September 24

Last night was colder than the night before not because of temperature, but because of the wind. It was blowing hard and my chosen campsite was exposed and I was laying on the windward side of my tarp. Next time, I will make sure there is a buffer between myself and the wind to keep it from penetrating my sleeping bag. 

We packed everything up in the wind and climbed out over Dick's Pass to hike the 17 miles to Echo Lake. The top of the pass presented a panorama view, the likes of which, we haven't seen in quite a while. We could see lakes on both sides and a wall of granite ahead that the Desolation Wilderness is known so well to have. A few drops here and there in the morning and even a few flakes showed themselves in the morning hours. All precipitous clouds disappeared by midday and we had sunshine and steady wind for the rest of the day. We got to South Lake Tahoe via two hitches and made our way immediately to McDonald's. It was right across the street from where we were dropped off and there was no way we could resist the calorie craving and allurement of free wifi. We spent so much time absorbed in web surfing that we forgot to go to the post office before it closed to get my package, but since we planned on staying over night here it's not a big deal. I found a Chinese buffet 0.3 miles from where we were and we went there to have dinner. It was shortly after 6:00 pm when we arrived and after 8:00 when we waddled out the door. We found a casino with cheap rooms and cheap breakfast and took the bus to the state line where we hiked into our 4th state (Nevada) to stay at the casino. It feels good to have a shower and clean sheets for a night especially since the forecast is calling for snow again tonight. 

September 23

I woke up to frost inside my tent. The morning was terribly cold and it took every ounce of concentrated will power to get out of my warm sleeping bag and get going. My shoes were frozen solid from hiking across the wet snow all day yesterday and being outside last night. Putting them on in the morning was like wearing blocks of ice on my feet. The pain was excruciating and reminded me of the times I would put my feet in ice water when I had plantar fasciitis last year. I was pleasantly surprised, when within 5 minutes of hiking my feet were no longer cold and within 10 minutes the frost and ice were no longer on my shoes. Louis wasn't quite as fortunate as his boots requires more energy to heat and start the thawing process. We had our first glimpse of Lake Tahoe as we climbed out of our valley campsite. Around mid-morning our PCT joined with the Tahoe Rim Trail and we started seeing people. 

We stopped for lunch after 15 miles of hiking and found a good spot to let everything air out. My sleeping bag, tent shoes and socks all needed to dry. While having lunch a large cinnamon black bear wandered by less than 50 yards from us, but didn't pose for a decent picture. After lunch, we packed up again and hiked the remaining 12 miles to our current campsite near a lake outlet at the base of our one remaining pass between us and town. 

September 22

The 5 of us hiked out of our cozy cabin around 8 am and made our way to the I-80 rest stop. After some creative bushwhacking we made it to where Dave Sean and Marshall were parked. Louis and I parted ways with the three and lingered for a bit, eating snacks and talking about the fun we had at the cabin. From there we started our brutal hike through the snow and getting washed every time a tree would drop melting snow from its overloaded branches. Our feet were soaked through from the snow right away and all day long have been in the same condition. We climbed to almost 9,000 ft. before finally descending to a valley where we had shelter from the wind. We made it to our 24 mile campsite just as the sun had set and because of the conditions were only able to manage just over 2 mph hiking today. Hopefully things will melt by the time out climb comes tomorrow evening, I really don't want to camp on snow if I can avoid it. Like everything else, the ground at our campsite is wet. Fortunately, we had time to get everything dry last night and I am in dry clothes and as soon as my toes warm up I will be able to sleep. 

September 21

Our luck on the fantastic weather has finally run out. We knew rain was coming from watching the weather in town, so were not surprised when we woke up at 4:30 am to rain drizzling down. We packed up wet and started our hike for the day. The night before I had noticed a shelter indicated in 20 miles and figured if the weather was really bad we could camp there. It would be a short day to do that but worth it to get out of the elements. 

