7/20
We decided to spend the night in our tiny tent behind the Red Moose Inn listening to the Yuba River and trying to digest the all-you-can-eat ribs we demolished. Thanks again, Bill and Margaret, for one of our best town stops and some of our most unexpected trail magic. Waking at our normal 5:30 AM, we quickly walked the 1.5 miles back to the trail and started our climb for the day. 7 easy, snow free miles up the breezy slopes took us to the Sierra Buttes. We passed Packer Lake and spent the next few miles reliving last years epic season. Go Pack! Following some bad advice from a fellow hiker, we got lost for an hour in the dense, snowy woods with no tracks to follow. Finally finding the trail, we descended hard past a volcanic mudflow--Gibralter's Peak--and found camp near Nelson Creek. While setting up, we had a visitor, a cinnamon bear (brown black bear). An incredibly beautiful 300 pounder! He left us alone and continued browsing as we passed out hard at 9:30 P.M.
27 PCT miles, 1225 S->N
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| Camp above Yuba River |
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| Sugar Pine Cone |
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| Packer Lake! |
7/21
After a few interactions with section hikers and other thru-hikers, we were off for a hot, sunny day full of steep descending and ascending on DRY trail. We cruised for 26 miles through towering sugar pine stands, lush meadows, and down the steep, forested slopes to the largest bridge on the PCT spanning the surging Middle Fork Feather River. We relaxed, hydrated, and snacked above the rapids before we moved on for a steep climb and gradual drop to the Bear Creek Bridge for dinner. Following our meal of fettuccine Alfredo and tuna sandwiches, we faced a 7 mile climb out of the Feather River Valley. We made it 5 miles up the vertical ridges and gullies before settling in with the mosquitoes under the shelter of a Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine forest.
35 PCT miles, 1260 S->N
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| Middle Fork Feather River Bridge |
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| Looking Rough.... |
7/22
One of our best days on the trail by far! We decided to hitch into Quincy today because the P.O. was closing for the weekend. We made a quick walk over rolling hills, reaching Bucks Lake Road after just 5 miles. To our surprise, Nancy, a local trail angel, was driving by and offered to take us to her cabin, cook us a homemade breakfast with coffee, and take us back to the trail! Incredible! Thank you so much, Nancy, for all you do for the hiker community! Back on the trail in less than an hour, we cruised to Bucks Summit, where we got our second dose of trail magic of the day. Darrel and Darla, two incredible people who teach Environmental Studies at the Quincy Community College. They offered to take us back to their home, cook us lunch, and take us to Quincy! In their hand-hewn log home (dream home), we learned of their adventures, past and present, and had a wonderful meal of braised vegetables and bean and rice burritos. Thanks Darrel and Darla! You are both role-models and the coolest trail angels we have met! A quick town stop consisting of a resupply and stop at the P.O. followed, and we caught another great hitch back to the PCT. After 8 miles of traversing up and around Spanish Peak, we made camp by a snow melt creek and called it a night at 9 PM.
18 PCT miles, 1278 S->N
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| Darrel and Darla |
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| Pond on the Climb to Spanish Peak |
7/23
Today, we celebrated our third month on the trail! Lazily, we woke at 6 and prepared for our quick descent from 6,000 feet to 2,300 feet at Belden Town, a funky, little resort community right on the trail. To celebrate 90 days in the wilderness, we decided to have breakfast, ice cream, and sodas at Belden. Leaving Belden, we ran into friends Lovebird and Raven and chatted before stepping into the incredibly hot hillside for a 14 mile climb. Climbing steeply on mostly unshaded slopes, we found our pace slowing. Stifling, breezeless, 90 degree heat.... After dodging poison oak and hurtling hundreds of down trees, we made it to the top, meeting some of our old friends on the way that had decided to flip and walk South from Oregon to avoid the heavy Sierra snow. We had dinner in a cloud of black flies that nearly made us scream and hurried to our campsite aside a logging road. There, we were slaughtered by the most mosquitoes we have ever seen. We spent the rest of the evening killing hundreds that had slipped into the tent and finally fell asleep to a GORGEOUS starlit night around 10 P.M.
29 PCT miles, 1307 S->N
7/24--1/2 Way to Canada!
Knowing that we had an easy day down to HWY 36 (and because we were content in our deep sleep), we slept in until 6 before hitting the trail. After a quick 8 miles of rolling across the ridge crest, we spotted a couple signs leading us to some extremely welcomed trail magic! We excitedly strolled up to meet Katie, who was spending a couple of days in her small RV on a ridge overlooking Butte Summit and distant Lassen Peak. What an incredible, warmhearted woman! She offered us a couple of Izze sodas and even cooked us cheeseburgers with fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles! We shared stories for a bit and relaxed in the shade with Katie and her two friendly dogs. Onward, we road a ridge for about 7 miles before climbing Butte Summit, where we took a break to dry out our condensation soaked sleeping bags and tent and had another lunch in the shade. A mile or so down from the summit, we ran into a huge 'milestone,' the half-way monument! Simply, it feels great to be here and now the countdown has begun! We moved on after reading some entries and adding our own to the register book. Soon, we stopped for a hot potato and tuna meal by a small stream toward the bottom of the descent. A few soggy miles brought us to HWY 36, where we enjoyed a fruit and soda cache and set up camp.
29 PCT miles, 1336 S->N
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| Lassen Peak |
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| Trail Angel Katie |
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| Swamp Trompin' |
7/25
After impatiently standing on the highway for over an hour with our stomachs growling for the diner breakfast, we were startled when a highway patrolman pulled over and hopped out. Both a little nervous initially, we relaxed quickly as he offered us a ride down into Chester! We tossed our packs in the back and jumped in the SUV with a grate, shotgun, and box of Winchester shells on the floor of the backseat. He asked us a few questions about the trail and conveniently dropped us off at the local diner. After a hearty, greasy meal of eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns, and coffee, we hit the much needed laundromat and public showers. We are going to resupply, finish the blog, grab lunch, and get back to the trail. There's plenty of trail still ahead of us....
Anticipated Itinerary:
July 28th- Burney Falls State Park, CA (87 miles)
July 31st- Dunsmuir, CA (81 miles)
August 5th- Etna, CA (100 miles)
August 10th- Ashland, OR (122 miles)
The first session of Camp AmeriKids has begun! I hope you all keep these kids in your hearts at this time and if possible, consider supporting the cause! Sending our love your way as well!
Loving Life!
Much Love,
F+A
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