FORTY SIX – FRIDAY JUNE 11, 2021

An hour into the morning I reached Interstate 80.  It had been over 800 miles since my last Interstate crossing at Cajon Pass!  After making it through a wet tunnel I took the short spur to the roadside (and trailside) rest stop.  I emerged from the woods like the animal I was and took care of my morning business.  It was time for some cold pizza.  The packed out pie from Donner hit the spot.  On the spur trail back from the rest stop I was stopped in my tracks.  About twenty feet from me was a large California gray wolf.  It was indeed not a road tripper’s husky that wandered from the parking lot.  We were both frozen staring at each other for at least a whole second.  Time moved slow and we were in shock.  Before I could even think to reach for my phone the wolf wandered off into the woods.  

With half of my pizza left and some miscellaneous ski lodge snacks I decided to try to push to Sierra City in one day.  It was not the best fuel for a big day but I made due with what I had.  I ended up making it thirty six miles but had a couple more hours to make it to town and decided to stop for the night along Milton Creek.

FORTY SEVEN – SATURDAY JUNE 12, 2021

This morning I headed down into the valley towards Sierra City. I was quickly descending and saw another hiker about 100 yards ahead. My downhill pace was pretty stout but there was no chance I would catch up to her. I felt I was getting close to the trailhead when all of a sudden a bear went running down the hillside below me. This was the biggest and darkest bear I had ever seen this close. Less than an hour later I hit the road and saw it was Crossword and she was with Ignition too. They were headed into town also so we threw our thumbs out and after a couple cars went by we hopped in a local’s truck. 

Sierra City was more of a town, if that. But it had all you wanted: post office, coffee shop, general store, campground, and a couple of restaurants. Oh and we found out there was a rare but priceless public shower. We got a table at the Red Moose and all three ordered the Hungry Hiker Breakfast Special. I also ordered a breakfast beer, no shame since it was Saturday (not that we kept track). I was so excited and told them that I was pretty sure I had just seen a grizzly on the way down this morning. Crossword quickly corrected me. She said there weren’t any grizzlies in California which was very true. After breakfast we all started the town errands. I resupplied and bought another sandwich at the general store. After sitting on the porch for about an hour while my battery charged I headed towards the edge of town. There was a coffee shop so I got some caffeine on the rocks and a cinnamon roll for good measure. After thirty minutes of thumbing in front of Red Moose I had a couple of vacationers offer to take me back to the trail after they ate. One of them said you know what I’ll just take you now. 

The climb out of Sierra City was long and steep with a full pack in tow. Ignition and Crossword caught up quickly and we leapfrogged for the next day with me only passing when they stopped to snack.  After about 3,000 feet of climbing the trail leveled off a bit.  I should have been happy but we were back in lake territory AKA mosquito territory.  This may have even been worse than Yosemite.  I set up my tent just to escape them.

FORTY EIGHT – SUNDAY JUNE 13, 2021

I heard Ignition and Crossword pass while I was still contemplating my re-entry into the mosquito madness.  Luckily after an hour or so I was away from the lakes.  The landscape quickly changed into a large burn area from the past fall. The day was full of dirt road crossings, small paved road crossings, and mostly rolling terrain.  There were even some sections that the trail burnt away and was routed on fire breaks.  This allowed me to crush some miles and get over thirty seven on the day.

After crossing a large bridge over the middle fork of the Feather River I was getting exhausted.  I looked for the next flat spot to get horizontal.  I did not feel like setting up the tent and did not see a need to since it was warm and there were no mosquitoes.  I was so tired I set my sleeping pad directly on the dirt without laying out my tarp.  It was my first time cowboy camping in almost a month, since I was south of the Sierra. 

FORTY NINE – MONDAY JUNE 14, 2021

There was more of the burn area today.  I had black smudges all over my arms from climbing over burnt blowdowns (burndowns?) and the ground was dustier than the desert.  My shoes were completely caked.  It did not even matter that I basically slept right in the dirt last night.  It was all over me.  

