After a nice weekend it was time to start week 2 of 2016 on the PCT Trail.  Lenora dropped me off and I started to hike the first trail I saw at about 8:45 in the morning.  Now  the phrase “first trail I saw” might have you wondering.  I mean really how could there possibly be two trails at this point.  No way….. right???   Yes way.   The trail I took led straight up the mountain and after awhile I said “Don, this does not feel like the PCT trail.  Too steep.  Too narrow.  Poorly maintained”.  So I took out my phone and brought up my PCT application and sure enough it tells me I am NEAR the trail but not on it.  Perhaps the GPS is just off a bit, so I keep on going and give it a chance to catch up to my location.  Again it says I am NEAR the trail.  OK…. so I get out my binoculars and I look back down the mountain and sure enough I can see a trail back down where I started that goes west rather than up.   So I wind back down the mountain and sure enough on the other side of the mill where I started there is another trail.  By the way there are no signs on either trail that it is THE PCT trail but as I walk this trail my application does think I am on the PCT and advancing in a positive direction.   About an hour and a bit of energy has been wasted.  The nice thing about the correct trail is that it is basically level for about 4 miles before I enter the Lassen National Forest and start climbing.

Here are some pictures along the way.

So as I enter the Lassen National Forest I recall a conversation I had with a very young lady hiker last year at Tuolumne Meadows.  She had gotten to the High Sierra at the same time there were some freakish spring snow storms.  So her and others got on a bus and went up to Tahoe and hiked from Tahoe to Ashland Oregon and then bused back to Tahoe to hike south in the High Sierras in the better weather.  She indicated that Lassen National Forest was the hardest section thus far for her for two reasons.  First it was very rocky and second that trees were down every where and they had to keep figuring out how to get past the trees in the trail.  But she smiled and told me that since it was a National Forest she was sure it would be cleared by the time I got there in about 4 weeks.  I did mention she was young and probably thought the government worked fast to fix these things.  I suppose a year later they MAY have removed some of the biggest trees….. I suppose….. but the trail still has a lot of trees down across the path.  Most of them by now do have a path up or down the slope to go around them OR you can crawl over them.  At least I can crawl over them.   Not sure how someone with shorter legs gets along.  The trail is rocky in some sections but not near as rocky as the John Muir Trail which the young lady had not experienced yet.   I will say that this section through the Lassen National Forest is the most poorly maintained thus far.  The trail is at time overgrown with plants.  At one point I thought I needed a machete to try and cut through the bush which actually ripped things off the top of my pack.  I am NOT complaining.  This is why they call it a wilderness trail!!  Just making an observation.   It is still unbelievably beautiful and I am blessed to be able to walk along it.

Most of the day I had been concerned about Lenora.  After dropping me off she had a 3 hour drive to Castella where she was suppose to stay for about 30 days.  I had been promised a cabin would be ready for her but still the long drive and the fact that this was not a chain but a local business had me worried.   I asked her to text me when she was settled and that text never arrived.   By the time I stopped I was worried.  I can not do the story justice and I will let Lenora explain in her section but basically the cabin was NOT ready and would not be ready in the near future and so Lenora had to find a new place to stay.   The fragments of the story I am getting has me thinking that Lenora has no place to stay and has lost her wallet.  Half of that story was true.  The wallet was lost but she did have a place to stay.  A place that had no phone service and no internet service and therefore she could not reach me.  I was talking with my limited texting ability with the local owner and wanted to crawl through the InReach and beat him to death.   Finally Lenora was able to drive another 20 miles from where she was staying and get some service to let me know she was OK, but with a lost wallet.  The local owner claimed the wallet was not left with them but then at the end of the next day did find the wallet and Lenora went back to pick it up.