The rain kept coming all day long, and for the first 3 hours of hiking we were exposed on ridge tops with the wind pelting our faces with raindrops. Finally, just after 10:00 we dropped down to the leeward side of the mountain and had some relief from the weather. We saw one section hiker holed up in his tent. He said he didn't have rain gear and asked us how long it was supposed to last and if there was snow predicted. We told him what we knew that the rain storm was going to peak at 2:00 in the afternoon and no snow was predicted. About one mile after this conversation at about noon we saw our first few snowflakes as we climbed up out of the valley.

The snow didn't quit. It kept coming and coming down covering the landscape with fresh white fluffiness. We were soaked from the rain and getting more and more frozen as the temperature dropped and the snow continued to fly. The cabin shelter seemed more appealing and we decided if it was closed we could hike the 3 miles to the rest stop off the highway and dry out.

We reached the cabin at 2:30 right behind 3 long weekend backpackers Dave, Sean, and Marshall who were letting themselves in. Their first attempt was foiled by a locked door and the spirits of all 5 of us fell hard. We found an open door at the back and let ourselves in, all of us soaking wet and freezing cold. We have 2 of the 3 wood stoves burning and all of our stuff is hanging to dry. They are on their way out of the woods and have shared a bunch of food with us. I had my second Mountain House meal on the trail tonight and part of a dessert meal as well as the snacks they were throwing our way. We've played a game of Pictionary and are now cozy and ready for bed. 

September 20

It is difficult sometimes to leave town and Sierra City was no exception. We had excellent treatment at the store and at the Red Moose. We thanked out hosts for the time spent, and left town at 2:00 in the afternoon. This was after a day of stuffing ourselves with a good breakfast of something other than oatmeal and whatever sugary substances we could find. The post office opened at 10:00 and  I got one box, but still no box from grandpa and grandma. The postmaster said mail would arrive at 11 and we waited with anticipation, eating to pass the time. Grandma's package arrived with the new mail, and more milk was bought and some applesauce to be consumed with the ginger cookies. The cookies were baked to perfection as is always the case when grandma magic is applied. However, Louis and I had eaten so much waiting for the package that we only made it halfway through the cookies and didn't even get into the Twizzlers. I bounced the box ahead to Tuolumne (pronounced: too-wallow-me) Meadows so I could enjoy them before the High Sierras. Needless to say we were both completely stuffed leaving town and walked at a snail's pace back to the trail. We did make it 13.5 miles after digesting our food and had quite a significant climb in order to make it where we are. The weather predicted rain coming tomorrow and it is cold tonight with gusty wind blowing about. 

September 19

Louis and I managed to power out of camp by 7:00 am and with the thought of grandma's cookies once again to lure us to town, hiked hard all day. So hard, in fact, that I blew by two fresh springs to grab water at our ad hoc lunch spot at Summit Lake. The lake turned out to be more of a pond and instead of fresh mountain spring water I had murky pond water that tastes like dirt with a side of floaters. I put a pack of tropical Emergen-C and the rest of my coconut hydration supplement and fruity electrolyte water with an aftertaste of pond sentiment. A strange combination indeed. 

We left our lunch spot sure it would only take us a few hours considering we only had to go 9 miles. We even found a shortcut that would take us down an old 4WD road and straight to the post office. This being the case, I left with half a liter of water and hiked on in good spirits knowing I had 4.5 hours until the post office closed and less than 9 miles to hike. The trail tends to have its own agenda and this case was no exception. First, the trail was full of huge rocks which kill my speed as the rough terrain hurts in trail running shoes. Then, we reached the 4WD road. It is not even a road at this point. It is completely abandoned and overgrown with bushes and so steep I wonder if any vehicles ever made it up even when it was brand new. We half slid half bushwhacked our way down and finally came to signs that read "this is not the pct trail, private property ahead". Louis and I were at the point of no return already, having no more water and behind schedule to reach the post office in time, so we kept going. After one more sign saying the same thing, we came around a corner and walked right into two Rottweilers. Fortunately, they were friendly and one even started licking my leg. The owner, however, was not hiker friendly. He started yelling at us to go back where we came from and wouldn't let us pass by, even on the road. I asked for water for the hike back and he wouldn't even give us that. Louis and I asked nicely, said please, and still got turned away. 

