Last night the rain stopped for a couple hours, and I did get up and make myself eat dinner, then I read a bit before falling asleep. I got up, ate breakfast, packed and was on the trail by 6:40, ready to make today a success.
My optimism lasted a few minutes. After I rounded that original corner and hit snow again, I rolled my ankle twice and fell at least 3 times, all before 7:15. I put my microspikes on and lived in them all day. Yesterday, when I thought things looked steep, was a joke. Today. Oh my god. Today.
I saw the first trail junction with a “dirt road” that crisscrosses the PCT multiple times in this area. That road is called “Summit Lake Road.” That road was definitely under snow. I started off following the trail, but when it crossed again with this road I decided to follow it instead, because I was gaining elevation and there was even more snow, so the trail seemed less safe-it was up and down and through trees, at least a road would be clearly easier to follow-just look for the wide path without trees, right? Ha.
It started off that way. And it started off with mostly snow on top of the road and no real “slopes.” I also saw huge bear footprints here, too. And a cute deer! It was exciting! But all of that quickly changed. It turned into huge snow drifts over the road, to where the whole thing was just snowy mountain. Then, as it continued to climb in elevation, it got to the point that I literally couldn’t tell which way it was going. I was constantly checking my GPS, making sure I was on the road, more than half the time I wasn’t.
I’d try to follow it and then come to a steep drop off or a huge climb and have to figure out other ways around it. I was pretty good at powering up the climbs in the snow, though I did fall and slide quite a bit. I got really scared when I’d get to the top of a climb only to realize the trail goes the other way and there is an even scarier descent on this side now to get to the right spot.
I’d find myself on wide open bluffs, covered in snow, slipping and sliding (not in the fun Nicki Minaj kinda way lol), and honestly fearing I’d start sliding down this mountain and not be able to stop. So, while on the “road” and realizing it wanted me to traverse down and back up this valley with no safety net to stop me if I slipped-I started shaking and completely panicking before deciding I needed to backtrack to the trail.
The trail at this point was at a lower elevation than the road. So surely, that has to be safer, at least, that’s what my train of thought was. I backtracked to a place where my GPS said the trail and the road were at the closest point to “bushwhack” through to it. It wasn’t real bushwhacking-it was sliding down hill from one tree well to the next.. I felt more comfortable with the tree wells, because while they were maybe my height deep, I could actually see the ground these trees were attached to. Something solid.
After plenty of palpitations, near tears, and a lot of fear, I hit the “trail” and started following it. I’m some places there were footprints to follow, but it was just as snowy and required constant GPS to stay on track. Some places were just as steep. I would start going up and slip and come back down. I’d be at the top, traversing on a slant and slip and slide far down and have to climb back up. I started making sure my body was always positioned towards a tree well, so if I slipped, I’d at least only go as far as the tree.
Now, I just want you to know, sliding on snow is all fun and games at Stone Mountain’s “Snow Mountain” or whatever-here, in the middle of the wilderness, alone, with not another soul in site and your final resting spot not always being perfectly visible, is absolutely the scariest thing I’ve ever been through. I slid so far the one time, I was going so fast, I truly thought my legs would be broken when I hit the tree. I had enough time sliding to think, “Bend your knees! Bend your knees! Bend your knees! “Ben—“ before I slammed into it, hard. So hard that stuff flew out of my pack and I just sat in that hole, both feet planted into the tree and my entire backside in snow and ice. I was visibly shaking. So badly that when I first attempted to get up and grab my things, I couldn’t.
I laid back, tilting my head to the sky, and wondering why the hell am I doing this?! After some deep breathing and calming myself, still shaky, I got up, put my stuff together, sipped some water, and pushed back up that mountainside. I took a picture of the area I slid from, man I wish it really showed you how steep it actually was. Wheewwww.
Around 2pm, I was on top of another snowy bluff and looking out at the direction the trail was supposed to be taking me. It looked like it was literally on the ridge line, up and down at least 3 big mountain tops. I could see snow everywhere, and minimal trees. I almost started to cry, I was in direct sun, and scared as hell. I called Andrea, praying she’d be able to help calm me down..Which thankfully she did. Just knowing she knew where I was and that she knew I was scared really helped me feel less alone up there.
