June 17, 2016

Warner Valley Campground (mile 1347.6) to Hat Creek (mile 1367.2)

Miles: 19.6

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain. So much for the hot and dry Northern California stretch.

Laurie’s mom was outside our tent at 6:30am encouraging us to get up and join her in the RV. It’s hard to motivate and get out of a tent when it’s raining.

The rain subsided and we rallied. Packing up a wet tent is no fun, but we’re hopeful to dry it at some point this afternoon.

Today’s is Andy’s 33rd birthday. To celebrate Laurie and Sue wrapped up a tin of sardines in a hand towel and presented it to him.

Andy really likes sardines and was excited to have them for dinner tonight with his buckwheat.

Sue made oatmeal on her stove which we all devoured. It was quite nice hanging out in the RV on a gloomy morning, but alas, the trail beckoned.

We were out and hiking by 8am. The trail switchbacked up and up immediately, providing great views of Lassen National Park.

Laurie and Sue usually hike with their heads down but Andy is the opposite – always looking up and around.

Andy noticed something odd up on the cliff above the trail. He took another look after a few steps.

Ears? Could it be a dog? No, they aren’t allowed on National Park trails.

The creature lifted his head and it was clear.

“Bear” he exclaimed to Laurie and Sue, who walked back to catch a glimpse of the small, blonde bear.

It was as curious about us as we were fascinated by it. It was bigger than a cub but a third of the size of an adult bear. It was the first bear we’ve seen on our hike!

We continued to switchback up the mountain side. In the distance we could see the steam from geysers and lakes, hanging low in the trees like clouds. It was beautiful.

Sue hiked with us for another mile before turning around. We hope she made it back to the campground before the rain started. She’s got a long drive ahead of her and we hope to see her in Old Station tomorrow!

The trail descended another 400 feet to a meadow. Around 9am the rain started and didn’t let off until 1pm.

Fortunately for us the trail was a cruiser and we made miles quickly.

Unfortunately our hands got soaked and cold very quickly. Andy’s fingers were so cold he couldn’t open or close a ziplock bag.

It poured as we walked through the forest, over puddles and through meadows. Our shoes and socks were soaked. We appreciated the wood planked boardwalks over the most swampy parts of the trail.

The trail suddenly ended at King creek. We could see it continuing on the other side and found a large log to walk across. The log was wide and secure but being 5 feet above the water both of us initially froze. It takes some time to work up the courage to cross something that high off the ground when water is rushing underneath. Staring ahead rather than down made it easier and after a short while we both made it across safely.

When the rain finally took a break we stopped for lunch. It was too wet to dry anything out but at least we were dry.

We talked about hiking in the rain and how we hope it doesn’t last weeks on end. Laurie doesn’t like being cold and soggy.

Andy tolerates it knowing it is temporary. He appreciates its beauty especially watching raindrops fall on a lakes and puddles.

We passed by many lakes today, all of which were tucked away in the trees, but close enough to see the rain ripples. Unfortunately it was too cold and gloomy to take a dip.

Around 2:30pm the sun finally broke through the clouds. There were many dark storm clouds in the area but we decided to dry out our tent fly for as long as we could. We took our shoes off, sat on a rock and ate a block of raw goats milk cheese.

Fifteen minutes later we could see the dark grey clouds getting closer and closer, so we put on our socks and shoes and got ready to go. As we shouldered our packs it started sprinkling and then shortly there after, pouring.

We decided to push on to Hat Creek – another 4.5 miles away to make our hike into Old Station tomorrow shorter. We’re a fan of challenges and hoped to be at camp by 5pm.

Well, we beat that, arriving around 4:30pm. We loved the trail into Hat Creek. It was like walking through a magical forest.

It was quiet, but not eerily so. The colors were vibrant. Green and brown grasses rustled in the wind and golden brown pine needles crunched under our feet as we walked beneath big pine trees decorated with neon green lichen.

We expressed to each other that if we didn’t need water we would have loved to camp here. The ground looked soft and inviting.

But alas, we kept moving. It was spitting rain when we arrived at camp so we went to get water before setting up the tent. When we returned from Hat Creek we saw a familiar hiker near our packs.

It was Phil! We’ve been wondering where he was and how he was doing. Now, he’s camped near us and it was great catching up with him. He plans to hike to Kennedy Meadows, then return to Oregon and hike north. Go Phil!