We both think exactly alike, however, and in heading back we stopped at a dry creek bed that we passed on the way down, dropped into it, and followed it down to the main road. We made it to the post office at 4:25 pm only to find out it closes at 2:00 pm now. Frustrated, hungry and completely dehydrated we went to the Red Moose Inn, where I had called the owners (well-known trail angels) the night before to let them know we were coming. We have been received well here, and encourage anyone traveling through Sierra City to stop by and look at all of the letters from hikers they have in their little inn. They let us camp free in their back yard and pointed us in the direction of food. We both got a "gut buster" burger (3 beef patties) and ice cream. Louis had a sunday for an appetizer and I had a blackberry shake for dessert. Everything went well tonight and after hearing some news about grandma's package possibly being stuck in Sacramento, I can't imagine anything else going wrong. After dinner I did almost pass out and luckily Louis had done water and there was a chair nearby. I'm sure it was dehydration and a huge quantity food, even though I finished off 1.75 liters of lemonade before I ate. I'll be more careful next time. 

September 18

Our day of downhill hiking yesterday made a brutal day today of gaining it all back. Louis looked it up and we gained 7,700 ft. today. It felt like most of it was in the morning. We climbed all day until lunch at a road near water at 1:30. We met a northbound hiker at the road that was calling it quits and getting a ride into town to go home. He wasn't enjoying the scenery in Northern California and was ready to go home and see his wife after 4 months of hiking. I've always thought if your not enjoying the hike it's time to go home and it's good to see someone not pushing themselves too far just to say they've hiked the PCT. Louis and myself are enjoying Northern California even though most people find the scenery dull. I've found plenty of places that give reason for my opinion that even this "dull" part has been fantastic. 

September 17

Louis and I hiked 30 miles to our campsite at Middle Fork Feather River. We stopped for lunch with an amazing view at Lookout Rock for an hour, and were done hiking by 6:00 pm. The gnats have been around every time the trail drops below 5,000 ft. since Seiad Valley, and are worse than ever here. It seems like as soon as you start moving, they try to fly in your eyes or in your ear. As soon as you sit down, they go away. I don't know what it is about the moving target, but that seems to be what they want. I'm really happy to have my headnet that allows some relief from the flying creatures. We have camped despite the nasty bugs, and have found the water to be pleasantly warm and great for bathing. It feels great to go to bed clean and refreshed. It's also great to have the sound of rushing water lull you to sleep. 

September 16

It was an easy 14 miles to the little town of Belden, mostly down hill and shaded from the sun with an abundance of good water available. We had cell phone service, but no wifi once in town and as usual plugged our phones in to the wall upon arrival. There was a ping pong table, and for a while now the trash talk has been liberally voiced between Louis and me as to who is a better player. I had Louis down in the first game early, but he came back and won and then won again in the second to end the dispute. The series is not over and the next time when the sun is not in my eyes and I have the favorable wind condition he will lose. 

After a double bacon cheeseburger for each of us and splitting a quart of milk and a box of vanilla wafers for dessert, we let things digest for a minute and hiked out. We started our 4,500 ft. climb and targeted 10 miles for a campsite. I had 3G and put on my favorite Pandora station, The Glitch Mob radio. Their music is so intense and perfect for a huge climb, and immediately I had the motivation to hike. After leaving Belden at 3:00 I arrived at the intended campsite at 6:30 and am now cowboy camped and ready for a good sleep. 