Once I got down, then back up and over one of the ridge’s humps, I found myself in the middle of two vertical climbs. Mind you, to get to this middle spot, I had to climb down a vertical drop along the trees-as in, limb to limb, otherwise I would have slid down to this embankment that I could see snow breaking off on the right side of.. I was about to start charging up the other side when I realized there was a cornice or snow shelf that looked very close to breaking off where the other footsteps were. And then I saw the little opening on the left side between some manzanita bushes.. it was a wider snow free area than I realized!
I immediately sat down, grateful to be on solid ground. My legs stung from the tiny scrapes and scratches, my ankle throbbed, my heart pounded. I pulled up the app and realized I was going to be on this ridge line for miles.. with the next mile to be reported as “very dangerous right now.” What the hell? And after that mile, I’d still have plenty to go and then I’d have to get over grizzly peak. One report said don’t take the trail, take the “road” because it’s safer. Someone else said take the trail-the road is too steep and dangerous. I was at a loss.
My slide
So, I decided to set up camp right there. At 2:30 in the afternoon. The longer I sat there, the more anxious I got. At one point, I think I was hyperventilating. I could literally see both climbs, one back the way I came-terrifying-and one I knew nothing about except it’s apparently worse than what I went through to get here. And THEN I realized I had technically only hiked SIX MILES today. Since 6:40am! My god. All of this struggle and stress and I’ve only gone SIX MILES?!
I was so worked up, I couldn’t eat lunch. Or dinner. Please know, ladies and gents, I do not miss meals. And I physically couldn’t do it. The idea of opening my food bag made me nauseous. I don’t know if that’s because I was thinking I could be getting stuck there for a few more days than I thought or what.. but I couldn’t even force myself to eat some candy. Nothing. And I only had a little over a liter of water left. I didn’t realize I drank so much on my last “sip.”
Also. During my anxiety fits: sitting, standing, pacing, noticing some of those tracks I thought were shoe prints were actually bear prints-and clearly at least one bear also likes to camp right here-I decided to see if I had service and I posted on a Facebook group for the PCT asking for advice. As I’m doing so, I realized my battery pack that usually gets me 6-7 charges only has one charge left. So, I asked for advice and then said I’m turning my phone off until morning to save battery-and did just that.
I laid there staring blankly, watching the sunset, wanting to look up stuff or type up this journal, but knowing I couldn’t turn my phone back on and waste my precious battery life. Then, my overthinking mind went wild. I was picturing going over these peaks and slipping to my death. Or slipping to not my immediate death but my prolonged, I’m stuck in a tree with broken limbs and they can’t find me death, to traversing the steep valley and causing an avalanche and being smothered by snow, to falling into one of these snow holes and never being found again. Yeah. I slept really good. With absolutely no clue what do when I woke up. But also, really thankful for this dry outcropping that let me know I would 100% be safe tonight and I would 100% wake up in the morning. That sole thought was comforting.
Today was my first real day on my own, and I’m already missing Andrea. I wish she was here, but for her sake I’m glad she’s not currently laying slightly slanted in one of the very few places without snow where I am. Wowza. Just. Yeah. Ok, let’s start from the beginning.
I set my alarm for 6:30 and pushed snooze til 7:15. Some habits die hard.. some habits just don’t die at all. I quickly got dressed and mostly packed my gear-I got frustrated with this pack and quit trying after a while and decided breakfast was more important. So, I walked across the street to McDonald’s and got an egg and cheese biscuit. Then came back to my beast. Whew. Five days of food in that thing plus the 3lb bear can is atrocious.
I walked up to the front office right at 8am and the motel manager was walking out his door, ready for me. He was a kind, older gentleman, maybe in his 60s, originally from Long Island. We chit chatted the whole way to Burney Falls State Park and he dropped me off right at the main entrance. He wouldn’t let me pay him anything for the ride, just said to make sure to spread the word about his motel and how hiker friendly they are lol: Shady Pines Motel in Burney, California is very hiker friendly 😉
I put my pack behind a bench and walked the little paved trail to the bottom of the falls. They are just as gorgeous as you’d expect them to be! What you wouldn’t expect, or at least I didn’t expect: I was the only person there! I had them all to myself! I eventually made my way back up the path and finally saw another living person walking around. It was eerie.