That evening I descended into Belden, a hydroelectric town on the Feather River. I passed by a big group camped outside of the resort. They looked like a fun crew and I wanted to stay but had to road walk another mile or two to Caribou Crossroads.  All of the dust from the burn walking must have got in my eyes and caused my contacts to get irritated.  I took them out and rocked my glasses for the last stretch.  

A couple of days ago I called them to confirm my bounced package from South Lake Tahoe would be arriving with my replacement sleeping pad.   They told me they were closed Monday and Tuesday (weird) so I arranged for them to stow away my package in a drop box outside of the building.  When I arrived my package was not in the spot they told me.  I searched the entire perimeter of the building and was frustrated so I decided to sleep it off.

FIFTY – TUESDAY JUNE 15, 2021

The Caribou Crossroads store would not open for another day so I headed back toward the trail.  I got a hitch from an old guy in a beat up dually and hopped out at the Belden Resort.  There were a few hikers still hanging around.  “Monterrey” and “Smudge” told me the resort was also closed today.  This was unfortunate because I had planned on doing a small resupply here to get me through the next day.  They quickly offered up a few bars and as her namesake would hint, Monterrey gave me half a block of cheese.  There was also a road tripping family from Michigan that tossed all of us some fruit snacks. I made due with what I had.

This was a hot climb out of Belden.  With my glasses on, I was missing the usual glare relief that my sunglasses provided.  At over 4,000 feet this must have been one of the tallest climbs on the entire PCT.  Absolutely brutal.  In mid afternoon I reached two milestones!  First I saw a sign that marked the official beginning of the Cascade Range.  An hour after that I hit mile 1,300.

FIFTY ONE – WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 2021

A couple of hours into the morning I hit halfway!  I had officially hiked as much of the PCT as I had not hiked.  There was nobody around and the monument was minimal but I stopped to enjoy the moment.  After trudging through fire dust and fighting eye pain, this was the boost I needed.  On the approach to Chester I saw something large on the trail coming toward me.  A bear!  I figured he saw me but we kept moving toward each other.  He had his head down, snout sniffing the trail for any snacks hikers had dropped.  Once we were about fifty feet from each other I figured I should do something.  I casually said “heyyy”.  He immediately looked up at me and was alarmed at the presence of a hooman.  I had no idea how he would react but was relieved when he immediately took off running down the hill away from me.  Whew.

I followed the bear’s lead and ran the last couple of miles to reach the highway for a hitch to Chester.  I was dropped at the post office for a large resupply box and also a guest appearance box from my buddy Parker.  Inside was a letter with a giraffe sketch (classic) and a Vogue magazine (yasss) to hide the Tropicalia contraband he shipped from Georgia.  Liquid gold.  I walked back towards the center of town for a burger, fries, and a shake from the Pine Shack.  It was up there on the list of food destinations along the trail.  If that wasn’t enough, “Presto” and I shuffled over to the diner next door to see what all the buzz was about their cinnamon rolls.  These were as big as your face.  I did not give myself the usual hour it takes to work up another appetite and forced down as much as I could eat.  Across the street I did some laundry and threw one of the Trop’s on ice while I showered and shook out my resupply box.

Just as I was leaving town, Ignition and Crossword rolled in.   They had to do a double take, hardly recognizing me after a shower and with my glasses on.  I said bye but knew the leap frogging would continue.  After walking down the road I reached the end of the main drag without any hitch success.  I saw a hole in the wall bar across the street and was tempted to submit and try to find a ride inside.  In my contemplation, a couple walked out and yelled across the street at me, asking if I needed a ride.  I would not normally advise hitching a ride from a guy leaving a bar, but I was pretty desperate and they seemed ok.  I just hiked halfway from Mexico to Canada, so I was invincible, right?  Richie and Sarah were two locals and to my surprise had no idea about the trail I was hiking.  I briefly explained it and told him where the trail crossed the highway.  He blew past the stop and then did a U-turn into a gravel lot, followed by a few donuts before turning around.  My adrenaline was pumping and for a split second I felt my life in danger before relaxing and enjoying this wild ride.  I hiked another ten miles or so and found a spot along the north fork of the Feather River.