Phone says 31000 steps and 84 flights

 

Lenora’s Note:
7/11/16 PCT
Dropped Don back at Belden and started 3 hour drive to Castella/Dunsmuir.
Watching him walk away again, wish I’d realized he was not on the right trail :).
Stopped in Chico to buy beads and some watercolor pencils. Enjoying the break. Arrived at Castella around 1:30 (not 12) met Louie Dewey and learned the remodel is not done. Saw the place and it was scary, dirty, junky, yucky. Water heater had leaked flooding bedroom, two different leaks in bathroom, junk and dirty carpets (remember orange shag?) and dirty furniture everywhere and front door wouldn’t unlock and back door couldn’t be locked. Louie had arranged a hotel room for me for one night on the assumption that all the work would be completed by tomorrow. Boys and I went into the hotel room and I got on computer and phone. In about an hour I had found a room in Old Station at Hat Creek Resort from tonight till Monday morning. Loaded computers and cats back into car, turned in key and headed toward Old Station. It’s about 3 pm and a two hour drive with roadwork going on so I don’t tarry. The check in desk is in the camp store and I need to be there by 6 pm.

Arrive about 5:30 and reach into my pocket for my wallet. In pocket are four cards and no wallet. One is credit card so I check in and unload car to discover I have no internet and no phone service. I have sent messages to Don from the road but Inreach is acting up and his message when I get it makes it clear my messages have not reached him. In parking lot I try to use sat phone but we are in the land of tall trees, thick forest and the phone can’t hold a satellite signal so I can’t call. Send several 160 character messages on Delorme (Inreach ) with no idea if they are going through. Get in car and drive about 20 miles before I have two bars on phone and call Cave Springs where they promise to look and call me back. I can’t leave in case I lose my phone signal so I sit until about 8:30 then call again to be told no luck – no wallet found.
Now I try Michaels but have moved car and lost signal so I drive around till 9:15 or so trying to get through to someone, anyone really.
Then return to hotel thoroughly discouraged. Fall asleep with tv on.
By now I know the trick is to roll with the punches and I have come out of this pretty well, except for the lost wallet but rolling and telling others you are coping fine is not so easy when the other person is out of reach and doing his own version of panic. In spite of all I have landed in a beautiful place and can look forward to a good week.

Another wonderful night under the stars.  The best camping spot thus far and I will have to start taking pictures of them.  Only possible issue is that I woke up and my sleeping pad had lost all its air.  Either a leak OR I forgot to close it completely.  I’m beginning to think it is not good to leave hiking equipment idle for too long.

Todays sunrise

And then a little later this beautiful scene of early morning sun on the trees.

Often times I find myself walking among ferns and it always makes me smile as I know Lenora would love it.  She is a big fan of ferns

I only have 12 miles to go today to get to Belden.  Most of it pretty easy but the last 6 miles is pretty steep down.  Descending from 7000 to 2200 feet.  Here are some pictures trying to show the start of that descent

Here are some wild flowers seen along the way today.

I reach Belden by 1 pm and Lenora is already there waiting for me.  Belden is right by Hwy 70 and the North Fork of the Feather River.  It is apparently quite a hot spot for young vacationers and the tents were packed in side by side.  As far as I can tell Belden consists of a bar and tents and a river to lounge in.

Lenora’s note:

One of the lessons to be learned.  When the PCT crosses a highway it rarely picks up straight across and it does matter if you are on the correct side of the highway.  I pass by Eby Stamp Mill and wait for Don and wait and wait.  I get concerned that I’m in the wrong place and walk around looking for a clue.  Just before my pull off on the right there was an old bridge crossing the river and lots of young people partying on the river bank.  I was pretty sure that wasn’t my goal so I went by but after my short wait I saw a guy in a bright orange shirt on the bridge and would have waved but he did not have a backpack.  Well it was Don and he had dropped the pack to walk over to the highway to look for me.  Once again we meet up at just the right time.

After his very rough uphill day he had been making good time and I am feeling better about things as I realize he was actually several hours ahead of goal in getting to the pickup spot.

I stitched a lot today and made a lot of progress.  When my hands go numb or shoulder hurts I just use the heating pad and stretch.  It doesn’t cure anything but it seems to help.

We have 3 days to enjoy Quincy area together because he made good time and all is good.