September 15

Reaching the PCT mileage midpoint today was like dark chocolate; bittersweet. I say mileage midpoint because I reached my time midpoint already and expect to be done sometime near the first week of November. Every step I have taken today and hereafter is one more closer to Mexico than Canada. Louis and reached the midpoint monument around 9 am and spent some time taking pictures and reading the manifest. We signed our names and kept going. One of the things we opted for today was to carry water for 20 miles rather than stop at the one reliable source 0.5 mile off trail. This allowed us to do our 28 miles before 6:30 pm with a one hour stop for lunch. We cruised today and have found a nice campsite near a spring with water coming right out of a rock. It's always wonderful to take water straight from the source. The purity is second to none and it has a fresh, cold temperature. It is a cold night and I made the comment to Louis about how this area right now reminds me of our Washington hiking. Not only have we had the trail to ourselves like we almost always did in Washington, we are surrounded by forest yet on top of ridges with occasional climbs and cool weather. Tomorrow we visit the town of Belden for lunch and then have a 4,500 ft. climb out in the afternoon. I have loaded up with carbs and protein and one tablet of glucosamine to be ready for our crazy afternoon pull. 

September 14

It's been great having civilization stops every day for the last 3 days, I could get used to this. We made it to the highway and were standing on the side of the road for a hitch by 1:33 pm. I remember the time exactly because Louis and I bet on our arrival time in the morning and he said 1:33. The hitch was pretty easy I think the 15th car stopped and we rode the 7 miles to town. I was so excited for grandpa and grandma's package which I knew contained a large order of delicious cookies. I had her send it to Cedar Lodge because I knew I would be there on a weekend and needed to be able to pick them up from a place that would be open so the post office wasn't an option. That detestable lodge doesn't deserve to be mentioned in this blog post anymore with the reception I got upon arrival. The owner looked at me with disgust and told me in a contemptible tone that they do not accept hiker packages because of hikers like me who do not call before they send packages. Every place on the trail that has treated me well will be one that I intend to visit again, and this is one that I won't recommend on any occasion. I do understand the issue, but a simple explanation would have been sufficient. This incident almost ruined my day in Chester, but I knew from experience that a full belly and some ice cream would take my mind completely away from this inconvenience. Louis and I had a big lunch of Mexican food, and made our way through the town in search of wifi. We found Internet near an ice cream shack and set up for a couple hours talking on the phone and using the Internet. It was disappointing to use my wallet for a full snack resupply for the next 6 days when I knew that grandma's cookies were sitting inside the post office a block away. I left a note for the postmaster at the post office and Louis and I started to try to hitch out of town. It was getting dark and I was feeling skeptical on our chances when the local trail angel "Piper's Mom" happened to be driving the opposite way on Main Street. She stopped and for the first time we had someone who was genuinely excited to give us a ride to the trail. I'm sure it was well out of her way to run up to the trail, but she was happy all the same to see hikers again as all of the nobos are far past Chester. It was really nice to have a good ending to what could have been a negative impression on the little town of Chester. Louis and I night hiked to a spring with good, cold water and have 5 miles to go to reach the official halfway point on the PCT. 

September 13

It is nice to finally cool down to less than 30 miles a day now that I have caught up to Louis. My legs and joints are repairing themselves after my 100 miles in 3 days stretch and it feels great. It's especially great tonight after a soak in another hot springs pool right near the trail. We stopped by Drakesbad Guest Ranch for a late lunch, shower and laundry and were granted permission to take a swim in the hot pool. It was a 22 mile day to the ranch. On the way we met a few hikers being that it is a national park (Mt. Lassen National Park) and it's the end of the week. We also followed some bear tracks in the dirt right on the trail for a while, but never saw the animal. We have camped right next to a large geyser 2 miles away from the ranch and I'll try to get some sunrise pictures of the steam in the morning. 