FIFTY TWO – THURSDAY JUNE 17, 2021

In the middle of the morning I reached Lassen Volcanic National Park.  I saw this name in my minimal PCT research but other than that had never heard of this National Park.  The only important piece of information I found is that bear cans were required for an overnight stay in the park.  I shipped my can from Kennedy North to Chester, only to find out this stretch of trail was only nineteen miles long.  That was a distance I could easily push through in a day.  Oh well.  As the name suggests, it was quite volcanic.  I passed by a few geysers and then reached Drakesbad Guest Ranch.  I had plenty of food from my resupply but a coffee and beer sounded great.  Their credit card machine was down so they said I was good and I found myself with some trail magic.

The trail wound around the park with views of Lassen Peak in the distance.  After stopping for a trail beer at Twin Lakes and walking through another burn area I walked along the edge of Hat Creek where there were several tent sites.  One hiker was still awake and could hear me walking by.  Usually I would pass by tents in the night and they would have no idea.  This guy turned on his light and said “Hey is anyone there?”.  Now, I was in my night hike groove and instinctually responded back “Just a Ghost in the night.”.  He did not reply.  In hindsight this may have spooked him but in my mind I was just telling him my name.  I was a Ghost in the night.  A few miles later I found a nice spot on top of the ridge.  There was even phone service and I was close enough to hear the highway.  Was I on the Appalachian Trail??

FIFTY THREE – FRIDAY JUNE 18, 2021

I had just a couple of hours to reach the next stop at Old Station.  It was mostly flat and downhill, so I cruised in time for breakfast at JJ’s Cafe.  I joined three other hikers and the whole time was wondering if one of them was who I spooked the night before.  They may have also been contemplating asking me or they were just living with the thought that it may have been a dream (nightmare).  After breakfast I headed over to the gas station for some more charging and second breakfast.  By noon I decided to head back out and found the three other guys.  We all took a side spur to Subway Cave before rejoining the main corridor.  It was a nice cave loop trail through a lava tube.  Also the cool temperature was nice to escape the heat.

The rest of the day was a traverse of the notoriously hot and dry Hat Creek Rim.  The beginning of the rim had views of Lassen Peak behind and later in the day I had my first views of Mount Shasta off in the distance.  This confirmed that I now felt I was in the Cascades and out of the gray zone after the Sierra.  Luckily there was a large water tank halfway through this dry twenty mile stretch.  I cameled up and saw several paragliders overhead soaring in the sun setting sky.

FIFTY FOUR – SATURDAY JUNE 19, 2021

I woke up just before mile 1,400 and reached a road crossing within the first hour.  “Tracy” who lived nearby set up a full spread on her tailgate.  It was an awesome breakfast!  I told her about the three others that should be right behind me.  The rest of the morning was spent along Hat Creek, passing a fish hatchery and a powerhouse.  I reached another rare mile marker sign which was reassuring that I was more than half way.

In the middle of the afternoon I reached Burney Falls State Park.  This was again one of those moments I had to think what day it was.  Cars were lined along the highway and the parking lot was full.  Surely it was a Saturday.  It had been only three days since Chester but a bath sounded nice.  The water was ice cold.  I jumped in and emerging from the surface I gasped for air.  After drying off I walked up to the general store for some ice cream and a small resupply.

I went a few hours past the park and found a nice flat spot to stop.

FIFTY FIVE – SUNDAY JUNE 20, 2021

Oh what a night.  I started off cowboy camping but after almost an hour of swatting away mosquitos I realized something must be done.  I was half asleep and did not have the energy to get up and set up my tent.  The quick solution was to unzip it and get in like a mummy.  It was a bit claustrophobic but it kept the mosquitos away and that is all that mattered.

The morning did not have many views but was full of wildlife.  I still am not sure what but I saw some sort of ferret chasing a chipmunk around a tree.  In the early afternoon I approached a huge black bear.  He was also a northbounder so I had to chase him off the trail a couple of times.

