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!!
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