I put on my trail runners and followed the side trail to the PCT. I put my pack down again, this time by a tree, and hoped to God it was still there when I got back.. then I walked southbound to highway 89. I had to make sure I connected my trail, since we started at the highway the other day. I didn’t even want to attempt to get that cute guy to slow down that main road and creep up to the trail crossing for me. What this does mean is that I then had to turn around and walk that mile again. Haha. Oh well, two miles without a pack is easier than one with it.. at least today anyway. I got back (after taking advantage of the pit toilets I passed at a campground), got my pack on, and finally started hiking north to Canada. I was pretty giddy, and I saw a deer off in the distance, too. I was much more positive this morning than I currently am sitting in my tent surrounded by snow. Up until the last 2 ish miles, I was pretty giddy all day!
I finally had an actual incline that kicked my butt, steeper than anything so far, and I still loved it. Then, I hiked downhill and over a huge dam on Lake Britton. Absolutely beautiful! On the way up the even steeper incline after the dam, I met a couple out day hiking to a waterfall to celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary! They are incredible! They recently moved to Burney and love when it’s hiker season. I walked with them for several miles, and somewhere in there, Cruiser appeared.
The four of us were standing at road crossing taking a breather from the incline, and chatting away. Cruiser also lives in California and she’s section hiking. She has my same pack, and she definitely has hers packed way better. We all talked and snapped gorgeous pictures of the valleys below when we got to the ridge line. At some point, Cruiser and I got ahead of the sweet couple, and then she got away from me, too. I caught back up to her when another thru hiker passed southbound. They were talking snow, and the guy made it out like it was no biggie.. that really boosted my spirits! I’ve been so anxious over this damn snow!
I stayed with Cruiser, talking back and forth all the way to this bridge with a fast racing river below it. This is where the couple was coming to, too, and they walked up as we were setting our stuff down, so we decided to eat lunch there. It was already noon anyway. She made it down the Little Rock steps to the water before me and saw a huge rattle snake! She said it stood up some and hissed at her! Thankfully it was a bit farther down than where we were, so I steered clear. At one point I was getting curious, and crept closer to that side of the bank-and then chickened right out. Man, I hate a snake!
We ate and chatted more with the couple, soaked our feet when we felt safe enough to do so, filtered water and relaxed. It was seriously picturesque. Once they headed back the way we came, Cruiser and I packed up. We said our “see ya laters” at the bridge and just like her name says, she started Cruising. I didn’t see her again, but I knew the next chunk of miles were all uphill, so I took my sweet sweet time.
My feet started to really hurt and at some point I crossed a creek that wasn’t listed on the FarOut app, so I took my shoes off and soaked my pups. I got more water just in case I didn’t like the next water source, and kept on hiking. I ran into someone coming southbound who said, “the snow doesn’t really start for like 6 more miles.” Awesome! I was only planning on hiking 4 more from where we met! I just knew I’d get to a dry camp and just deal with the snow tomorrow! Perfect!
And then it quickly changed. With maybe 2.7 miles to go, I saw my first patch of snow. It wasn’t even on trail, so awesome! It’s all gone! Ha! That turned into seeing more patches, into walking into overgrown brush and fallen trees..Climbing up and over and around and through all kinds of branches and getting scraped legs. Fun times! Even still, the snow wasn’t a problem.
A mile to go: snow. I didn’t even see it at first, for a good quarter mile I was suddenly having to walk through water, snowmelt.. and then I got to the bigger patches that I had to walk over.. not too bad.. the issue is it was already 5pm and the top layer of snow was wayyyyy soft. I’d sink in on some steps and not on others, so I felt very odd balance.. cursing myself for having to carry 5 days of dang food.
Literally, only 0.4 miles from where I wanted to camp, it went from patches of snow surrounded by ground to patches of tree wells surrounded by snow and I could hear fast moving water somewhere. I was petrified! Simply because I was now alone, it was almost 6pm, I thought there was somewhere dry to set up camp here, thanks to comments saying as much on the app..And I didn’t see Cruiser, so she must have gone ahead or off in another direction looking for a spot, too. Since I had water, I followed what was supposed to be a forest service road a little ways to look for somewhere to camp. The road, completely covered in a minimum of several feet of snow felt safer to me, because it is indeed a road at some point during the year, so it’s less likely if I postholed through the snow id jam my leg on a tree or branch or deeper hole or a rock.. sure, stuff could have fallen in the road of course, but it calmed me when I was so worried about what to do.