I spent the afternoon traversing ridgeline with some amazing views.  It was much more pleasant than my evening on hot Hat Creek Rim.

FIFTY SIX – MONDAY JUNE 21, 2021

Summer Solstice day!  I normally celebrate the longest day of the year but it was even more special to spend it in the woods without a town stop or many road crossings.  It is also known as National Hike Naked Day.  I had not seen any other thru hikers since the guys in Old Station so I figured it would be odd to be the only naked guy in the woods.  I decided to partially partake and hike in my boxers.  My decision was verified as I passed a young family and then an elderly couple early in the day.  I did meet “Goaltec” who said he was doing a southbound section and those were his parents I passed earlier.  He had spent the last few summers knocking out sections and had a whole bag of trail magic that he let me pick from.  Some salty potato chips hit the spot.  I spent the rest of the morning doing some fastpacking down to the McCloud River.  Since it was the longest day of the year I figured I could push 40 miles to make it to Dunsmuir / Mount Shasta.

After crossing the river I began to climb back up the ridge.  I saw a momma bear and her cub just off the trail.  They seemed mostly unphased to me passing by.  At the top of the ridge I was rewarded with close up views of Mount Shasta.  I felt great and decided to run the next ten miles down the ridge into the darkness.  I normally did not run at night but it was a holiday so why not.

I reached the Interstate 5 crossing at Soda Creek about 11 PM.  Approaching the underpass I could hear some truck traffic overhead but there were no cars exiting here.  My options were to wait here until morning and hope for a ride or position myself closer to town.  It was about four miles north to get to the nearest town of Dunsmuir and another ten past that to Mount Shasta.  I did not know of any motels that would be open this late so I figured at a minimum I could find power tonight and walk to Dunsmuir in the morning.  The only road heading north was the Interstate.  Now I was desperate for power but I was not that dumb.  After a quick look at the map I saw a set of railroad tracks running between the road and the Sacramento River.  That I was dumb enough to do.  During my mile on the ties I had one train pass but it was not a “Stand By Me” situation.  I was able to run off the side and hide in the brush while it passed.  

There were a couple of RV parks on the outskirts of town but after some quick surveys I did not see any power and they did not seem very hiker friendly.  When I say hiker friendly that is not asking for much.  I just needed a power outlet, a flat spot to sleep, and maybe access to water.  Across the road was the Railroad Resort.  It was a plot full of retired railroad cars converted into guest rooms.  At this point it was after midnight and nobody was awake.  I wandered through the property and found the real soda creek.  A vending machine!  I always kept a few dollar bills and some change on me just for this scenario.  Don’t worry, I stuck to the non-caffeinated colas.  This was the only power outlet I could find but figured I should not mess with it since one port was used for the vending and the other for a camera pointed directly at me.  I walked back to the main road and was mesmerized by an Interstate billboard lit up in the night.  After a closer look I realized the spotlight was plugged into an outlet and there was one open port.  I quickly hopped a fence and scurried over to the outlet to plug in my battery and light.  Across the street was a covered abandoned lot that looked perfect.

FIFTY SEVEN – TUESDAY JUNE 22, 2021

I woke up to the buzz of the Interstate and walked over to a nearby bus stop.  The bus flew by and I realized I was waiting on the wrong side of the road.  It was only a couple of miles to Dunsmuir so I started walking.  Not even halfway there, a local stopped and picked me up.  I had him drop me off at the Wheelhouse for some breakfast.  The inside of the restaurant was still closed but they were serving food out the window and everyone was hanging out on the porch.  A young family from the Midwest was sitting next to me and began to ask the typical questions.  I started to share stories and the son asked me what animals I had seen along the way.  The father asked me to show them some photos so I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the desert digest.  The kids gathered around me and one was hanging off my arm so she could see my screen.  I looked at their parents like “hey, you sure you want your kids near this smelly guy?”.  At this point the “Days Since Last Shower” count was at 6 with a swim just 3 days earlier.

