Category: Pacific Crest Trail 2023

Start: 1458.7

Stop: 1462.6

Today’s miles: 3.9

Total PCT miles: 1314.8

It’s only 5:15 and I’m debating putting my food away, rolling over, and going to sleep. The only problem: I know that means I’ll wake up in a few hours wide awake, hungry, and have a hard time going back to sleep.. it might be worth it though!

Andrea, Margot, and I slept in until 7 something. I’m afraid I kept Andrea awake, or woke up her up, quite a bit with my rolling in the night. WHY CANT I JUST STAY ASLEEP?! My legs ache, and then when I roll over and straighten my knees, the pain is so severe sometimes I’m afraid I’m going to yell out.. so I guess it’s good I didn’t do that at least?

I was overwhelmed looking at all my stuff and my bear canister Andrea brought me, so I talked them into going to the general store for burritos instead. Then packing once we were back-especially since Margot and I still had some resupply food to buy anyway. On a whim, I tried on the microspikes Andrea brought.. because we may need them in the Sierra (Dear God please NO!). Mine didn’t fit!? What? How?! The sizing on the box clearly states these should fit me, but they’re so tight once I manage to stretch them enough that my toes inside my shoes were curling. Crap.

Margot’s didn’t fit either. Uh oh. We think it might be because of all the cushion on the soles of our shoes, we have to size up. So, before going to the store, we went to the lobby area, got on the WiFi, and I ordered us both a pair to be shipped to South Lake Tahoe, where we should be 4 days from now. Andrea will return these and get her money back. Whew. Gotta love REI’s return policy.

Anywho-we got to the store and Margot and I resupplied and I ordered the largest burrito I’ve ever had in my life. That thing was like the size of my calf. Massive! I got it to go, and we went back to our motel and sat at the restaurant patio, where apparently they serve breakfast too. The girls got something to eat there, and I had my burrito, and we all talked and laughed and complained (mostly just me) about how slow the WiFi is. Not to mention, there’s no cell service either.

We went back to the room to pack, and both Andrea and Margot were trying to talk me into zeroing. I just didn’t see the point in spending more money, on a motel and food, if I couldn’t even do the one productive thing I want to do: update my dang blog! I only have up to day 78 up-and I’m on day 91 in real life-that’s insane! So, I made the tough call to be a brat and get back on trail. Andrea was even willing to take us to Truckee for the night, with WiFi, but then the hotels there are so much more expensive-plus she’d have to drive us the hour back here-even if we also joked about skipping this 50 miles between Sierra City and Truckee. If only. Haha.

So, Andrea pit stopped at the post office for us, then drove us to the trailhead. We hugged and said our goodbyes.. I always hate it when she leaves. The good news I know I’ll see her at the end of October, when she flies to Atlanta before we go to Egypt November 1st. Damn, that’s getting so close and I still have SO MUCH TRAIL to hike. Cue the panic.

So, we hiked. It was gorgeous trail, uphill but gentle, along a river-the same river our motel was on. It was beautiful and sunny, and we only made it 3.9 miles. Haha. We knew we needed the rest, but I think we both thought we’d go a bit farther than this. However, when we got here, resting felt wonderful. There’s a creek beside us, the trail from here continues uphill for quite a few miles. So, why not? I wish Andrea could have hiked in to here with us and spent the night, then hiked back to her truck in the morning. That I’m sad about, otherwise Im pretty happy and my legs are, too.

But yeah, I think I’m going to go to sleep. Before 6pm. And wake up later to deal with the burrito fullness wearing off. Sounds like a later me problem, huh?? Haha. Goodnight y’all.

Start: 1436.8

Stop: 1458.7

Today’s miles: 21.9

Total PCT miles: 1310.2

Today was STUNNING. The whole day was just so pretty. We started hiking by 6:30 again, and never ran into each other until getting to Andrea.

Every single turn was a view. Nothing felt boring or monotonous. It was sunny and not too hot but not cold. There were lakes off in the distance and then suddenly lakes I’m walking right by. There were a few big climbs, and on one of them I sat on a rock and ate my lunch. Hoping Margot would catch up to me, but she didn’t. I was visited by chipmunk that stole the last bite of my jalapeño and cheddar bagel. Punk.

There were a lot of day hikers out and about, a father and son had their golden retriever with them, and he was a pure delight. I may have gotten him in trouble by calling him to me when they were trying to make him sit for his leash. Whoops. But worth it. I got all the kisses and tail wags.

After the big climb, there was the longest descent to the road Andrea was meeting us at. From the top, you could see exposed switchbacks, around these awesome rocky spikes above where I was standing. It was so beautiful, and thank goodness because the beauty distracted me from the pain of the rocks I had to cross. They were everywhere and my feet ached like crazy.

I messaged Andrea from the garmin at 3pm saying I still had just under 4 miles, but if she got there around 5, I should be there. The rocks were slowing me down. 5 minutes after sending that, the rocks gave way to pine forest and I felt like I was running down the switchbacks the rest of the way to the road. It felt so good to be able to move quickly so suddenly, after painful hours in the sun cautiously stepping.

