail, hoping to get a few miles closer to Donner Pass to catch the morning breakfast. 

I felt better today than the two days before. Hopefully this trend will continue. 

Sunday, July 22, 2018 - Branded Homeless

22.0 miles - Ascent - 3496’ , Descent - 4128’

OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! OMG!! OMG!!  Today was a perfect PCT day, start to finish. What, you might ask, are the elements of a perfect PCT day?  Trail town, prepared food, a table and chairs, plugins to charge devices, a call home to Sally, passing by a PCTA trail crew, greeting a lesbian wedding party heading up the trail and hugging one of the brides, washing my clothes at the I-80 Donner Pass rest area, being shunned as a homeless person by a young girl, meeting three PCT thru hikers that are about my pace, clocking off 22 miles with minimal strain and camping on a ridge amongst flowers and wind with thunderstorms threatening AND cell service to boot. Now, that’s a day to put a smile on your face. 

I got up at 4:45 am, ate my granola and packed, same as usual. Hip was camped about 10 feet away and I could hear he was rustling about so I didn’t attempt to be quiet. I was on the trail at 5:30 am with visions of eggs, hash browns and toast for breakfast. The trail clung to the ridge top most of the way until it switchbacked down to Donner Pass. The trail crosses this two lane highway straight away, but 0.2 miles west is Donner Ski Ranch bar where they serve breakfast. Being a little short on my calorie count each day and wanting not to lose weight too quickly, I walked down to this ski lodge, left my pack on the deck and walked in. The bar keep/waiter was super friendly and soon I was downing eggs, hash browns and toast. To be sure my calorie count got the boost it deserved, I put a pat of butter on each half slice of toast along with two jellies each. I have to admit, that much rich food in a stomach that has been used to small portions 10 times a day felt pretty heavy. 

I waited about twenty minutes for Hip to arrive. I charged my iPhone and extra battery and drank a few glasses of the free soda they offer thru hikers, then packed up and headed back to the trail when Hip didn’t show. It is too bad I don’t drink. They offer a free 40 oz beer to any thru hiker. 

The road was closed for a bike rally. Hundreds of cyclists went screaming past as I climbed back up to the pass. Once on the trail, Sally called and we had a long, wonderful chat as I sat on a boulder overlooking Donner Lake 2000 feet below. 

Donner Pass (Hwy 40) is about 3 trail miles south of Donner Pass the freeway (I-80). While hiking the distance between the two I encountered a line of 20 well dressed and good smelling people (I am now 3 days of profuse sweating for 8-10 hours a day without a shower so I notice good smelling people). I asked what was up. They were hiking to a special spot for a wedding. I asked who the bride was and she quickly appeared from around a switchback in the trail. I asked who was the groom. They told me the second bride was about ten minutes behind. I continued on and soon came across the second contingent of the wedding party. I asked who was the bride and she stopped to say hello. I offered to hug her, but my aforementioned 3 days without a shower brought a quick rejection. 

Soon I was passing under I-80 in the peculiar small tunnels they leave for that purpose and hiking the final mile to the point where the PCT passes within 150 yards of the I-80 rest stop at the top of Donner Pass. It was nice to use a real toilet in a super clean restroom. While in the stall I sorted out my dirty clothes, then exited to the water spigot off to the left side of the building. Using one of my water tight dity bags I put my dirty articles inside, squirted in some dish soap (the only kind of soap I am carrying), sealed the bag and agitated for a few moments. The water I poured out was black. I repeated the process three times until the rinses were clear then rung everything out (a pair of socks, two pair underwear, my T-shirt and a wash cloth), hung them on the outside of my pack to dry while hiking and sat down with my back against the bathroom to eat some food. As is my custom when stopped, I had taken my shoes and socks off to let my feet and socks air and dry. As I sat there a family of four walked over and were discussing which one of them should take a family picture in front of the lake behind the station. From my seated, bare foot, back against the bathroom position I offered to take it for them. I now understand the looks homeless people get on a routine basis. The daughter of about 14 first tried to ignore me, then after a moments hesitation, turned to me but didn’t make eye contact, and said “that’s okay”. She then asked a man standing near to take the photo. I understand her hesitation. 