After breakfast I walked up to the center of town for a small resupply at the market.  I looked down at my feet and realized my third pair of shoes were already beginning to fail after 500 miles.  I knew overall I wanted to make it to Canada in four pairs, so this one would need to stretch further.  I walked in the hardware store and bought some Shoe Goo to fill in the cracks of my trail cleats.  I was looking through the store and realized I had zero souvenirs from this journey.  I purchased a coffee mug and then walked into the post office.  I sent home this mug and also my fleece since it was summer and I was out of the Sierra.  There was some bad news.  My sleeping pad was still bouncing around box trucks and did not make it in time.  I almost felt like giving up but told them if it did ever arrive to send it to my next box at Crater Lake. 

After a second breakfast and lunch at the Mexican restaurant I decided I should hit the trail.  I tried several spots in town but was having no luck finding a hitch.  It was mid afternoon and I still had hiked zero miles on the day.  Finally a car whipped a U-turn in the middle of the main road and yelled at me to hop in.  It was one of the restaurant workers I met at breakfast who recognized me.  He dropped me off and I got about ten miles before stopping to refill water.  I had my glasses on and was rock hopping to make it up to a spring.  I lost my footing and started to fall forward straight into a sharp broken branch.  Luckily my glasses shielded my eyes and it slid off to stick in the side of my head.  I could feel a little bit of blood and decided this was a sign to stop for the night.

FIFTY EIGHT – WEDNESDAY JUNE 23, 2021

After a poor performance yesterday I needed to make up some miles.  I had a couple of hours of climbing but then stayed on top of the ridge the rest of the day.  The trail does a lot of bending in North California.  I was still curving around Mount Shasta and today I was at the closest point with the best view of the peak.  The volcanic peaks of the northwest are so grand and prominent you can see them for over 100 miles of hiking.  It was an intense feeling.

Just before sunset I reached the Parks Creek trailhead.  There was a lot with several cars but no people around.  I hit up the pit toilet.  Hit the pit!  I am not sure why but this was one of the best trail dinners I had the whole trail.  This masterpiece consisted of mac-n-cheese (with powder cheese and creamy cheese), buffalo tuna, and some crunched up kettle jalapeno chips.  I did a couple of dark miles before stopping in a skeeter infested swamp.

FIFTY NINE – THURSDAY JUNE 24, 2021

I cranked out fifteen miles to hit Highway 3 and the Scott Mountain Campground. Time for another privy break.  The campground was mostly empty but I did meet “Worm”.  I immediately noticed the license plate was from Tennessee, Davidson County (Nashville).  That definitely spurred some conversation and led to him offering me an orange and a cookie.  We were joined by a section hiker “Rory” and also a day hiker “Z” who lived nearby.  Z let us charge up for a couple of hours and even offered to let us do laundry and stay the night.  His compound had just the essentials and it was more than I could have wanted today.  We hung out for a couple of beers but I had to hit the trail.  One for the road!

I was delighted to see some clouds passing overhead which gave some shade from the heat wave.  These were some dark clouds and the relief was short lived.  I began to see lightning in the distance and realized this was my first thunderstorm on trail. I was dumb and decided to push on but it was starting to get dark. I was fine hiking in the rain.  I was fine hiking in the dark. But not both. I broke twenty miles and then set up my tent for some shelter. 

SIXTY – FRIDAY JUNE 25, 2021

After some below average miles yesterday I looked at the map. It was thirty four miles to Etna Summit and a short hitch in to town. It looked like it was a higher traffic road so I decided to push it. Just after noon I heard a helicopter passing over with a bucket hanging below. This was not a good sign. I started to smell smoke and then met three Forest Service wildfire fighters in their greens and yellows. I was still far from the road so I asked if they were smokejumpers.  They replied “heck yeah we are” and were super excited that I knew what a smokejumper was. Coincidentally the day before I listened to a three hour podcast about their job. They were just putting out a small fire from the lightning last night. Nothing to worry about. 

In the afternoon I passed through an older burn area and saw some day hikers. That was always a good sign when approaching a road. The hitch odds were looking good. 