We eat great food at Sweet Lorraines, go birding, eat at the Knook, do laundry, rest, watch tv and repack.  The photos following are a record of some of our fun.  We also explore the candy shop and find some great treats.  Chocolate and wine is good but the wine bar serves a rich port and chocolate (we brought our own) and port is even better.

Mass on Sunday is great.  St John the Evangelist Catholic Church has a great pastor; Father Borlang.  He is one of those born teachers and loves to make a personal connection with the parish and to use humor.  I loves his teaching on the Good Samaritan and being a good neighbor.  One of the great gifts of our adventure is the chance to meet a new parish and priest every week or two and be welcomed into a wide variety of small parishes.  There couldn’t have been even 50 people there this morning and yet everyone was so friendly.  Last year I was taking pictures of all the churches we visited and I am sorry I did not think to do that this week but will keep it in mind.

Turns out I have a picture of the Quincy Church from last year.

Another marvelous night under the stars.  In the morning I remembered another lesson that I had learned the year before.  It is recommended that you don’t sleep in the same clothes you hike in.  So my procedure is to use wipes to clean up as much as possible and change into sleeping clothes which, since they are only used for sleeping, are pretty fresh.  The hiking clothes however should be protected rather than just left on the floor of the tent.  When left on the floor of the tent they tend to be cold and damp the next morning because of dew.  The first night I was under trees and so no dew.  This night I had less cover, more dew, wet and damp clothes in the morning.   I now remember that I always put my hiking clothes inside the sleeping bag to keep them save and sometimes provide a little extra padding.  Lesson learned AGAIN.

I am up a little earlier this morning and get started right at sunrise.

A little bit into the hike I get to a sign that lets me know how far I have to my destination for the week which is Belden.   I have 3 days till Sunday but was really hoping to have Saturday free so hoped to do it in 2 days.  27.5 miles… Really that should not be at all difficult BUT my last day was only 10 miles.

The early morning light seemed to focus on a tree right along the path.

Still early in the day and I have been avoiding taking pictures of wild flowers but just could not pass these by.

As you can see the path is almost covered by flowers and plants at times.  3 hours into the day I enter into the Bucks Lake Wilderness in the Plumas National Forest.   Here is some info:

Introduction

The United States Congress designated the Bucks Lake Wilderness (map) in 1984 and it now has a total of 23,710 acres. All of this wilderness is located in California and is managed by the Forest Service.

Description

Bordered by Bucks Lake on the south, this relatively small area boasts a broad diversity of vegetation (brush fields, conifers, oaks, pure stands of red fir) and topography (bare rocky slopes, cliffs, quaking bogs, small alpine meadows) with elevations ranging from about 2,000 feet in the Feather River Canyon to 7,017 feet atop Spanish Peak. The higher elevations are separated from the lower by a long escarpment along which the Pacific Crest Trail runs for approximately 13 miles, granting the occasional spectacular view to the east and north. Throughout the area, you’ll stumble upon small lakes and ponds, primarily near the base of the escarpment.

There are a lot of things named Bucks around these parts and here is  why:

The area was first established as a ranch by Horace Bucklin and Francis Walker in 1850. A hotel and a post office were later built on the site. In 1928, Bucks Storage Dam was built on Bucks Creek, a tributary of the Feather River, creating the Bucks Lake reservoir, inundating the original site of the town.

The Bucks Lake post office operated from 1940 to 1942.

Bucks Lake is now registered as California Historical Landmark

By the way all the small lakes and ponds that are mentioned are at the base of the escarpment and some can be seen.  However, the trail in not at the base but rather on the crest.  Part of the PCT trail here is also called the 3 Lakes Trail.  Here is a view down to one of the lakes

There is a bit of a climb today as the trail crosses Bucks Lake Road (which leads to Quincy) and crosses Bucks Creek a couple times on the way to Spanish Peak (why is this not named Bucks Peak??).   It is about a 4 mile ascend but generally not as severe as the day before.

I get in 15 miles today and feel much better about things.  I do have a bit of a problem however and that is the same issue I had last year and finally got over.  At the end of the day I am generally tired and nauseas and can’t bear the thought of eating.   So I am not eating an evening meal.  I need to get over it and force it down if possible.