With clean underwear and socks dangling from my pack I returned to the trail and continued on. I stopped to take the orthotics our of my shoes and get a bite to eat. Three women stopped to chat and we had a great time sharing experiences and sharing hikes we look forward to. Not long afterward I passed a grubby looking guy and gal sitting in the dirt by the side of the trail eating. They introduced themselves as Judith and Pig Pen. We spoke for a few moments and I continued on. 

I passed a Sierra Club cabin used for winter ski trips and stopped to check it out, then onward. Soon, I saw Judith catching up with me. I let her pass, but then hiked with her for an hour while we talked and got to know each other. We both stopped at a good water source to refresh and get a bite to eat. Judith is a 36 year old pediatrician from Germany. While chatting with her three women came down the trail and stopped to get water as well. One of them, Sparrow is a thru hiker. The other two are her friends that are joining her for a few days. We chatted and shared stories while filtering water and getting a bite to eat. 

The next few miles were thru two valleys of old growth forest. Both were spectacular. Finally, the last 1.5 miles were an ascent of five hundred feet to a wooded saddle with a number of camp sites. As I sat typing this blog four kids talking Chinese arrived to camp in the same saddle. They introduced themselves as Sam, Sami, Katrine and (can’t remember). They have been named the “Hong Kong Four” because they are all friends from Hong Kong, hiking the trail together. 

Great scenery, a-sit-at-a-table meal, a talk with Sally, new friends and great hiking. A perfect day. 

Probably the best part of this great PCT day is that I felt great hiking all day, even the final 500’ climb. Maybe I am beginning to get my legs under me. 

Friday, July 20, 2018 - Better

19.53 mi - 2476 ft gain - 2948 descent - Dicks Lake (1107.62) to North Fork Blackwood Creek (1127.15)

Sometime during the night I awoke to the strong smell of smoke. At first I imagined one of the youth groups camping at the lake had lit a fire. But quickly I realized it was the smoke from the Yosemite fire blowing into our area. 

I was up and packed and on the road by 5:36 am. The trail descended past Fontenneli Lake and Middle Velma Lake. I was concerned that I had enough water for the day. Most of the water sources on the map were seasonal, meaning they dry up during the summer. I filled my two liter bladder and an additional 2 liter container, bringing the weight of water in my pack to 9 pounds. I felt it. As the day wore on I passed seasonal stream after seasonal stream, all with running water. Yesterday, I had drunk 5 liters while hiking, so I figured I was lessening the weight of my pack as I walked and drank so I did not dump out 2 liters. I am now out of the spectacular portion of Desolation Wilderness, so the crowds have lessened. I met Pivee (pie-vee) from Finland today and we hiked together for a couple hours. She is in the US for the summer, doing the PCT and other trails. All told I met about 5 or 6 thru hikers. They are all in better shape than I, so they pass by and keep going. Of course they have 1120 miles under their belt. I have 35. I will be glad to get these first two weeks behind me, from a fatigue point of view. 

I did much better today. I had exactly 10 miles at exactly 10:00am. That felt good. Most of the trail was in the woods, but it was beautiful.

I don’t eat any meals during the day, I just stop every hour or so and eat something-fruit snacks, nut bar, crackers with peanut butter, snickers bar, goo, crushed potato chips. A “caloric drip”. The only meal I cook is dinner, a one pot meal that needs only boiling water. Breakfast is granola.

I got phone service a couple times today and sent texts to people, getting a few returns before I lost signal. 

Although I shoot for 20 miles a day, today I settled for 19.53. Good water. Good camp spot. Plus, I don’t want to extend too early and injure myself. I listened to the audiobook of The Fellowship of the Ring most of the day. A funny thing happened. The mosquitoes were quite bad for a stretch this morning, so I got out my deet and sprayed myself. I did not take out my earbuds. A couple hours later I stopped by a stream to soak my feet and dunk my head. When I tried to remove the left earbud it would not come out. The deet had melted the plastic and glued the earbud into my ear. With a little wiggling I got it free. Not a bad way to go if you have trouble with your earbuds falling out, although it does ruin their nice smooth surface. I ended my hiking day about 4:15 pm at Blackwood Creek. It was nice to have the rest of the afternoon and evening to relax. I was not as fatigued as yesterday and the extra hours of lounging should pay dividends tomorrow. 