At the Etna Summit trailhead there were a dozen cars but no people. I posted up on the highway and hoped for a ride in to town. Only a few cars passed and none of them slowed down a hair. After waiting an hour I gave up and called it a night. 

SIXTY ONE – SATURDAY JUNE 26, 2021

I packed up and waited for a hitch.  After a few cars passed, an uncle and his two nephews stopped and let me hop in the back of their truck.  They dropped me off at Wildwood Crossing for some breakfast.  Etna was a nice little town and they were setting up for their annual festival which made me want to stay.  I did a quick grocery store stop and talked to a USFS hot shot crew, telling them about their coworkers I met yesterday.  They offered to take me back up to Etna Summit on their way to another fire.  I threw my pack in the back and hopped in the cab with them.  The whole ride was a pitch for me to join their crew.  It felt like a college fraternity with camaraderie strong.  

After hopping out of their truck I walked about 100 feet north on the trail and had to stop.  I don’t think breakfast was getting to me but I had a terrible feeling in my stomach.   This was the first time I noticed the heat wave’s effect on my body.  I took a half hour break before pushing on.  With most of the morning gone I got another below average twenty mile day. 

SIXTY TWO – SUNDAY JUNE 27, 2021

I was on a weird pattern of twenty mile days and thirty five miles alternating. Today would be the latter to get to Seiad Valley. The first fifteen miles were mostly flat on the ridge and the last twenty were downhill but I did not feel like running in this heat.  Descending into the valley I noticed large ferns along the trail, sprinkled with sawdust.  I read through Guthook comments from a couple of weeks ago saying this section was extremely overgrown but it must have had some recent trail work.  At the trailhead I met a large group of PCTA volunteers that had been set up here for a few days.  They were serving dinner but I was close to town and did not want to Yogi bear.  I did meet “Token Civilian” who told me his crew would be transitioning up to Washington soon.  It was trail work season in the Pacific Northwest.  The snow had just melted and thru hikers were coming in hot.  The sun set for some dark trail miles including a potential bear that I scared off. It was too dark to confirm.  

Once I hit the road there was another 6 or so miles of walking to reach town.  I passed by some farms and then as I got closer there were houses closer together.  I was not sure what I was hearing but it sounded like a party was going on.  Two ladies were sitting on their porch and after asking what was going on they said “oh that’s just Travis”.  Keep in mind this was almost midnight on a Sunday.  I wandered in to the Mid River RV Park and figured I would find a spot to cowboy camp and pay them in the morning.  At the back of the property was the main building where a woman walked out of the bath house.  I asked if she knew anyone who worked here and informed me she was the owner.  She graciously checked me in even though it was past midnight.  Since I made it this far I stayed up to shower and do laundry ahead of the morning rush. 

SIXTY THREE – MONDAY JUNE 28, 2021

I woke up satisfied already having done half of my town chores the night before.  All I had left was the fun half.  Food.  I packed up and strolled on over to Seiad Cafe for a must stop breakfast.  I say that but the other two hikers at the RV park pushed on and were already back on trail.  After my meal I popped over to the general store next door for a two day resupply.  I had another mile of road walking to get back on trail and stopped at The Wildwood to see what exactly it was. From what I read it sounded like a bar slash hostel. There was nobody home except for the manager. She kind of confirmed my curiosity and said she just did a soft opening and did not have everything fully up and running for the season.  After a soda on the house I headed out.  

The climb out of Seiad Valley is known as one of the toughest on trail.  Combining that with the heat made me second guess my breakfast break.  I was stopping in the shade constantly to stay cool.  Luckily there was a spring about a third of the way up where I chugged some water and dipped my bandana for a head wrap.  At the top of the ridge I was in an exposed burnt area.  It felt like I was back in the desert but this time with an even more intense heat and the absence of the desert breeze.  I did enjoy being out of the trees though. The thrill of the view was short lived as I could see a wildfire in the distance.  Luckily this fire was far south of me but I felt bad for the hikers I previously passed by.  

With a quicker town morning than usual I was able to break my pattern and get a little more than twenty miles before stopping.  I needed to rest up for a big day. Border day! On to Oregon!