June 23, 2016

Dirt road (mile 1458) to bushcamp (mile 1480.7)

Miles: 22.7

We both woke up numerous times last night. The moon was so bright we could have hiked without a headlamps.

We had made a plan with Sue to meet her at Ash Campground at 10 am. We were hiking at 6 am, hoping to cover the 10.4 miles and be there on time.

The trail was downhill the whole way. The air was cool and refreshing – so much in fact that Andy considered wearing his fleece, an item of clothing we haven’t touched in days!

After 4 miles we hit poison oak. We had heard this section was known for having bad poison oak but we weren’t sure where it would begin. It was difficult to differentiate the 3 leafed beast from the many other green and vibrant looking plants.

Laurie kept talking to the plants in a similar fashion to the children’s book ‘Are you my mother?’

“Are you poison oak?”

“Are you poison oak?”

Finally we saw the familiar non symmetrical three leaved plant. Unfortunately it was common alongside the trail. We did our best to step around but sometimes we didn’t seem them until it was too late.

Sue met us eight tenths of a mile from Ash campground. Despite the warning that there would be poison oak on the trail she wanted to hike. It was a pleasant surprise to see a familiar hat bobbing along the trail towards us.

We hiked down together and shared an early lunch. Sue provided salad, blueberries, an apple and flavored nuts. Everything tasted wonderful- particularly the fruit. Thanks Sue!

With our early start and downhill trail we managed our second 10 miles before 10 am. The early mornings are hard initially but always worth it!

The three of us hiked north together after an hour of snacking. We crossed the milky looking McCloud River on a nice wooden bridge.

Since jumping back on the trail in Belden the river crossings have been easy. Streams and creeks are appropriately named and we only rarely get our feet wet.

Whenever we cross something on a bridge we look at one another through smiles and say “We could cross that if we needed to.” We have seen nothing like the Sierra “streams” and we hope this continues all the way to Canada.

Sue hiked 2.7 miles with us. The trail was well groomed and had less poison oak than the southern portion. We cruised over small ups and downs winding our way through the forest. The vibrant green plants offered a nice contrast to the brown bark and deep brown soil.

We ran into a couple that Sue had befriended the previous night. They had seen 2 cubs and a mama bear 10 minutes up the trail in the direction we were heading. Unfortunately we were not so lucky.

We hugged goodbye and Sue returned the way we had come. She will meet us tomorrow night for one last night together before heading home.

It has been wonderful sharing the trail experience with her and seeing her so happy. Trail life is magical, no matter how long you live it.

From there we climbed. It was hot and the trail traveled in and out of the sun. The wind was minimal and we were drenched in sweat by the end. We took a break near the top to cool off. The mosquitoes were around but not too bothersome.

Laurie was too hot to eat, Andy was distracted by editing a blog post. After about 30 minutes we walked on. The break helped us cool down and the heat didn’t feel as intense. The trail was mostly in the shade which helped as well.

About an hour later we got to a dirt road and the top of the climb. We took another break. Laurie fell asleep while Andy worked on the last few days’ pictures.

We walked on another mile before the real fun began. The poison oak got thicker, taller and more frequent. Our pace slowed, a lot!

It was mentally exhausting to scan the trail for poison oak amongst the other foliage.

We resorted to our previous strategy of calling out “left” or “right” but that quickly morphed into “both” and “shit, it’s everywhere!”

The nasty plant was shoulder tall in places, sticking out over the trail and hidden at ankle height while other large bushes covered the trail.

It was inevitable, the oils were on our clothes.

We walked on, mumbling to ourselves and hoping this wouldn’t last 20 more miles to Castle Crags State Park.

Luckily it didn’t.

We passed 2 southbound section hikers in their tents. They had started in Crater Lake a month ago and reassured us that the poison oak wasn’t bad further up the trail. This was a huge relief!

We chatted a bit and continued on. Our potential tentsite lay only a mile ahead.

We got to camp around 7 pm. The spot was small and slanted but we were tired and ready to settle in for the night.

We stripped out of our clothes and turned them inside out. We ate dinner and then a second dinner. The mosquitoes swarmed and buzzed outside our tent but then disappeared around 9:30 pm, just in time to brush our teeth.

We itched, not sure if from mosquito bites, poison oak irritation or our imagination. We suppose time will tell.

Tonight we are grateful for crisp and juicy apples and well groomed trails.

June 22, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1432.3) to dirt road (mile 1458)

Miles: 25.7

Today started out like many others – our alarms went off and we didn’t want to open our eyes.

Typically on backpacking trips one catches up on sleep. For some reason on our thru hike we can’t seem to get enough sleep.

Blogging takes time, and with the sun setting late we unwind later. Plus walking 15+ miles per day our bodies need more rest than usual. Maybe by the end of the hike we will figure out how much sleep we need to feel refreshed instead of groggy in the morning.

We were hiking by 6:20 am. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were up early as well. Laurie hiked with her head net on while Andy’s beard protected him.

The trail meandered through lush forests. We walked by lots of wild roses and ferns. The air was warm but we experienced moments of relief as we walked through cool and damp areas of the forest.

Eventually we climbed up to a clearing and ridge. Shasta stood prominently in front of us. It seems like more snow is melting every day. We ate a late lunch staring out at Shasta and the foresty hills in the foreground.

For most of the afternoon we stayed up high, walking up and down small hills amongst waist high bushes. The views were expansive.

Laurie, who walks with her head down, was leading when she walked straight into a low fallen tree branch. It shocked her and hopefully will remind her to look up once in a while.

Up on a south facing ridge we were able to see Lassen. It looked so small in the distance. It is inspiring to see how far we have walked in a week.