Also the first day into the trip my backpack broke.  A buckle used to tie things down broke and a zipper torn apart.  I was able to use my knife to drill some holes on either side of zipper and some paracord to keep things from falling out.  Lenora had some issues with REI on the phone but on the second try was able to get a helpful person who looked back to see the pack I had purchased back in 2014 and overnighted a new pack to her at the hotel.   I’m guessing that pack lasted for about 2000 miles of hiking and I am happy with that.

Almost forgot to tell you that at mile 1260.43 I saw a black bear.  About 100 yards in front of me I heard some noise and a black bear was racing from the right, across the trail, and straight down the mountain.  I was amazed at how fast the bear was running.  Straight down the mountain dodging all the trees and jumping the dead trees on the ground.  Amazing…. really really amazing.  It made me realize how foolish I was last year when I sat down on the trail and watched a bear bathing in a trough below me where I was going to get water.  I just sat and watched figuring I was far enough away.  I now realize if that bear wanted me he could have ran up the hill and reached me before I could have stood up.

Lenora’s Note:

Exploring the internet I learn that a common cause of my painful arms is something called ‘frozen shoulder’.  I read several articles and decide to start on the stretching program that is recommended.  I actually feel some relief after using hot shower, heating pad and stretching so I’m able to work on my first needlework project.  Picture will be taken when it is completed.

Today is laundry day and I have a brief encounter with a young man who is thru-hiking the trail.  He is doing laundry and stocking up on groceries before returning to the trail later today.  I don’t offer him a ride because I’m concerned about driving up the twisty mountain road with numb arms and hands and later I wonder if he was able to find a ride.  I hope so.  I really enjoy helping out the hikers I run into, everyone has a story.

On the Lenora’s medical traumas page I return to my mouth.  It is still incredibly tender in the gum and jaw area and I cannot chew on that side at all.  I have cut down to 2 ibuprophen every 4 hours rather than 3 and haven’t had to use the vicodin so I am still hopeful I won’t have to be seen again until our adventure is over.

At the end of this day I was drenched in sweat.  The brim of my hat was soaked and sweat was dripping off the end.   It was only a 10 mile day!  My feelings were of inadequacy and my thoughts were that I just could not do this.  I am not capable.  Where is that red button on the InReach that I can hit and call in the helicopters to get me out of here.   So how did I get to this point….

It was a great night.  I was camped by the river and the sounds put me to sleep and I slept well.  The few times I did wake up, I marveled at the night sky.  I had set up my tent without the rain fly and so it is just a fine mesh to keep the bugs out.   At night the mess disappears and all I could see were the trees and the stars in the kind.  It was magnificent.  Got up around 5 (which is later than usual) and got packed up and was sure to isolate the food for the day in a bag that was easy to get too in the pack.  Had my breakfast and started to hike.  Here a picture pretty early in the day (7:22) of the trail.

And then a little later a beautiful little waterfall and pool.

About an hour later I come to Bear Creek and it has a bridge that crosses the creek.  YAY!!!  Love bridges

All is going pretty good at this point.  Had some climbing at the start and then a short downhill and then I started to climb again.  And climb, and climb, and I thought:  What is going on.  I had made the mistake (for me) of not knowing what was ahead of me.  If I know I can be prepared but when I am surprised it is always a bad thing.  What followed was 7 miles of continuous climb.   A climb from 3000 feet to 6000 feet.   Here is a view along the way.  Fabulous view and I think I stopped here for some time to catch my breath.

A number of people passed me.   One that passed me I caught up to because he stopped for lunch right by a stream.  I needed water and so I stopped and also had lunch.  We talked for awhile and he told me about the trail this year.  He said they had 150 miles of snow in the High Sierra.  I laughed and told him I had about 20 feet of snow on the trail the year before.  I asked him where he started the day and he told me which was 8 miles before I started!!  This was about 5 miles into the day and so he had walked 13 miles in the same time I had walked 5.  His trail name was Stoic because he just hikes and endures and does not complain.   There was nobody with him at the time but he said he was part of a group.  That is pretty much how it works as everyone hikes at their own pace but they have a goal for the day and the fast ones just get there first.  Stoic is a teacher and is engaged and is a bit of a hurry to get to Ashland where he will be met by his fiancee.  While we are talking one of his group arrives.  His trail name is Siri apparently because he likes to try and answer any and all questions whether they are meant for him or not.

