July 1, 2016

Marble valley (mile 1621.2) to Grider Creek campground (mile 1647)

Miles: 25.8

We slept hard. We woke up around midnight to Fixie calling out because she heard branches breaking but couldn’t see without her contacts.

Andy peered out of our tent to find two pairs of eyes within 20 ft of our camp. They were just curious deer (much less scary than a bear) so we all fell back asleep.

The morning was beautiful. We had agreed as a group to be walking by 6 am. We started out in a line, walking through the green meadows. But within 45 minutes we had split up. With differing needs at different times it was hard to stick together.

We slowly climbed past more wildflowers and chunks of marble that lay in the meadows. We made our way across a few snow banks but all in all it was easy walking.

Laurie was struggling this morning. The left side of her back was tight and on the verge of spasms. We are not sure if it was due to awkward positions while climbing over down trees or a bad sleeping position.

Either way, she was moving cautiously. Andy was wonderful and lifted her pack to minimize the lifting and twisting that comes with hoisting a pack onto one’s shoulders.

Once on the ridge we stayed high for awhile. The views were beautiful and although it was warm we were happy.

These are the moments when thru hiking feels magical. We carry everything we need on our backs and walk to places far from towns to sit on ridges and feel the wind brush against our faces.

These are the moments when life feels so simple. These are the highlights of the day. The moments that make the harder, more painful moments worthwhile.

From the ridge we dropped a bit, climbed back up and then began the long afternoon descent. Today we went up 4000 ft and down 8000 ft. It was long.

We ate lunch on a dirt road with a southbound section hiker named Riser. It is always fun to trade stories, see what other hikers eat and meet other down to earth people.

We rested for over an hour in the shade, all of us dreading the long descent ahead. Worse than the downhill was the poison oak that we had read and heard about.

With Shot Bloks and Sour Patch Kids in mouth and pocket, we headed down.

Initially it was beautiful. We had walked back into a lush thriving forest. Ferns and lots of other green bushes lined (and often covered) the trail.

We walked through a rainbow of wildflowers, purple ones interspersed with pink ones and then a flooding of white and splotches of yellow. It was beautiful.

About 4 miles in we saw our first poison oak plant. We called out to one another to avoid touching them but eventually it became inevitable. The stuff was everywhere.

We crossed Grider Creek 4 times. The first two had no bridges and we gladly walked straight through, refreshing our feet and legs with cool water.

As we dropped in elevation we entered what Andy kept referring to as a “sweat box.” The air was hot and there was no wind.

The southbounder we ate lunch with mentioned that it was 103 degrees in Seiad Valley the previous day. It felt like that in the forest. Heat and poison oak – not a good combination.

We washed our faces and dumped water on our heads as often as we could, but we still kept sweating.

Twenty five miles always sounds doable the night before, but boy did those last 5 miles go on forever! Especially with poison oak around and us walking slowly to spot and avoid them.

We got into camp at 7:15 pm. We said hello to Speed, dropped our packs and headed to the river to cool off. Boy did that water feel good!

We enjoyed the luxury of a picnic table as we ate dinner and the mosquitoes ate us.

Speed was already in his tent, having eaten dinner, cooled off in the river and scored a beer from another camper before we showed up.

After dinner we turned our clothes inside out to avoid exposure to poison oak, blogged for a little while and were ready for bed.

We have decided to not set an alarm tomorrow morning. We will wake up naturally and get to town then. Whether Speed and Fixie wait for us remains to be seen.

It’s late and time for bed. Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for wildflowers and our sponsors.

June 30, 2016

Sawyers Bar Road (mile 1597.3) to Marble Valley (mile 1621.2)

Miles: 23.9

Andy slept well under the Swiss flag while Laurie wished she could fit in the refrigerator to escape the heat. Eventually we all fell asleep. It was glorious to sleep with an actual pillow and sheets.

The kind folks who run hiker hut do a fabulous job keeping the place clean and ensuring we have everything we need.

Andy and Speed took Jim out to breakfast to thank him for the ride to and from the trailhead. Laurie and Fixie stayed at the hiker hut and ate quesadillas and oatmeal respectively. At 7:30 am we all piled into the truck to drive back up to Etna Summit.

As we pulled up two hikers greeted us. They were So Far and So Good. We met them outside of Belden the second day after our skip. The trail has an amazing way of reconnecting hikers. It seems you just never know who we will see when.

Scenery wise today was one of the best yet. The views and wildflowers were fantastic and got better the further we walked.