September 12

We spent most of the day on top of the Hat Creek Rim with views of the valley below and rising mountains on either side. We did see one fat rattlesnake that didn't seem interested in posing for a picture. Clouds were in the sky, but they were nice clouds with no rain that blocked the sun all day. It was a 29 mile waterless section, but there were water caches every 10 miles and it was never an issue. We hiked to the Subway Tunnel cave site that was only a half of a mile off of the trail and found it to be better than expected. It is a cave formed by lava flows that makes a long smooth tube with expansive rooms. I found it to be a very interesting geological formation and really fun to read about how the tunnels were formed. Upon leaving the cave, we noticed it was almost 3:00 and the post office in Old Station would close at 4:30 and it was 3 miles away. We stood on the road for an hour trying to get a hitch before we got desperate. I suggested walking through the campground nearby to find someone with a vehicle to drive us in, and we found someone who got us to the post office at 4:15. I got my resupply box, we pigged out on food and ice cream and hike 5 miles to Hat Creek for our campsite tonight. The water is perfect for a swim and a bath and I feel clean, full and ready for sleep. 

September 11

I finished the remaining miles to Burney Falls by 7:50 am and waited for the store to open at 9:00. Louis showed up just before the store opened and we talked for a while on a picnic bench waiting for our chance to go in for breakfast food. I was in a weird state of mind with little sleep and huge mileage affecting me this morning. If I was thinking I would have gone down to the camping area where there were showers and where I would be sure to find Louis. I was only focused on food and going in to buy some milk for my muesli. Louis left the falls area while I showered at the facility and washed clothes in a sink. I caught up to him at the first source of water, a fish hatchery 11 miles south. We swam in the lake and took a long break to get out of the sun for a while then started our hike again at 5:00 pm. It's been nice having a hiking partner again, and we have spent the last 5 hours talking and catching up on all the news over the last month. We hiked into the night and now at 11:00 are ready for bed and to finish off the remaining 22 miles to Old Station where we both need to visit the post office. 

September 10

It was incredibly hot again today. I started hiking at 7 am tired from the 35 yesterday and was too warm for my fleece almost immediately. I use a lot of water with as hot as it has been and have to fill up at almost every source. I met a few people on the trail and a couple from that I met yesterday gave me good info about how far ahead Louis was. The couple is from San Diego too, and we exchanged information and it sounds like I can call for transportation of need be. 

Today I have been watching the tracks in the dirt as Louis's footprints are visible. I noticed too some cat tracks, and not the kind you find in a house. There were quite a few going south ahead of me, they disappeared, then reappeared coming north. They were all a day old or last night possibly, but I'm sure at one point or another I was being watched by the owner of those footprints. There was even a cat hole courteously dug by one of the animals, much better behavior than the bears who leave logs as big as my forearm in the middle of the trail. I came around a bend in the trail and saw a large bear scrambling to get out of the area upon seeing me, and making as much noise as a freight train running through the brush below. All this excitement had me wanting to camp with another person for the night. I tried to catch Louis, but have to camp as it is 10:00 pm and I am still 5 miles away after a 37 mile day. I'll do the 5 miles in the morning, in the mean time I am filthy and dusty and was to sleep for a bit. 

September 9

The terrain and heat today were such that it didn't allow me to hike the 40 miles I had planned. I made it 35 miles to a road on top of a ridge where I could see a beautiful sunset and am excited for the sunrise in the morning as I can see eastward as well. I'm probably just over 15 miles north of Louis and have his position guessed fairly accurately. This is both from knowing how far he planned on hiking every day and from asking northbound hikers for the whereabouts of Sugar Side Down. Today was exceptionally hot. It was hotter today than anything I have hiked in yet, and now that the sun has set there is finally some relief. The terrain was a little nasty too. My gps is saying I had a +/- of +9,993 ft./-11,145 ft. over 35 miles. No wonder I'm tired and ready for bed. I did one really stupid thing too. In buying supplies for this trip I bought plenty of food, but forgot to resupply on fuel for my alcohol stove. I have enough to cook dinners and maybe one hot breakfast, but it's a good thing I opted for Poptarts over oatmeal for this section. That's all for tonight my dinner is ready and I'm hungry. 