Thursday, July 19, 2018 - Exhausted

17.64 miles - 3333 ft gain - 2312 ft descent - Hwy 50 ( 1089.98) to Dick Lake (1107.62)

Okay. Okay. I have forgotten how total exhaustion feels. Every step is an effort. Not just tired legs. Overall body fatigue. Like, do I have the strength to set up the tent, poop, cook dinner and eat it?  Wow, am I tired. It has stepped over the border from a good tired to a painful tired. Unfortunately, first days out are often like this, at least for me. 

I woke this morning about 5:00 am in Sheryl’s living room and wrote my first blog entry of this trip. The air bed was comfy and I slept wonderfully well. I took a shower, my last for 6 weeks?, and ate my chicken breast sandwich and an apple for breakfast. About 8:00 am, Sheryl poked her head out of her upstairs bedroom to ask I I need anything, then showered and got ready for her day of cleaning VRBO houses. She has a 16 year old boy, Zeb, that helps her and he arrived about 8:30. We got on the road at about 9:00 am. Sheryl drove me to the “Y”, where Hwy 89 meets Hwy 50 and dropped me off. She left for work and I exercised my thumb to procure a ride. Within five minutes Robin in a nice BMW pulled over. Robin was in her late 50s-early 60’s and apologized for picking me up, saying she doesn’t usually do this kind of thing but she is a hiker and understands the need to get to a trailhead. The ride was only about 10 minutes. We had a chance to talk. I was wishing the ride was longer. She was a pleasant person. 

She dropped me where the PCT crosses Hwy 50 and at 9:30 am I was back on the PCT where I left off July 5, 2014. 

The trail paralleled the highway for about half a mile, then crossed it and in two miles arrived at Echo Lake. Here is a boat ramp, a dock for open power boats and most importantly, a store. 

While packing this morning I noticed that two boxes of Tricuits that were supposed to be in my food bag were not there, depriving me of about 2500 calories for the first five days. I wanted to lose some weight and my calorie count was already low, but this tipped the scales to extreme. Luckily this little resort store had an assortment of crackers, so I picked up 3000 calories in the form of a box of Ritz. 

The trail spends the first 3 miles traversing the shore of the lake. For $10 I could have ridden a lake shuttle to the far end and saved three miles of walking, but I wanted to walk the whole distance to Oregon so I walked the trail. It felt good, and the houses along the shore, accessible only by boat were interesting.   I was hoping for 20 miles today, but as soon as the trail started going uphill I noticed I was lacking energy. I had to set a slow pace. At Aloha Lake, about 9 miles in, I stripped and took a swim. It was amazing! The water was warm, no gasping to get in. I scrubbed off the collected trail dirt, fought a chipmunk for one of my Snickers bars, dressed and was back on the road in no time. 

This Desolation Wilderness is SPECTACULAR!!  Beautiful lakes every mile or so on the trail, tucked into mountain bowls. I was lamenting hiking the whole beautiful thing in one day. It would be a great place to explore and swim in for a week. Its proximity to SLT and the Bay Area means lots and lots of people share the same opinion. I saw hundreds of day hikers and backpackers. 

Mile 12 to 15 was a 1700’ gain. It was late in the day and I was struggling. I staggered to the top, then descended 1200’ down to Dicks Lake. It is a beautiful lake nestled into the north side of the ridge. There were at least 40 people already there camping. It took a bit of additional staggering to find a place to pitch my tent. I treated water from the lake, set up my tent, collapsed inside, cooked my chicken and rice dinner, ate and then lie there wondering at how totally exhausted I felt. It was getting dark. 

I fell asleep about 9:00 pm and woke up in the dark. I checked the clock. Yes!  12:30 am. 4 hours of more sleep in my future and already the overpowering fatigue was gone. 

When I put all my stuff in the tent, I made note of the mouth piece on my water bladder. Because of the way my pack was laying, the hose had a tendency to slide under sleeping pad. If it gets compressed it will leak water. I thought I had it twisted and secured, well out of harms way, but when I woke again at 2:00 am I found a liter of water in the bottom of my tent, wetting articles of clothing and some gear. I mopped up most of the puddles with my shirt, which was already hopelessly wet, rung it out and hung it on the branches just outside the tent, then went back to sleep. By 5:00 am when I started breakfast, everything was dry. You gotta love California climate!!