After attempting to make hot lemon ginger tea with dehydrated lemon and GinGins ginger candy, we had dinner. Andy was really excited about his sardines and practically wolfed them down with his buckwheat.

Laurie though was having a tougher time putting her food down. She wasn’t hungry but knew she had to eat. So she pulled out some nori sheets and finished her beans. Then she proceeded to eat a third of a bag of Jelly Bellys. There always seems to be room for candy!

We’re definitely eating a lot more these days, especially Andy. We’ll see if this continues over the coming weeks or if it’s just a temporary phase.

The rest of the evening Andy spent writing, editing and looking at pictures while Laurie took a nap.

It’s hard to leave the tent to brush up or pee or do anything with the on again, off again rain.

It’s especially difficult for Laurie. She loves to get cozy and finds it very difficult to get out again once she is in her sleeping bag cocoon. She’s had to pee for 4 hours now but has yet to leave the tent.

Tonight we are grateful for boardwalks over marshy trail and sunshine on a rainy day.

June 16, 2016

Stover Spring (mile 1332.3) to Warner Valley Campground (mile 1347.6)

Miles: 15.3

We woke up to the pitter-patter of rain around 5:15am. Between 5 and 5:30 doesn’t seem to work for Laurie. She has a hard time getting up.

The rain never intensified. In fact we saw blue skies when we crawled out of our tent at 6:20.

Laurie walked super fast again today. She was on a mission to meet her mama, and nothing was going to stop her.

Andy tried to slow her down by asking her to stop for photo ops and to appreciate the view. It worked until Andy put his phone away, at which point Laurie was barely visible.

Our feet were wet and cold most of this morning. The plants lining the trail were wet from the rain and they were all too happy to share the moisture with our feet when we brushed up against them.

We hiked in our fleeces as the temperature never really warmed up. The clouds danced in the sky, exposing the sun now and again, but it remained cold.

We hiked downhill for most of the morning, gazing upon a stunning meadow below.

Around 11am we climbed up to a ridge where we had service and decided to take a break. We tried uploading a blog post but Verizon decided not to work after 10 minutes so we gave up and kept walking in order to stay warm.

Around noon we reached the junction to Terminal Geyser in Lassen National Park. We were wondering where we would meet Laurie’s mom today; unsure if she had received any of our voicemails or texts informing her to meet us at this very spot.

Throughout the morning we discussed many options, including how we would take turns hiking to the geyser in case she turned up. But not even 10 minutes later Sue came down the trail.

She had no service and hadn’t listened to or read any messages. She just hiked and met us at the right place at the right time!

We took a lunch break before going to the geyser. Sue had brought us sliced turkey, apples and dried fruit. Thanks for the trail magic Sue!

We left our packs and hiked the three tenths of a mile to Terminal Geyser. Even at the junction we could smell the sulfur.

The geyser itself was a pile of steaming rocks. We couldn’t see where the water was coming from but could see the steamy runoff. It was very different than  anything we’d ever seen.

We left the falls, retrieved our packs and walked toward Boiling Springs Lake.

The lake was a pastel green. The temperature of the water is supposedly 125 degrees. Steam rose from the lake and surrounding banks and mud hissed and bubbled near it’s eastern shore.

Andy wants to come back here again. There seems to be a lot of natural wonders to explore in this Park and we are just passing through.

We hiked down the trail until we reached the Drakesbad Guest Ranch junction. Andy went to the Ranch to get our resupply boxes while Laurie hiked to the campground with her mom to drive over and pick up Andy.

We wanted to have dinner at Drakesbad to celebrate Andy’s birthday tomorrow and Laurie passing her GCS exam but the ranch didn’t offer a good gluten free option, so we passed.

We’ll celebrate in two days at JJ’s Cafe in Old Station instead.

Once at Warner Valley Campground we sorted through our resupplies, put up our tent and snacked.

Sue had purchased goat cheese for us along with other snacks from Chester the day before. Laurie ate a lot of cheese, jerky, carrots with almond butter and whatever else she could find in the pantry.

Eventually we made dinner and looked at maps to see if Sue could meet us further up the trail.

As we ate Andy spotted Gecko and Swiss Flo hiking into the campground. Andy excitedly went out to greet them. He chatted with them for a bit and returned to the RV.

We hope to see them again, and better yet, hike with them some more. They are good guys and a fun duo. But they are fast. We’ll see.

It’s 7:30pm and Laurie is lying in her mom’s arms, both of them asleep. They look peaceful and happy.