Back in a shady and lush section of trail Laurie suddenly rolled her left ankle and when she tried to catch herself with her right foot, her knee buckled and she went down. She fell slightly off the trail onto some brush. She started laughing instantly; nothing hurt but her ego.

We walked on, determined to reach our goal of walking more than 25 miles. The daylight hours are long but our bodies are not used to walking much past 6 pm. Our feet were tired, but we pushed on.

We got water from a seasonal stream and walked up to the top of the last hill before Ash Camp. We debated whether to keep going another mile to Deer Spring to make it a marathon day. We opted to stay here since it was higher and would hopefully have fewer mosquitoes, plus there were only 2 spots at Deer Creek and this late in the day they may have been taken.

We found a flat spot alongside the dirt road and set up our tent. The mosquitoes were out in droves but luckily we had the safety of our tent to keep us safe from an itch fest.

Getting to camp around 7:15pm meant we ate later and thus went to bed later. Luckily we are both tired from the day and will sleep well.

Tonight we are grateful for our bug nets and bites of cheese after a long day.

 

June 21, 2016

Burney Falls State Park (mile 1416.5) to bushcamp (mile 1432.3)

Miles: 15.8

Everyday on the trail is special, but today was extra special. It was the longest day of the year (Summer Soltice) and in the thru hiking world it was hike naked day.

Unfortunately, this stretch of trail was not ideal for partaking in the festivities. We started hiking in a very populated State Park, spent majority of the day hiking amongst mosquitoes, flies and gnats, and bushwhacked through overgrown trail.

Nevertheless it was still an awesome day.

We woke up around 5 with the intention of hiking by 7 to beat the heat. As you can imagine based on our history, that did not happen. Laurie got up to go snuggle with her mom and Andy fell back asleep. We were all exhausted from the stress of the day before and appreciated the extra sleep.

We had a delicious shmorgesboard breakfast of hard boiled eggs, avocado, black beans, chicken, hummus, fruit and nori.

When you have been backpacking for over 2.5 months there is no right or wrong time to eat anything. And, if you are Laurie you have been eating savory breakfasts for years.

We drove back to Burney Falls and picked up the PCT right where we left off. The trail was mellow at first, paralleling a road. We walked under the cover of pine trees, shaded from the quickly intensifying sun. We crossed some dirt roads and began a gentle climb.

Sue walked with us for the first 2.5 miles telling stories about her first backpacking trip at age 7. It is amazing how gear and food options have changed in 60 years.

We parted ways at the top of a hill. Goodbyes are hard for Laurie, particularly when she is not sure when she will see her mom again. Maybe in 2 days, maybe in 2 months…

The heat and the swarming bugs kept our hugs short as we were all eager to keep moving.

After another 2.5 miles the trail dropped down to Rock Creek. We took a break to get water and relax. Laurie melted onto a cool rock in the shade and fell asleep almost instantly. Andy stuck his feet in the water and worked on yesterday’s blog post.

Just after noon we shouldered our packs and headed across the bridge. From there the trail gained 3000 ft. Luckily it was mostly gradual and shady.

But it was hot!

Although we were in the shade, without any wind we roasted. We walked slowly and steadily, both saturated with sweat.

In 4.4 miles we reached a junction to a creek. We dropped our packs and walked the 0.1 mile down to Screwdriver Creek.

The water was refreshingly cool. Laurie placed one of the cold water bottles on her stomach as we climbed back up to the trail. It felt wonderful.

The trail continued up gradually. We walked past vibrant ferns and overgrown bushes. At some points the trail was so overgrown we could not see one another through the brush.

Today, the trail seemed to have many scents. At differing moments we smelled artichokes, cotton candy, fish and the only one that actually made sense – pine.

It was an olfactory experience, adding to the usual sights and sounds of the trail.

We passed 4 southbound hikers from Taiwan. They had also flipped up to Ashland from Kennedy Meadows. It felt like we were fish swimming upstream against the current.

This led Laurie to second guess our decision of hiking north from Belden yet again. Andy reassured her by reminding her that we are having fun, enjoying the trail, and that everything will be ok. Really, Laurie just wants to fit in.

“But why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Andy asks her, channeling Dr. Seuss.

Around 6 o’clock we got to our potential campsite. Earlier in the day our plan was to take some fun pictures here and keep hiking, but as the day wore on we both felt tired and liked the idea of an early evening.

As we turned the corner Laurie spotted a tent. Darn! We had gotten used to having no competition for the good camping spots. This spot was on a ridge with a spectacular view of Shasta.

Having spent all day in the trees waving our arms to get rid of bugs, the idea of an exposed and potentially windier and thus less buggy spot was very appealing. Apparently it was appealing to other people as well.

We chatted for a bit with the 2 guys camped there. They were section hikers from the Bay Area and curious about our experiences in the Sierras.

It is interesting how everyone focuses on the snow as the challenge, while for us it was the stream crossings.

We walked on another two tenths of a mile and found a spot on a ridge near a dirt road. Almost immediately the bumblebees, flies and mosquitoes found us.

But they couldn’t stop us. We wanted to celebrate hike naked day – at least for a little bit.

So we put up the tent, stripped down to our birthday suits and took a few photos with Mt. Shasta as the backdrop.

The cool breeze moving around our bodies felt really good. And so did the freedom to just be in that spot, together, enjoying ourselves.

After about 10 minutes we retreated to the tent. Andy put on some clothes and went to get the rest. By this time several bumble bees had made home inside our clothes.

Carefully and without getting stung Andy returned to the tent with all of our clothes.

We ate dinner and watched the sun drop behind the horizon. And the sunset. Oh my, what a sunset! It was stunning.

The sky turned pink before becoming orange. This is one of the many reasons we are our here.

Tomorrow we hope to beat our mileage record. We will see what the trail and our bodies provide.

Tonight we are grateful for magical sunsets and avocados.