September 8

After another great Sunday in town with friends I have returned to my home, the Pacific Crest Trail. It is steamy hot here in Castle Crags National Park, even though the sun has set. I am down to sleeping in just my shirts and sleeping bag liner. I didn't have enough time to gain elevation beyond 4,000 ft. to find cooler air as I left from the trailhead at 5:00 pm. I would have night hiked a little, but I had a blister on my heel that was quite painful and the stop is a welcome one. I have my alarm set early and am going to try to make up the mileage in the early morning before the heat sets in. I am stealth camped below the trail and not at a designated campsite as the nearest one is 13 miles away. 

Louis texted me last night as he was night hiking to watch out for rattle snakes after he had almost stepped on one. He was plugged in, and was wondering why his iPhone was making funny noises. When he looked up his headlamp illuminated a mature rattle snake coiled up and blocking the trail. He said he had to throw stones at it because the trail was too narrow to go around it. 

September 7

I tried to sleep in this morning being that I only had 15 miles to go to get to town, but it was a warm night and the sun came up as it always seems to do and I knew in a few minutes I would be cooking in my sleeping bag. I got up, cooked breakfast and was hiking by 7:45 am toward Castella. It was a warm morning, but I had the shade of the giant crags that the Cast Crags National Park is known for shading me from the sun. It helped too that I was dropping elevation with every step into the cool creeks in the canyon below. The gnasty gnats were horrendous, worse than they were in Seiad Valley, and I even broke down and put on my head net to escape their awfulness. They go straight for one's ears and eyes... Terrible creatures. 

Louis informed me of a shortcut to the Chevron station and I took that. I came out near the park entrance and a friendly ranger stopped me to make sure I was ok. I assured her that I was and made my way to the store for lunch by noon. I had a bag of Skittles, Gatorade, and a breakfast burrito for lunch and took a nap after a cup of coffee in the shade. 

I arranged with friends to call to be picked up around 2:00, and by 2:30 had a ride back to Ben and Laura's for the night. I bought a quart of Tillamook caramel toffee crunch ice cream as a gift for staying the night. A gift that I too could enjoy of course :). Sounds like I get lunch tomorrow and a trip to Walmart as that was their plans anyway. I need a few items for the next stretch and that is the cheapest way to do it. It is much cheaper than these trail stores that know they are the only place around. 

September 5

I had the trail almost entirely to myself today. I met two nobos one of which is still hanging on to the idea of finishing even though she would be looking at a November finish in the north Cascade Range of Washington. I wouldn't want to be there at that time of year. October in the high Sierra Range sounds cold enough for me. I saw bears 5 and 6 of my hike today. One was a small cub running for all it was worth ahead of me the other was the mother sow running at a perpendicular angle from the cub which thankfully was away from me. I hiked 30 miles by 6:30 pm and decided to camp because it doesn't matter if I do more at this point. Either way I'll be spending Saturday night near or in Castella and getting back on trail sometime Sunday afternoon. Louis is 8 hours ahead of me which means he is still closer to 20 miles ahead and might choose to go into Castella late tomorrow night. I'm going to have to do 30 or 35s to catch him after Sunday, but I proved today that it is doable without hurting myself. I have a couple days of extremely flat ground ahead of me with no climbs whatsoever, but all will change when I hit the Castle Crags area. The name alone is a little intimidating but I am excited for the views. 

September 4

After a big breakfast of eggs and potatoes Vern gave me a ride to the trail. We got to the summit by 7:30 am and in a few minutes I was off and hiking. I'm still trying to catch Louis and inquired as to his whereabouts with every northbound hiker I saw. If I had to guess I am camped 15 miles from him tonight and gaining about 5 miles a day as a conservative estimate. I will most likely see him in Castella if not on trail before that. It would be fun to hike together again and we have some catching up to do with the happenings of the last few weeks. 