I made it to the road just before 4:30, so proud. Andrea was already there! No way! She said she knew I’d be faster than I was claiming in my message, lol. I chugged the Gatorade she brought me, greedily and so happy! We talked while waiting for Margot, me splayed out in the middle of the turn around, to stretch out my sore legs. I assumed she’d get there before 5:30 at the latest. She came around the corner just before 5:15, plenty of time to hop in Andrea’s truck and get to the store for a soda before it closes at 5:30! Hell yeah!

We made it to the store, got some drinks and then went to our motel. Well, motel doesn’t seem right. It’s called Sierra Pines and it’s gorgeous. There’s a restaurant and lobby up front, then, the rest are 4-6 rooms in a building all stretched down the hill but above the river below. Our building (Andrea already checked in before coming to get us, the angel) has balconies overlooking the river and our room is right by a waterfall! It’s incredible!

We took turns showering and then went back up the hill to the restaurant for dinner. They let us sit outside by the pond and it was just delightful. This is the only area you can get WiFi, and it was incredibly slow-so-no updating anything from me here today. And honestly, that was ok. I enjoyed getting to talk with my friends and enjoy the moment I was in. We all got some form of pasta and the meal was perfection. Side salad and bread included. Andrea and I shared wine. It was wonderful.

I’m so happy she came up here and we are getting to share these experiences together. I told her about meeting the triple crown awards guy and the info about hiking the Porto Camino. Now we want to plan to do that, hopefully next fall. It would be so awesome. I love hiking even more when wine and beds are included daily. Ha.

Anyway, time for bed. We all seem pretty worn out, I know for a fact I am. I feel like I need a week of sleep to recover. Goodnight

Start: 1410.4

Stop: 1436.8

Today’s miles: 26.4

Total PCT miles: 1288.3

Yep. I hit snooze again.. except this time I did it on purpose. When it went off, and it was still so dark outside, I just couldn’t. I did sleep pretty hard though, and for that I was grateful. I started packing around 6:05 and left camp just after 6:30. Close enough.

Today had so much up and down and up again. All day long. But, even still, it was better for me mentally than yesterday. It was sunny and real hot in the sun, but in the shade it wasn’t too bad at all. After the first half mile or so, we left the burn zone and had living beautiful forest the rest of the day-unless we were up on exposed mountaintops and ridges.

Once Margot and I left each other this morning, I never saw her until we set up camp. I ate lunch sitting in a shady spot on top of one of the many climbs. It was nice, but I missed having her to talk to and make me laugh. Not far after lunch, I crossed a dirt road with some guys in a truck that said “Fire Storm” on it. I waved and said hey.. then asked, “should I be concerned?” And the guy told me that no, there was no fire yet-but anytime there’s lightening they come up to the mountains to keep a visual. I just stared at him.. then the sky. There wasn’t a single cloud up there-what was I missing!!??

We laughed and waved bye.. I started up another uphill climb. At the top, it was rocky and gorgeous from a full 360 view. Off in the far distance I could see a group of clouds-maybe those are what he’s watching? Weird. Oh well. I kept moving, enjoying the scenery so much, grateful that today wasn’t as hellacious as yesterday felt.

On the biggest climb of the day, I kept expecting to see snakes. Once I was up and out of the forest, the switchbacks were either rocky or the overgrown bushes.. I didn’t see a single snake, but I did see a ton of lizards that I often screamed and thought were snakes at first, and I saw a grey frog. He was a long way from water-so I thought that was odd.

I got water at a junction with a dirt road and like 3 trails. Then I started up my last climb of the day. It was 2.5 miles uphill, switchbacks in woods turning into exposed mountainside with the most epic sunset views I think I may have ever seen! The moon was out. The purples and pinks and oranges filled the sky and the other mountains in the distance seemed to bask in the glow. It was magic. Everything about it was simply magic.

At the very top of the climb there was a random chunk of trees where the camping was supposed to be at. It was nearing 8pm already, and getting dark, quick, so I walked around looking for the best spot for both of us, having a hard time choosing. I ended up in my headlamp. The one side had great views, but almost every tree was snapped and what was still standing was bend sideways, from the gusts of wind way up here on this mountain top. So, I went back in some, more to where all the living trees looked to be still standing and like they’d stay that way. I found a spot and set up, then cleared a spot for Margot across from me.

I unpacked and got inside, because while I was stirring up dirt and dust, the bugs started to attack. Irritating little boogers. Once everything was unpacked, I tried to hold out for Margot before cooking dinner, so she wouldn’t have to eat alone tonight, too.. but, I only lasted until 8:45. I tried. I cooked my dinner with my headlamp on and my light on my phone on too, so hopefully she’d spot me easy.

Before my water was done boiling, she came walking up! She had gotten lost at that weird intersection with the water, and took the wrong trail out of there. Whoops! Otherwise, she had a great day too, and even saw a bear and a snake! Eventful! She set her stuff up and we talked while I ate, then started writing this. I really wish it didn’t get so dark so fast. It’s a real bummer.

Tomorrow we have just under 22 miles before Andrea picks us up from the road and takes us into Sierra City for the night. We have a hotel room, and while there’s no where close to do laundry, we will get to shower, sleep in a bed, and spend time with my west coast bestie 😉 I’m super excited to see her again! It feels like that Fish Lake fiasco was months ago now. Ha. Anyway, sweet dreams! Faster I go to sleep, sooner I get to town!