Laurie is really happy that her mom is here visiting us. And Sue is happy to be spending time with Laurie.

It’s sprinkling outside and Laurie is quite cozy in the RV. She doesn’t want to go outside, not just yet anyway.

Tomorrow we hike through and out of Lassen National Park, hopefully under sunny skies (even if it’s cloudy it’s ok as long as it doesn’t rain).

Night night.

Tonight we are grateful for telepathy and the comfort of our mother’s arms.

June 15, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1309.5) to Stover Spring (1332.3)

Miles: 22.8

We woke up early, committed to hiking over 20 miles to make the following day shorter. Laurie’s mom Sue is meeting us is Lassen and we want to maximize our time with her.

We were walking by 6:15am, shivering as we began and hoping to warm up as we walked. It was cold!

Search and Rescue had posted a sign warning hikers of “deep snow ahead.” It was dated 5/29 so we anticipated that it had melted but we weren’t entirely sure. We kept our microspikes handy just in case.

The trail was mellow, wandering in and out of the trees and open volcanic ridges. It felt like we were walking along a braid – at times we walked on top of the ridge and other times on either side.

We had a nice view of snowy Mt Lassen in the distance when the clouds parted.

We wandered on, stepping over logs and winding our way up and down the hillsides. The trail was pretty easy and the miles flew by. We kept expecting the temperature to rise but instead it got colder as we got higher in elevation.

After an hour and a half we got to a junction. Every trail and spring are well marked. We left our packs next to the trail and dropped down a third of a mile to Little Cub Spring. The water was clear and cold.

On our major climb of the day, we caught up with another hiker named Karen. She started in Truckeee a few weeks ago.

She was happy to see us as she reported being lonely. We are all ahead of the pack and are lucky to see more than 4 hikers a day. We chatted for a bit and continued on. It was too cold for a long conversation without a layer and gloves!

We encountered a few snowy patches on the north facing slopes but nothing like what we had been on or warned about. We made our way across the snow, Andy digging in steps and Laurie moving quickly to avoid slipping.

About a quarter mile before the Butt Mountain junction (yes that’s what it’s called), the trail crossed over to the southern side of the ridge. The snow disappeared and so did the trail amongst the small Manzanita bushes.

We were thankful for our pants as we plunged through, moving the bushes away with our poles and arms.

From here it was a gentle but windy walk to mile 1325 – the PCT midpoint. It was anti climatic and we felt a whole slew of emotions.

With our skip this was really only our 919 mile marker. That alone is something to celebrate and we feel grateful and happy to have made it this far.

Within 5 minutes, Flo and Gecko arrived. Flo has walked from Campo so we congratulated him on the accomplishment and then we all sat down to eat lunch.

Suprisingly we had service and as soon as we turned on our phones the notifications poured in.

Laurie got an email and text informing her that the results of her Geriatric Specialty Exam were posted. She nervously checked as Andy published our latest blog post.

Laurie passed her test and the celebration continued with a little dancing and singing to Bon Jovi’s “We’re halfway there….oh livin on a prayer.”

Now you have the song stuck in your head. You’re welcome ☺

We parted ways, Gecko and Flo speeding off towards hot chocolate in Chester and we took our time descending through the forest towards the highway and eventually camp.

We walked through logging areas, frequently crossing over dirt roads and past signs warning us of falling trees.

We met two southbound hikers (30/30 and Jukebox) near Hwy 36. Both had flipped up to Ashland from Independence. They fondly spoke of smooth and well manicured trail ahead. We look forward to attempting our first 30 mile day in the near future.

We mentioned yesterday 4 things that slow down hikers (snow, stream crossings, blowdowns and overgrown trail) but there are two others: inclement weather and chatting with other hikers.

Thankfully we dodged the foul weather today. Similarly our conversations with other hikers were nice but short.

Just before 6 we arrived at Stover Spring. The final mile was uphill and for the first time today Laurie broke a sweat.

We filled up our water bottles with cool clear water and set off to find a flat spot. We passed a woman journaling under her tarp. She stuck her head out to say hello. She too just started in Belden and is headed north. It is reassuring to Laurie to know there are people around with similar plans.

We went about our evening routine – both putting up the tent, then Andy cooking while Laurie inflated the pads and stretched out the sleeping bags.

By 7:30 we were fed and cozy in our sleeping bags. It is still cold out but luckily not raining as had been predicted.

Tonight we are grateful for music and our playful spirits.