I'm not altogether happy with the weight of my pack right now as wish I could hike without food. This would be a piece of cake without the weight of food. I am really happy, however, with the variety of food in my pack and the quantity of snacks that made their way up from Texas via USPS. Aunt Laurie sent some amazing homemade bars, an interesting assortment of breakfasts, and plenty of other hiker consumables. My aunt even managed to put in Gardetto's Original Recipe, my favorite snack. 

September 6

For the most part, today was a good hike. It was chilly in the night and the morning with a stiff breeze that blew well into the afternoon. I was hiking in shorts and my long sleeve shirt through this and considered a few times to stop and put on my fleece. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the visible sun prevented me from putting on any extra layers as I knew I would be too hot after an hour. In the afternoon the wind died down and it was the hot California sun I was expecting for this section. 

I came to a paved road with a trailhead full of cars just before 10 am. It's Friday and the weekend day hikers were out. I got passed by two unfriendly day hikers walking at speeds more suited to trail runners. I saw a lot of day hikers after that and couldn't wait to get back into the wilderness where I would have the trail to myself once again. It happened quite suddenly I turned the corner, and headed away from the lake that apparently every single one was headed to. I saw no one after that except for a nobo on his way to Cascade Locks, OR and one more day hiker at another road that didn't even say hi as we met on the trail. So far I haven't had a great impression of California day hikers, but that can change.

I was able to get my phone calls out with the service in the area. I talked to mom and got my resupply drops figured out. I even managed to talk to Louis for a bit. I found out why I couldn't catch him on this stretch too. He couldn't get a ride out of Etna and ended up having to hitch out the next morning. That set him back on food too so he was doing 27s to get to Castella before his food ran out. I was only gaining 3 miles a day with my 30s. He's leaving Castella tomorrow and doing maximum 25 mile days. He will be 31 miles in on Sunday night so however far I get Sunday afternoon will determine how soon I catch him doing 30 mile days. 

September 3

I had a nice weather inversion up on top and it kept me warm last night by the lake. In the morning as I started my hike clouds were hanging around and made beautiful colors as the sun started to rise. That surreal feeling came again as I hiked up into the clouds. It's something I cannot capture on camera and something very hard to put into words, but I enjoy hiking up and into the cloud layer. It's kind of like when you are in an airplane and upon takeoff get swallowed up by the white fluffy cloud layer only to pop out again into sunlight.

I hiked the 14 miles to Sawyers Bar Road and waited for a ride into town. After 20 minutes the first car I saw stopped and gave me a ride in. At the Post Office, I saw Dixie and got my package. She called Vernon and we had lunch together. I was going to get back on trail, but in looking at my maps, saw that if leave tomorrow morning, I could be in Castella Saturday night with ease. That is the plan now and again I have a nice bed and a shower for the night. Too bad Vernon doesn't have his plane ready to fly... I'll have to come back some time when it is. 

September 2

I left my campsite later than I wanted to and later than necessary to hike 30 miles before sunset, but made it 27 to a lakeside spot only 14 miles from the road that will get me to Etna. Once there, I can get my box from my Aunt Laurie that made its way up from Texas and see what treasures are inside. I heard something about homemade granola bars which I'm particularly excited about. I can get a good lunch too and I heard there is an excellent coffee shop as well. It may be hard for me to get out of town and back on trail, but I'm hoping this is a quick stop. 

I had a great stop in Seiad Valley and have been thinking about it all day today. Tonight, for example, I had my first taste of a Mountain House meal. I call it "rich people food" because they're about $7 each and for me to eat them on the trail would mean shelling out close to $1,000 just for dinners. The Chicken Teriyaki and Rice meal was so good I'm almost ready to buy a case or two and get some of those to carry on the trail. 