I only made it less than a tenth of a mile when I saw some wide, snow free tree wells.. some bunched together even. I walked over to the actual ground, and it didn’t even feel soaking wet like I expected it to. I dropped my pack and walked around every spot I could see, until I settled on this spot. It’s not the flattest ever, it’s got a slight slant, but a lot less of a slant than the other options I saw. So, I set up my tent, my gear, and made dinner. It got dark up here real fast. It’s now 9:15 and I’m a little paranoid if I’m being honest.
So. I’m going to bundle up (I’m actually cold tonight), and try to get to sleep quick. That way when morning comes in, I can pack up and figure out how I plan to get through this mess. We shall see! Please say a prayer! Although, I guess by the time you’re reading this, I’ll have already made it to my destination with WiFi. That somehow gives me some comfort. Anyway, sweet dreams 🙂
It’s DAY ONE! I can finally say I started hiking the pacific crest trail 🙂 The funny thing is, Andrea and I thought we were going to get up by 6am, leave her house by 6:30, and be on trail hiking before 10am. Joke was definitely on us: we woke up after 8am and didn’t end up getting to the trail until 1:30pm. When better to remember to be humble and that plans change frequently than on day one?
So, Andres, Andrea’s boyfriend, followed us out to a Trail Angel’s house near Old Station, California, we left her truck there, and then Andres drove us over to Burney Falls. We started at a weird road crossing on HWY 89 because the falls were way too crowded. We said our goodbyes to the real MVP (Andres literally drove the 2.5 hours alone just to drop us off and drive back.. alone!) and started hoofing it across a 2 lane highway with cars lined up and down each side. We were a little skeptical because SO MANY people were out and about today-but then we literally saw only a handful of other humans after the very first tenth of a mile! Not too shabby!
The water sources out here in Northern California are a lot farther apart than I’m used to. I went from hardly every needing to carry more than 1 liter of drinking water at a time to carrying 2 liters filtered plus a full 2 liter bag. I really don’t like having to think so far ahead to make sure I have enough water for now, tonight, and for several hours tomorrow morning too. Oh, well, I’m sure when I get to the snow and have slushy wet feet all day I’ll miss this! Haha
We only went 3.2 miles, based solely on water and the need to at least attempt to ease into this thing. It’s a Marathon, not a sprint! The whole way the trail was beautiful, easy to walk, gentle even. We put up our tents pretty quick, thinking rain was coming in-a storm had been brewing in the distance for sometime.. thunder included.. but so far-nothing has come. We’re almost sad we stopped as early as we did, but hindsight and all of that. We didn’t want our stuff to get drenched on day one.. I’ve already done that to Andrea once before (lol-flash back to The White Mountains in New Hampshire).
We took ourselves on a little walk about our area, we met a couple people passing through, and we ate our dinner. I finally got rid of my last freeze dried meal from “Good to Go” which is a company based in Maine that boasts all natural ingredients.. I’m here to tell you, as much as I LOVE supporting small companies-their food sucks. Like had to dig a hole and bury it bc I couldn’t even force myself to eat it sucks. Andrea had a really good chicken Alfredo meal (NOT from G2G) and she was kind enough to share it with me!
We finished eating and burying my horrible meal, then got a few chores done, like filtering water (looks like I need to get a new one) and whatnot. We laid down in our tents, close to 7pm, and I shit you not-someone nearby started shooting their gun. Probably like a riffle and they’re just having some target practice fun, but it’s terrifying and sounds so close to us. I messaged our trail angel, Chris on the Garmin Inreach to see her thoughts on the situation.. but no response yet.
The choices are to stay put, nice and quiet to not draw any attention our way.. OR.. pack up quickly and head farther away, which has a few flaws: we’d have to then set up camp in the dark, and there’s a chance we’d get the shooter’s attention when we’re packing. As innocent as we want this situation to be, you really just never know how crazy people are. Either malicious intent or maybe he’d think we’re bears and shoot by accident. Who knows? I guess we’ll see how the night unfolds. Say a prayer!