As I was walking the trail I was noticing that the trail was very clean and fresh and it was not long before I understood why.  I met Spencer who is a 66 year old who spends his summer maintaining the trail.  He is retired from a Forestry career.  He sets up his “rig” at some spot and then hikes about 5 days in each direction and maintains the trail.   He told me in his younger days he use to carry a big chain saw and take care of trees that had fallen across the trail.  Now he carries a macleod.  Here is some info:

• Macleod:  Of all the tools in this list, the most popular one with us has got to be the Macleod.  It just screams “Trail Building!”  While all the other tools have many common uses outside of the realm of bike trail building, the Macleod, or mountain rake, really isn’t seen any where else but trail building (with the exception, maybe, of forest fire fighting.)  This tool is the holy grail of trail building tools.  A lot of work can be done with it alone, but where it really shines is in the details.  This is usually going to be the last tool to touch a trail tread before opening it to riding.  The Macleod is basically a sturdy rake with a long handle and a wide square edged hoe on the opposite side.  It is good at scraping, cutting small roots, and removing rocks from the trail surface.  For finishing, its wide, flat head is ideal for packing the trail surface, and leaving a product behind that is ready to ride.  A must have tool for any trail crew.  It is not a tool you will commonly see in the hardware store, but most stores are able to order them in for you if you request one.  Bring a picture in case they have no idea what you are talking about!

It is a very impressive tool.

By the time I reach Lookout Rock I am done.  It is the highpoint of this climb and as I mentioned at the beginning I was in bad shape.  Here is a picture of the approach to the Rock and some pictures looking out from it.

I text Lenora on the InReach with the following.  “Already stopping at mile 1257.  I suck”.  She responds with.  “You don’t suck.  Work into it, rest when you need.  Be patient with yourself”  THAT was all I needed.  I did not hit the red button.   It is amazing how far a little encouragement, a little word of kindness can go.

Lenora’s Note:

I ended up not doing much yesterday.  Shoulders are painful and pain, tingling and numbness shoots down to my fingertips at times.  I’m sure rest is what is needed so I watch hours of TV while dozing.  I think the cats are already bored as they decide to have cat wars on the bed next to me.

Still achey and numb in the hands I decide to do my shopping to stock up for what we will need when Don returns.  I explore both grocery stores and both dollar stores looking for the things we need.

My big find is a replacement for the milk glass lamp shade from my mother’s bedside lamps that got broken by accident.  I had decided to put the base of the lamp in the give away box when we get home and the little used stuff store by the motel had one sitting on the shelf.  God is good and life is wonderful.  I may not be stitching much but I am glad to be on the adventure.

Sometimes all I can do is pray.  Thank you Ellen for giving me the Holy Spirit chaplet bracelet.  It is a constant reminder that I am never alone.  Don said “I suck” about his hiking and I have been feeling that about my part but then I am reminded that every new part of our lives brings the opportunity to grow in all sorts of ways.  Right now patience and perseverance might just be the virtues we are called to grow in.

The tradition at the Susan Komen 3 day walk is to take a picture at the start of each day indicating which day you are on.  So here you go.  This is day 1 of the continuation of the PCT journey.

I am not sure how I am going to represent days above 10.

As I mentioned above I expected this first week to be a pretty easy stroll.  Some of it was and some of it was not.  Below is a picture of the start of the trail here near Quincy and pretty much all of the 50 miles I did this week look about the same.  Large Douglas Firs and a soft trail to walk on.

I thought I was doing a pretty good pace and had been drinking a bit of water and when I got to a sign indicating a spring just off the trail I took it and wandered down to a nice cold spring.