It was a really good hike today and I have to say that the Marble Mountain Wilderness is beautiful and I would love to spend some time hiking around in this area. It's been nice to get out of the forest and have some views once again. It's been nice even if it means strenuous and rough terrain which I had plenty of today. It was fun too in talking with the nobos to tell them that "Bink" is actually Scott Williamson and watch their reactions as they had no idea even though they all talked with him for a few moments. 

September 1

I had a great nearo day and a surprise visitor on the trail! I love that my nearo days mean I do 10 miles now. Nearo means "near zero" and 10 miles is only a third of my day and after a town day I can do all 10 in less than 3 hours. I downloaded "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky after enjoying "Crime and Punishment" thoroughly. 

My surprise visitor came by tonight at 8:30 pm as I was reading in my tent. It was none other than "Bink" aka Scott Williamson on his way through to see if he can take back his record. We chatted for quite a while, and it was nice to get news from behind me on the trail for once! There are a lot more sobos on trail than I thought, and it sounds like I am right in the middle, if not toward the front of the sobo pack. The nearest to me is Zeke The Freak and he's estimated to be at Crater Lake at this time. It sounds like there is about 30 of us trying to make the sobo journey and Scott assured me I wouldn't have snow issues in the High Sierras when I go through them. He lives in Truckee and says snow might fall and it will be cold, but not to worry about getting snowed in. That's a huge weight on my mind right now, and I'll believe it when I'm through. It was good chatting with him and now I wish I would have hiked the extra three miles to the next campsite so I could get up and hike with him in the morning. I could set my alarm for 3 am and maybe catch him and hike with him tomorrow, but I'd rather sleep in till 5 am being that it's a holiday. 

August 31

I hiked the 27 miles to town and met a few nobo stragglers on my way. All the nobos I meet at this point have taken four months to hike California. Something I hope to do in half that time. I did have a nice break at a spring with some thru-hikers that recognized me as a sobo thru before I said anything. This is because they say I have "the look". "The look" is an expression for thrus who have a thin, lean body and a gleam in their eye as if they are looking at a distant goal. It is said to come about after about 1,000 miles and this is the first time it has been said of me just a day after reaching my 1k mark. There must be truth to the saying I guess. 

I made a call with one bar of reception when I reached the highway and was picked up within minutes. I was in the shower, clean and feeling good a short time later. We then left all together for a big meal with more friends nearby, and I ate two plates of delicious stir fry and a big bowl of peaches and ice cream. I have my own room for the night, and couldn't be happier with the accommodations and the hospitality. 

August 30

Well I have walked 500 miles then walked 500 more. It was fun today to reach my 1,000 mile mark and finish Oregon then start California in the same day. The official mileage for my campsite is 1,688.49 right now and it is a 2,660 mile trail and I did a 30 mile yoyo at the beginning to tag the Canadian border putting the total mileage for my hike at 2,690 miles when I reach Campo, CA. 

I did a total of 32.8 miles and have only 25.67 to do tomorrow before having a hot meal and a bed for the night with some friends in Seiad Valley. I will nearo on Sunday, but my nearos now mean I get 10 or 15 miles in before dark. Louis signed the register at the OR/CA border yesterday, but I don't think he will stop in Seiad Valley so I will have to catch him at Etna or near Old Station depending on our respective mileages. I heard from a reliable source that Scott Williamson has indeed started his record breaking hike attempt from Canada and should catch me within a week. He has to average over 45 miles a day to take the record back and I'm excited to see him buzz by.

One more thing worth noting was an earthquake tremor last night. I thought it was part of a dream or something, but remember vividly sitting up and listening intently to try to figure out what it was. The only thing I can think of was an earthquake. It was very subtle and one probably wouldn't have felt it in a house, but when you are laying on the ground you hear the ground and feel when it moves. I heard it right below me and felt a slight knocking and vibration move down the mountain toward Ashland. That was a crazy experience!!