Day 2
Start: 1415.9
Stop: 1402.1
Today’s miles: 13.8
Total PCT miles: 17
Welp. Last night was sort of eventful. The gun shooting stopped about 20-30 minutes after it started. And then, around 9:50pm-the lightening show started! It rained through until roughly 2-3am.. but the lightening was flashing so bright it would startle me awake anytime I was almost asleep.. so even if I did sleep, it didn’t feel like it. And then the thunder would come rumbling through.. Normally that would put me right to sleep, maybe it was nerves keeping me tossing and turning.
We were both up and moving and packing by 6:30. The trail was gorgeous this morning! Wet with dew and almost moody until the fog lifted up to reveal robins egg blue skies dotted with puffy clouds and a glaring sun. We knocked out our first 7 miles quick and got to a pretty spot to eat an early lunch on a grassy lakeside. We dried out our tents, walked around in the freezing water a bit to wash off our legs and find some relief for our achy feet.
While we were sitting there, several people came and went with their fishing poles. On the other side of the small lake you could see the roadway drive up and small picnic area. A couple came fly fishing and the woman kindly shared her bug spray with us (unprovoked! Our first trail magic!). The best part is, we didn’t even know what kind of fresh mosquito hell we were about to walk into. They were annoying the last 30 minutes or so of our walk to lunch, as the day started heating up.. but they really didn’t even bug us while we were eating and hanging out at the lake.. but we put the spray on anyway.
A mile down the trail later, when we had to load up on water for the rest of the day, night, and next morning.. we got absolutely swarmed. I’m talking 15-30 on our face, more on our hands, backs, legs, arms.. it was insanity. We snagged that water as fast as we could and loaded it into our packs-now making them even heavier. We thought once we got uphill away from the water that the mosquitos would cut it out-but no.. they are currently still trying to swarm and attack us even while at camp some 8 hours later.
We hiked until 3pm and finally just said screw it, we were just shy of the 15 mile goal, but between the bugs and our achy feet from the added water weight, we were dead. The second we saw a semi decent spot we dropped our packs and put our tents up-almost as fast as those lightening strikes last night. Tents up-we popped in-and I literally didn’t even unpack. I just laid there on tent floor so exhausted from swatting for the last 6 miles and flooded with the relief that I was no longer being bitten.
I had on my long sleeve hiking shirt and those bastards would literally be 10 deep on each shoulder! I had my bug net on (thanks Cholula, I still use it all the time!) and even still I was being eaten alive! Poor Andrea didn’t even have a bug net and was in short sleeves, so when she stopped to put on her rain jacket, I did the same. It helped, at least my arms were safe now, but the constant buzzing and swatting will make you lose your mind, real quick. Not to mention the sweat trap that is hiking in 80+ degree heat in a gortex rain jacket!
When we saw a cooler with trail magic, we quickly snagged a drink, but it was so miserable trying to sip it AND the brief stop to get it had us completely covered. Hundreds of them everywhere! It got so bad I actually called two motels to see if they had a room and could come get us.. one didn’t, completely booked for Memorial Day, and the other didn’t answer the phone at all.. and then I lost service. Hell. Ready to bail on day 2! The shame! Except y’all know me, I was ready to quit the day, get some bug spray and maybe wash our clothes down with some permethrin, and then try again tomorrow. If that lady had a room, I would have too. Real fast.
Anyway, we’ve briefly ventured out the safety of our tents a couple times, to cook dinner, use the bathroom, move our heavy bear cans away from us.. bla bla bla.. but these little ferocious turds are still out in full force. We won’t see them, pop out real quick, and it’s like someone rang the dinner bell because they all show up.
We are covered in bug bites, both of us have sore feet and a blister or 3. My feet haven’t fully recovered from the rainy half marathon in Cincinnati earlier this month, and I’m paying for it now. While we’re on the topic of ailments, my new pack just may not be the one for me.. my shoulder is bruised, it’s difficult to pack, and when it’s loaded down I can’t get my water bottles out. So. That’s neat.
But to end on a good note: the Peak Refuel meal I ate for dinner was delicious (my favorite brand these days) AND this sunset is gorgeous, with snow covered mountains in the background.. and mosquitoes in the foreground. Haha! The plan is to get up earlier tomorrow and try to beat the heat and the majority of the bugs.. wish us luck!