The first 10.5 miles were filled with gradual ups and downs. The air was surprisingly cool and our bodies felt rested. We clambored over or walked around some blow downs but not enough to frustrate us.

The four of us reconvened at a stream around 11:30 and decided to push for the campsite 23 miles from Etna Summit. We were feeling good.

We hiked amongst the wildflowers, stopping occasionally to take pictures. The meadows were bright green and water was abundant.

After lunch we started to climb. We walked past small waterfalls and meadows filled with purple, red and yellow wildflowers. Water spilled onto the trail and for a moment it felt like we were back in the Sierras. The sun illuminated each water droplet as they cascaded over rocks and fell into a clear rocky pool below. It was captivating.

We stopped and simply watched the show, trying uncussessfully to capture the show with our cameras.

A mile or so after we resumed walking we crossed two snow banks and switchbacked our way up to a notch in the mountain. As we crested over we had views of beautiful deep blue Man Eater Lake. Snow patches dotted the surrounding mountains, forming a picturesque alpine vista.

We walked in awe, tripping over the rocky trail as our eyes kept moving back to the lake and surrounding mountains.

After this is where the day got long. We dropped down about 1000 ft and then climbed right back up, switchbacking through a burn area. We appreciated the shade and tried to stay positive and appreciative for the view of the lake although the climb and the previous descent felt pointless.

Once back up on the ridge we hiked past many trail junctions, through beautiful meadows, over rocky hills and past many blooming wildflowers. We felt grateful to be here now, when temperatures are a little bit cooler, the majority of the snow has melted and the flowers are at their peak.

Around 5 pm the miles seemed to drag on. The trail was scattered with downed trees, some easier to get around than others. In total we encountered about 30 blow downs today. It was enough.

Walking past slabs of marble, Andy was suprised at its sandpaper like texture.

As the evening light illuminated the marble wall above us, we descended into Marble Valley. We waded through a sea of tall grass and wildflowers down to Marble Meadow.

We found a nice flat spot behind a delapadated ranger cabin. The temperatures were cool and we were all excited to sleep.

These long mileage days are hard but we still smile knowing we wouldn’t want be anywhere else.

Tonight we are grateful for suprise alpine lakes and flat camp sites.

June 29, 2016

Paynes Lake (mile 1591.5) to Sawyers Bar Road (mile 1597.3)

Miles: 5.8

We had all agreed to leave at 6:30 am. We wanted to have a full day in Etna for some R&R. Plus, we have heard Etna is the friendliest town on the PCT and wanted to experience the magic.

It was easy walking until we hit a snow patch on an exposed north facing slope. We slowly picked our way through it, with Andy creating nice steps for each of us to use.

We texted Jim, the guy we had met the day before, while walking along the ridge. Through this 1100+ mile journey we have learned that when you can see a town below from a ridge, usually there is reception.

Jim was waiting for us when we got down to the road. We piled into his pickup and headed down into town.

We claimed our spot at the Hiker Hut and went in search of breakfast. The hut wasn’t quite ready for us yet as people were just leaving. We were fortunate to be the first hikers there to claim the 4 beds available in the hut.

Speed took off on one of the loaner bicycles. We chatted with another hiker (and film maker) named Squatch and attempted to take off after him 10 minutes later. Laurie fiddled with the chain but the crank was bent. Andy rode around in a circle to test his bike. He came back and noted that the pedal was loose. He looked down and the pedal assembly fell off. Guess we won’t be riding!!

We walked towards the restaurant but took a detour to Ray’s Place, the local grocery store. Our bodies were craving veggies. We ended up having a picnic brunch comsisting of hummus, lettuce, tangerines, tofu, avocados and black beans.

The rest of the day was filled with town chores – laundry, blog, drying out the tent and sleeping bags, sorting food, and calling family. It was a nice mellow day but there is never time to just sit and relax.

Around 5:30 we found working bicycles and rode a mile to one of the 3 restaurants in town – Dotty’s burgers. The meat was the most local we have ever had, being from the ranch next door.

We stopped at the store on the way home to get ice cream. Talenti was on sale for $2.99! This town keeps getting better and better!

We returned to the hiker hut for the evening. Laurie had a second dinner of quesadillas, something she has been craving for miles.

We chatted, elevated our feet and enjoyed the feel of cotton clothes on our clean bodies.

By 10 pm we were all in bed with the lights out.

Tonight we are grateful for Talenti in small town grocery stores and cozy hiker huts to call home.