On the way I crossed a logging road and a couple trucks went by.  There is a lot of logging going on around these parts.  Could hear the trucks during the first day and but only heard any logging activity at the end of the second day.   Walked through a few parts that had been recently logged, guessing within the last 5 years anyway as there were lots of small trees.  I should have taken pictures because I was surprised at how close the new trees were placed next to each other.  Perhaps they just plan on the strongest taking over OR perhaps there is certain amount that generally just don’t make it OR perhaps someone is going to come in a thin at some later time.

Below is a picture that gives you a grander view of the area.  Just beautiful forested area.

Got passed by about 7 other hikers.  1 young couple.  Most of them did not care to talk but only said “I’m behind you” and then “thank you” when I moved out of the way.  I was slow last year and I am really slow right now at the start especially compared to those that have been walking 1200 miles already and are in the best shape of their young lives.  One guy named “Rant” did talk for awhile.  He got his name because the question of gun control came up one night and he went on about the subject for the next 3 days.  I did not ask him what his opinion was.

I stopped at about 4 pm because I generally stop about that time anyway but I was exhausted after 15 miles.  I stopped by the Middle Fork of the Feather River which was a good sized river.  It was nice listening to the water during the night.  I was so tired I did not think of getting a picture.    There are 3 forks of the Feather River and they are all tributaries to the Sacramento RIver

I did learn something during the day or rather learned something again.  I had not separated the food that I wanted for the day into a bag that was easy to get to.  All my food was buried inside my pack and it was just too much trouble to dig in to get it.  I never felt THAT hungry.  I am sure that contributed to my exhaustion at the end of the day and the problems I would have the next day.

It was a good day.  I thanked God for the many blessings that allow me to do this.

Lenora’s Note:

I remember this part.  It is easy.  It is hard.  We get to a trailhead and say farewell with a prayer.  Once the pack is on I watch my husband turn and walk away up the trail.  This morning the weather is great and it looks like a good day for a hike.  I have learned to not worry every minute or even every hour and I have goals for each week.  I look over the town and rest up from the last few days.  The cats and I settle in.  On the way back to the hotel I see the first of the area’s local color, a huge painted quilt block on the side of a barn.  I want to make a collection of these works of art so I stop to take a quick picture from my drivers seat out of the passenger window.  Not long later I see a turkey hen and about 8 youngsters crossing the road in front of the car.  I try to stop and track them down to get a picture but I never see them again.

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The PCT journey to the Canadian border will continue tomorrow July 5, 2016.  Today was a long day of traveling from Escondido to Quincy which is where the journey ended in 2015.

Starting driving at about 3:50 AM and got to Quincy at 3:10 PM.  We wanted to start the drive at 3 AM but we had a little problem with one of the cats.  We have two cats and they are keeping Lenora company while she waits for me to come off the trail each Sunday.  The cat names are Pinot and Syrah (yes named after wines).  Pinot is a very clever fellow and he can tell when we are about ready to take a trip and he starts hiding.  This morning he was very good at  it and it took about 3 complete searches of the house until we happened upon his new hiding place.  He got back behind the couch and then climbed inside so that he could not been seen.  After exhausting every place he could possibly be, I finally turned the couch over (more in anger than anything else) and out he ran.  After driving for a couple hours Syrah decided to get sick and threw up on the driving console and then in his carrier.  And of course we forgot the paper towels!!!  Lenora got “it” all gathered up into a blanket and then we stopped at a gas station and she cleaned out the blanket in the bath room.  She looked at me and laughed and said “I bet you wish you were already on the trail”.    So after that fun, the cats settled down and we did not hear from them the rest of the day.

This first week is fairly light and so I should be able to post my first weeks adventures back on the PCT next Saturday and Sunday.  I am more anxious about this year that I was last.  Probably because last year I was naive and this year I realize that it does not take much to force you off the trail.

Comments have been enabled on the blog so if want to say HI or have a question or comment please feel free to do so.

I do a lot of praying on the trail and so if you have some prayer intentions let me know.

