June 26, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1516.4) to bushcamp (mile 1543.4)

Miles: 27

We woke up to a beautiful dawn. The sun peeped over the horizon as we packed our backpacks. We were walking at 6 along with Fixie and the two Swiss women.

We leap frogged with them all morning. The trail hugged the hillsides like a tight pair of jeans. We walked past bright red Indian Paintbrush and other flowers we don’t know the names of.

We hiked with Fixie for a while. Talking with another hiker broke up the monotony of the morning. This isn’t to say that the trail and surrounding mountains were not beautiful because they certainly were, but talking with others helps get one out of their own head.

We got water at Frog Spring and parted ways. Fixie stayed to snack and rest while we pushed on, not quite ready for a break. The trail gradually headed towards a saddle.

It was like being back in the desert – the late morning sun was intense and we could see the trail contouring the adjoining mountains. Unlike the desert however, there was a large lake below us, spots of shade and expansive views of snow capped mountains.

We kept stopping to take pictures, it was so darn pretty!

At the saddle (7,650 ft) we encountered snow for the first time in days. We side stepped down not wanting to glissade in fear of slipping off the rocky cliff.

From here it was a gradual 3 miles down to Deadfall Lakes. The mountains and rocks on this side of the saddle were red. We wished we knew more about the geology of this region to understand where the variety comes from.

Fixie caught up with us while we took a lunch break and we hiked the last 2 miles to the lakes together. Once there she and Laurie went swimming while Andy soaked his feet while sitting on a log. The water was cold but tolerable. We all felt so refreshed and rejuvenated.

Laurie loves to swim in alpine lakes and through the Sierras everything was frozen. The only other non frozen lakes we have walked by were in Lassen National Park when it was pouring. She was giddy for the next few miles as her body hummed with coolness for the first time in days.

We hiked on, past a few day hikers and backpackers heading back to Parks Creek Trailhead. Laurie secretly wished they would offer us food or cold sodas but no luck.

Once across the road we climbed again but only briefly. The trail stayed reasonably flat as we twisted around the mountainside. We walked across rock slide areas and through areas with trees scattered about.

We spoke about attempting our first 30 mile day but the next known tentsite was at mile 34. That was too far. We were both tempted to try for a junction a few miles away but after looking at the topo map the options of flat spots appeared few and far between.

We got to Chilcoot Creek around 6:45 pm. Speed, another hike we had met yesterday, was already there. We decided to stay. Had we pushed on to the junction it would have been only 29.2 miles. It wasn’t worth it. Maybe tomorrow we will try again. We will see how our bodies feel and what makes most sense.

We sat outside our tent in the sun and enjoyed a chunk of cheese. It was the best way to celebrate our longest mileage day yet!

Once the swarming gnats got the best of us Laurie retreated to the tent while Andy boiled water for dinner.

We ate, sorted food and devised a rough plan for the next 2 days. We watched the trees dance in the wind as the last light faded from the sky and our eyes got heavy.

Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for lakes to swim in and miso soup.

June 25, 2016

Castle Crags Campground (mile 1499.6) to bushcamp with a view (mile 1516.4)

Miles: 16.8

Today we were waking at 6 am rather than walking. We ate Pad Thai for breakfast and drove up to the Castle Crags Vista Point parking lot. From there we walked half a mile to rejoin the PCT.

Once again Sue joined us for the first few miles. The trail was wide with subtle ups and downs and occasional glimpses of the rocky crags.

We passed 2 beautiful streams with large green plants scattered about. Initially most of the trail was in the shade of pine and oak trees.

We said goodbye to Sue before the real climbing began. She goes home today and we are grateful for the time she spent with us – driving us around, helping us run our town errands and hiking with us. Thanks Sue!!!

We started climbing after crossing the east fork of Sulphur Creek. At first we were in shady forest but not too long after we left the comfort of the shade for hot, exposed rock. The sweat fest began instantly. Our clothes clung to our bodies as we slowly put one foot in front of the other.

Halfway up we stopped for lunch in the shade. We chatted with some day hikers who offered us Fritos which we politely declined. We were carrying 5 days of food and having just left town we weren’t craving lots of salty food.

Skippy, a northbound thru hiker we met a few days prior was chilling in the shade as well. We waited out the heat of the day sharing stories and impressions from the trail thus far. Skippy has hiked the AT and rode his bike across Canada last summer.