Day 3
Start: 1402.1
Stop: 1386.6
Today’s miles: 15.5
Total PCT miles: 32.5
Rain days: 2
What a day. I finally slept good sometime after midnight.. Andrea says I was snoring! Whoops! I don’t know what she did at all because I had my earplugs in and was knocked out! When my watch vibrated to tell me it was time to get up, I must have turned it off, because I didn’t wake up until 6.. it was great! Except now I take synthroid (my thyroid decided to poop out on me last November. Good times and weight gain, how exciting), and it works best if you don’t eat for an hour after taking it. That has really thrown a wrench into my morning plans every single day since I started that dang pill.
Anyway. I got up and we started packing. The mosquitoes must have slept when we did because they were wide awake the second we were outside our tents. When I tell you we were swarmed, I mean I literally have bug bites on my butt and thighs from peeing the fastest possible pee and still getting attacked. They are a nightmare.
I started the day off wearing a headband, a hat, a bug net, AND MY RAIN JACKET. If life was fair I would have lost every pound gained last year when all this thyroid business came about TODAY, because I was sweating buckets. The good news is, the little boogers eased off once we started climbing out of the valley. I ate a bagel while walking and we both came out of those rain jackets as soon as we found the bugs tolerable. By mid morning I was also out of the hat and the bug net. I get claustrophobic these days, and hats are somehow a trigger.. and a hat with a net stuck to my face is a bigger one! Ha
Once the climb started and bugs diminished, our views grew exponentially more beautiful with every step! There were a few miles of mud and mush, cow poop and some odd noises from the cows and bulls or steer that seemed to be off mating somewhere.. we never actually saw them, but by god we heard them! And during their songs to us, Andrea realized her phone had fallen out of her pocket, so she dropped her pack and had to retrace muddy steps to find it! Luckily, a bull never came at either of us, she found her phone, and it wasn’t damaged at all! That last part is pretty surprising because it felt like we were walking through thick mud soup.
Once we climbed a bit more in elevation, the mud stopped just the like mosquitoes had. We had lunch and aired out our stuff, it didn’t rain but the condensation was bad from the wet ground from the previous day’s downpours. We got water from a water cache a gentleman in the area pays to fill for the PCT thruhikers! Thank goodness because if he didn’t, we’d have over 20 miles with no water source. He asks for donations on venmo, hes 66 and also maintains the trail to water I’ll tell ya about in a bit.. I will definitely send him some money! If y’all wanted too, too, his venmo is @cache22 (Jim Beaty is his name, don’t feel obligated, I just want to help good people when I can!).
There was another man, not Jim, doing trail magic by the water cache. What a perfect spot and another incredible human! He took my trash from me so I wouldn’t have to tote it and I picked a monster out of his cooler, plus a cookie 🙂 talk about a pick me up at the right time!
We hung out about an hour, all said and done, and then started another “big” climb. It was almost 3 miles of uphill, and while I got winded and stopped to breathe, I swear it was still so manageable! I’m kind of shocked I’m able to get up these trails like I have been, even with the blistered heels and sore feet! The views on this climb in particular were stunning. The skies were turning angry and the clouds surrounding the seemingly far off snow capped mountains just made for incredible pictures. Sadly, just after we passed a metal communications tower at the top of this huge rounded out mountain, covered with little more than shrubs and a random tiny trees, the sky dropped on us.
We got absolutely soaked in the matter of seconds. Surprisingly, the cold water sinking into my shoes made my upset feet feel better. All I could do was laugh as Andrea and I suddenly barreled down the trail like we had laced on brand new feet. What else could we do? Standing around on this mountain was just asking for lightening to strike. So far, we had been able to see a strike here and there in the distance, but we weren’t waiting around to find out if we’d be the next one!
The flowers and plants looked so pretty in the rain. They had seemed dried out and droopy and hot before, and now it was almost like each one was smiling and begging for more. Thats the kind of thoughts I was having while walking in the rain and smiling, too. I may not be happy it’s raining, but my feet don’t feel as bad anymore AND there’s really no bugs in a downpour! Once we were off the high ridge and hadn’t seen lightening in a while, Andrea had the great idea to get out our umbrellas. One of man’s best inventions. I swear. That and air conditioning.