The next morning my back is stiff but I don’t think much about it. Also seems a little harder to take a breath. I pack up and have breakfast and get ready to head out. I go to lift the pack to get in on my back and that is when all hell breaks loose. My back screams at me that this is not going to happen and goes into a spasm. I finally do manage to get the pack on and start hiking but my back aches the whole time. When it was time for a rest I was foolish enough to remove the pack. After the rest the same thing happened trying to get the pack on. I finally manage it but it is clear something is wrong. The pack does not come off during my next rest periods. I am blessed again in that I reach a paved road that goes into the town of Quincy. The plan was that I was going to skip Quincy and go directly to the next town of Burney. I was packed for 2 weeks of hiking and that was one of the reasons my pack was as heavy as it was. That plus the fact that water was again hard to find and so I was caring more water than I had since the desert. However, on reaching this road the decision was clear. I needed to hitch into Quincy and get my back checked out. When I arrived at the road there were two guys in a truck in the parking area. I go over to them and explain my situation and that I needed a ride to Quincy. They said they just came from Quincy (22 miles away) and they are headed in the other direction BUT they have a beer I am welcome too while I wait for a ride. I accept the beer, manage to get my pack off, take off my hat so the cars can see I am a harmless bald old guy and wait for someone to come by. Only about 3 cars and 10 minutes later, a truck stops to give me a ride. He can tell that I am in a bit of distress and he gets out of this truck and lifts my pack into the truck bed. I tell him my story on the ride to Quincy and he takes me the motel that is closest to the hospital and waits for me to check in and carries my pack into the room for me. I AM BLESSED AND PEOPLE ARE GOOD!!! I get cleaned up and go over to the emergency room in the hospital. Starting to get use to this emergency room thing. They are able to see me right away and after a bit of poking around and taking an x-ray they decide I have a back contusion and perhaps a cracked rib. To determine if I actually have a cracked rib would be very expensive and really not worth the effort because it would not change what I am suppose to do which is basically to rest. So back to the hotel and for the next 6 days I rest. I rest and sleep and then sleep and rest. Lenora comes to pick me up and I decide it is the end of my PCT journey for THIS YEAR. Next year in July, Lenora and I will return to Quincy and I will complete the PCT. Stopping for this year was a hard and somewhat depressing decision but I think it is the right one. Since I really can’t complete the trail this year before winter in Washington there is no point in going back out in a weakened state and risk further injury. Courage to start, strength to finish. It will just take me two years to finish, but God willing, finish I will. It was never about the destination but I do want to sit in a Canadian bar and order an Canadian beer.

This blog will continue in July 2016. Until then, be well, do good things. Be a saint, what else is there?

I got a great nights sleep. I was shocked at how clear the night time sky was considering how smokey the valley had been. The night sky was ablaze. It has also turned very warm, perhaps a little too warm. Just used the sleeping bag as a cover. Got up early and had breakfast and starting hiking while it was still a bit dark.

The trail continues to be a pleasure to hike but also continues to be rather dry. All water seems to be off the trail a ways and sometimes walking to that water yields no results. One stream that was .3 miles off the trail however was flowing, was cold, and was clear. Filled up with 4 liters of water which was enough to keep me going for the day.

It is towards the end of the day and almost to where I want to camp for the night when I have an accident. I am descending at a pretty good angle and stepping down from some rocks into what looks like some soft dirt. However, it is a thin layer of dirt on top of hard pan and my feet slip out from under me and down I go. The trail is pretty wide at this point and so there was no danger of me going over the edge but I hit hard and scrape up my left arm and hit my head pretty hard. My back also hurts but not too bad at his point and I manage to get back to my feet. I believe getting back on my feet with a 50lb pack is probably where I did the major damage to my back but still at this point I am not aware the damage is all that bad. I continue hiking for a bit to get to my camping spot and then set up the tent for the night.