Stories like these make Laurie wish she were in her 20’s again.

“There are so many cool adventures to go on!”

“Why can’t you still do them?”

“Because if we want to have a family, we have a timeline.”

“If there is a will, there are many ways.”

Such a classic Andy-ism.

I guess if we have kids they will ride along in our van as Laurie rides her bike across the country 🙂

It feels good to be in a pack again. The speedsters are ahead but occasionally we see them after towns. It is nice to know there are lots of people behind us, many of whom will be catching us at some point.

After a luxurious hour-long break we headed back out into the oppressive heat. We are thankful to be here in June when the temperature is in the high 80’s rather than in July when it can reach triple digits.

The trail continued up via long switchbacks. The views of Castle Crags behind us was stunning. Eventually we got high enough to see Shasta and Lassen too.

Finally the mountains gave away their secrets. These views. My goodness. The only way to get these views are to hike the PCT or take a helicopter ride.

Around 6 pm we crested a hill and enjoyed an even more impressive panaramic view of Shasta, Castle Crags and Lassen. There were a few tent spots right off the trail.

“This is too good to pass up.” Said Laurie as she turned to Andy.

“I agree. It’s not all about the miles. This is why we’re here.”

We had planned to camp a few more miles up the trail, but these views were epic.

So we sat and enjoyed “happy hour” Silver and Saver style – cheese and water.

The bumblebees hummed around us as we let the sun dry the sweat off of our backs.

We set up our tent and were joined by 2 Swiss women and Fixie, another hiker who jumped on the trail at Burney Falls.

We watched the alpine glow sweep across Shasta. Soonafter the sky lit up in pink and purple hues on the horizon.

“This is the best campsite of our hike thus far.”

“I agree.”

Tonight we are grateful for shade and seasonal springs.

June 24, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1480.7) to Castle Crags State Park (mile 1499.6)

Miles: 18.9

Our bodies were tired so we allowed ourselves to sleep in. We were packed and walking by 7:30.

The trail was nicely groomed with patches of poison oak but nothing like what we had been through the day before.

We dropped down to Squaw Creek where we met High Mileage, another northbound thru hiker from Virginia Beach. We chatted for a bit before getting water and heading on.

From here the trail climbed. It was gradual but as High Mileage said as he passed us about half way up, “We are climbing Mt Forever!”

Thankfully the trail was mostly shaded and we had more of a breeze than we had felt in a week. The air was cool and the ground was soft under our feet.

As we reached the top we had a nice view of Shasta. It has been really fun to walk closer and closer to Shasta and see it from different angles. It is a beautiful mountain and we plan to return to climb it some spring.

From here the trail was mostly downhill. We stopped for a short break because we had cell service. Andy tried again to upload our blog posts but it kept failing. Arg!

We walked on, playing hangman to keep our minds sharp. 

Around 4 pm we got to Soda Springs road and Interstate 5. As we walked under the I-5 freeway a day hiker, who we had seen about 20 minutes earlier, stopped and offered us a ride to Anmirati’s Market.

We gladly took him up on his offer and within 15 minutes Laurie had a coconut popsicle in her mouth. We picked up our boxes and sorted through our food for the next 6 days.

Sue joined us about 30 minutes later. Laurie bought a coconut popsicle for her and another for herself. We devised a plan for the evening and parted ways.

We walked to the campground while Sue drove. Given her poison oak sensitivity and our exposure we didn’t want to get into the RV until we and our clothes were clean.

We showered (coin slots were broken so we got unlimited hot showers!) and then drove to Mt Shasta to do laundry and have Thai Food.

Andy has been craving Thai curry for over 500 miles. Although not as good as our favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant, the variety was tasty.

By the time we got back to the campground it was 9 o’clock. We cleaned our backpacks with alcohol swabs to get rid of any possible poison oak oils and crawled into our tent.

Andy sewed his gloves and Laurie blogged.

Town stops are never long enough. Hopefully we will tackle our To Do list on our next zero or nero in Etna, 5-6 days from now.

We are very grateful for Sue’s generosity and assistance in cleaning our clothes. We will start our next “backpacking trip” with relaxed minds knowing we are not at risk of poison oak.

Tonight we are grateful for laundromats and red Thai curry.