We knocked out our last 5.5 miles in under 2 hours, getting us to the next water source by 4pm! We were grateful for many things: 1. Now we had our longest day and now tomorrow gets to be shorter! 2. We are at water so we don’t have to carry extra. 3. It is a STUNNING campsite. By far better than shooter’s alley and mosquito hell hotel. We have almost 360 views from the vista we’re on, some of those views south of us are the perfect backdrop of snow capped mountains and just natural beauty.
What I will admit was treacherous: going to get water at said campsite water source. Jim, the cache guy, created a trail down to the valley floor of this current MOUNTAIN we’re on by clearing a path and making 4 switchbacks down to the water at the very near bottom of the valley. While gorgeous, views wise, that thing gave me flashbacks of what the AT trail maintainers think switchbacks are! We were going straight down, sitting on rocks and scooting, praying to not slip. It was not fun in the slightest, and if this trail were more like that-me and my current condition (overweight) would NOT be able to do it! If I had to tote a full pack down and back up that thing I would have probably sat down and pressed my Garmin’s emergency SOS button, begging someone to come save me. It was a monster! Once my garmin watch loads to the app I can tell y’all how much elevation gain and loss happened in the 0.75 mile roundtrip water grab. ***per my garmin: in 0.375 miles there is 384 feet of elevation change.. that’s almost 100 feet every tenth of a mile! It felt damn near vertical! Lol***
Thankfully, we had already set up our tents before going down there. Once we were back and could breathe again, we made dinner. While we were eating another hiker showed up. He went to get his water first, before setting up his stuff, which was a good thing because we were eating in the only other decently flat spot for a tent. He seemed pretty destroyed when he got back, too.. but he hid it well.
When Andrea and I watched the sunset (well, attempted to, it took too long so we came to lay down before it actually set), another hiker appeared and went down for water. He was verbally upset when he made it back and had time to sit and catch his breath. That made me feel better, for some reason, to see someone else with such a strong reaction to what we just endured.. or shall I say.. accomplished. He continued southbound to look for another campsite.. he wanted privacy. I’d have gotten up to help him make another one around here, but once he said, “for privacy,” my brain was like “Oh thank God! I don’t even want to get back up to pee!” Lol good times.
So, tomorrow we’re only doing 5 1/2 miles to a parking lot instead of the 8 to Old Station. The trail angel that’s picking us up said that was a good spot for her, and Andrea’s and my feet are not complaining one bit! She’d have happily picked us up where ever we asked her to, honestly, but once that parking lot appeared on FarOut, I KNEW that would be a better stopping point. (the app I used on the AT was named Guthook, they changed their name literally as I was making my way southbound on trail in 2021.. to my friend’s name, of all names! What are the odds)—this way we’ll be done hiking early, Andrea can get her truck, I can resupply for my next 5 nights and she can drop me off at the Burney Falls Campground! I can set up camp, walk without my pack to the road crossing we started on and hike back on the PCT so I don’t miss any miles. And then: I CAN SHOWER! I don’t think they do laundry, and my stuff could use a wash already with the rain and the mud.. but that’s ok. The biggest plus of all, Andrea can make her way back home to Reno (2 1/2 hours, remember) in daylight and better rested than if we had hiked 8+ miles on our last day.
Day 4
Start: 1386.6
Stop: 1381.1
Today’s miles: 5.5
Total PCT miles: 38
Sleep just would not come last night.. except for the lifetime it felt like I spent in a very odd dream about my aunt rolling a car and skipping town, which didn’t even start to make sense. I joked with Andrea this morning that we need to change my trail name to Rotisserie.. and then we joked about naming her R&R.. Rotisserie Ritz, where no actual R&R is had-because she couldn’t sleep either. We hope we didn’t disturb our buddy camping near us. These bug bites just itch like hell.
We packed up and ate breakfast at the beautiful overlook we watched the sunset from last night. Then, we made the ballsy move to hike out in our crocs instead of our soaked through trail runners. We assumed we’d have to stop and swap them out early on, but magically our feet didn’t mind the soft cushion of the camp shoes (worn with socks, otherwise we’d have fresh blisters I’m sure).. the terrain being mostly soft and gentle meandering trail along a ridge line didn’t hurt either. It was truly a spectacular morning. The views out here really just make you stop for a second to soak it all up.