This turns out to be an interesting night because it is the first time I heard something, I knew not what, outside my tent. I ignored it the first time but the second time hearing the noises I decided I had to check it out. Not too long ago I read a magazine (backpacker) that indicated the worst thing to do was to ignore the noise and hope it goes away. So I get on my boots and my coat, my headlamp, and my knife and get out of the tent to check it out. I scan around for animal tracks and don’t see any and so I just start scanning the area with my headlamp for about 15 minutes. Finally as I look out, I see two sets of eyes reflecting back at me. The eyes are moving in my direction and I have no idea what they are. I start grunting and making loud growling noises and then it occurs to me that the noises I am making might just sound like food to whatever is out there. Or worse, I might sound like a female bear in heat and the eyes out there might belong to male bears. So, I start making human noises. I shout that whatever you are out there do not come any closer…. watch out because I am well armed. And I was well armed. By this time the knife was out in one hand the rock I used to sink the tent stakes into the group was in my other hand. The eyes seemed to turn away from me and disappeared back into the woods. After awhile I got back into the tent and just sat straight up in the tent and listened. Sure enough, I started hearing the sounds again. Again I got out of the tent and this time not 10 yards away I saw a deer. The deer was not concerned and just started at me and continued browsing. Off in the distance I could see the other set of eyes acting just like the deer right next to me. Quite a relief actually. No bear, no mountain lion, just 2 deers. I got back into my tent and slept good the rest of the night.

Sorry that I have delayed so long in posting my last days on the trail but I have taken so long because these are my final posts for this year. Due to an accident I will be off the trail 2 days from today. It is easy to predict these things when you don’t write about them immediately 🙂

So I got a late start today because Lenora and I were enjoying the cabin we rented in Sierra City. It was a beautiful spot right next to the river and we had a deck where we could sit and enjoy nature and drink a little wine and also enjoy a very nice trail down by the river.

The PCT climbs right out of Sierra City to the Sierra Buttes. The climb is steady but not hard and is beautiful. The valley I was walking above however was filled with smoke from the fires and so I did not take any pictures. This section of the trail is just very pleasant to hike. Normally the trail is soft and after walking on so many rocks it is a pleasure to be able to walk normal without the worry of hitting a rock wrong and twisting an ankle and/or falling. I don’t get very many miles in when I get to a ridge with a nice place to camp. It is beautiful and so I stop for the night. However beautiful, this section of the trail is very dry. There are lakes that can be seen everywhere but the trail never goes very close of any of those lakes. At one point I crossed a dry stream but just below I could tell there was water. Just a small pool of water and it was a bit cloudy but I filled up with enough water for the evening and morning meals and water for the night. I purified the water but it was still way to cloudy I thought and so I took out some silk socks that I had not worn and used those to filter the water again to try and get the grit out. It worked pretty good and I had water that I was happy with for both cooking and drinking. Did not meet anyone on the trail today.

It was a cold windy night. I was plenty warm in the tent and the sleeping bag and was relaxed listing to the wind howl. Actually helped me to sleep. I was not all that interested in getting out of that warm sleeping bag in the morning but I did and about an hour earlier than I had been getting up lately. During the night the wind had blown one end of my tent out of the tent stakes which is pretty amazing but everything else was normal. So the morning was a two shirt, down coat, ski hat and gloves type of morning. Again most of the walk today was along a crest and especially on the crest the wind was just howling. It almost blew me over a couple times, it did take my breath away a couple times, and to walk I had to lean into the wind. When the wind would subside every now and again, I almost fell over in the direction I was leaning. It was an impressive wind. The valleys on both sides of the crest are beautiful and it is a good day of hiking ….. well a good day of hiking right until the end. It seems whenever I have a destination in mind, the last 2 or 3 miles to that destination seem harder and take forever. This was the case today and I reached Hwy 40 and Donner Pass and had a little over 3 miles to go until Interstate 80. Piece of cake. I could see Interstate 80 from where I was on Hwy 40!! However, sadly, that was not the part of Interstate 80 that the PCT was going to intersect. Rather I had to go over 2 ridges and suddenly my feet hurt. WHATEVER….. I did eventually reach Interstate 80 and Lenora picked me up and we went back to South Lake Tahoe for Thursday night and then on to Sierra City for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday I will be back on the trail for 2 weeks straight as I travel from Sierra City to Burney. It will be my longest continuous time on the trail so far. Here are some pictures from the hike today.