We cruised through that 5 1/2 miles to a parking lot where Chris, the trail angel that let Andrea park her truck at her house for safe keeping, picked us up! That lady is the true meaning of an angel! She offered us drinks (Mountain Dew, I see you!) and drove us home. We passed another hiker on the main 2 lane highway, with hardly a shoulder to walk on.. she eased to a stop, giving a tractor trailer behind us time to realize what she was doing and be able to make it around us safely.. I yelled to the guy to see if he wanted to ride with us-he declined! Can you believe it?! He must be making his miles around something he didn’t want to hike through. Odd.
Chris refused to let me pay her any cash, promised me that she does this for the love of it. Her and her husband retired and moved to this area after vacationing here for years. And her property is a looker! Lush green grass by the house and to a river running through the property, so many acres of land for her husband to do his tinkering and her son to have his mechanic shop. Seriously impressive. What a wonderful life those two have built for themselves, and then to let stinky hikers come join them for free! Oh, my heart.
Anywho-side tracked a bit there. We left our lovely Chris and hightailed it to the restaurant in Burney, California, that she said has the best burgers in town: the Alpine Drive Inn. We got to Burney so quick the restaurant wasn’t open yet, so we popped into a grocery store to let me get my resupply food. THEN it was Burger Time! We chowed down on a western burger, tater tots and onion rings. While the hiker hunger hasn’t quite kicked in, the hiker food excitement definitely has!
We walked over to a hardware store and got me some bug spray. Then Andrea drove me over to a motel I found on FarOut that boasts hiker discounts and laundry.. and it’s right within walking distance to most everything else in town, plus the owner will drive hikers back to the trailhead in the morning. Sweet! They even let me check in early! And I tonight I’d be staying at the campground for $5 tonight! Hahaha
Andrea and I got my crap inside and then we said our goodbyes. She set out on her 2.5 hour drive home and then I got to work. I showered, then put on my rain gear, started my laundry, laid out my wet tent, sat in a cute chair under a gorgeous tree, and worked on a project I’ve been trying to finish.. one that was supposed to be finished in South Dakota, and then the week before I left for trail, and then on the drive out to Hat Creek with Andrea.. hahaha I FINALLY finished it while waiting on my laundry to dry.
I packed up my tent and changed clothes.. and then made the short trek to the post office to send off my project (once the recipient gets it, I’ll let y’all see it, I’m a bit proud!). I also sent back home my sleep shirt, a buff, the sleep socks, and the project making gear lol. I then walked to the sporting goods store and bought permethrin to treat my clothes and gear from all those pesky ass bugs! I’ve already seen 2 mosquitoes in this room and I lost my mind!
Since then I’ve been organizing my gear, cleaning some stuff, resting my feet, and writing this up. Oh. And I may have ordered my old pack in the smaller size, because I still don’t like this one, I cannot for the life of me reach my water bottles while I’m hiking, and I can’t pack my tent inside either, it has to be strapped outside. I’m hoping the new one will be more comfortable and I should be able to pack it much easier than this one! I sent it and some Peak Refuel dehydrated meals (from REI) to a motel in Dunsmuir. The sweet man who answered the phone said they’d hold it no charge if I stay there. I told him I couldn’t guarantee my arrival, could be Sunday, could be Monday, could bail out of the snow and show up Saturday. He said, “No Problem” and then text me a few minutes later saying “let me know when you get to the trailhead crossing and I’ll come pick you up!” I’m really loving these trail town people.
My plan for the evening is to walk to subway and get a sandwich for lunch tomorrow and then eat dinner somewhere on that little strip of Main Street. I may get some nail polish too. I feel gross and I think that may just make it better 😉 Tomorrow I’ll be toting 5 days of food into Burney Falls and into the snow. I keep looking up information on postholer.com, the many facebook groups I’m in, and the comments section on FarOut.. I’m thinking it’ll be a lot better than it has been. I guess I know for certain tomorrow! And my first day on my own.. talk about being a bundle of nervous energy! I may just go take another hot shower to calm my anxiety a little! I’ll do my best to update once I make it Dunsmuir! Oh, and check out my Facebook profile for loads more pictures. It just takes forever to load them on here. Goodnight y’all!
