June 18, 2016

Hat creek (mile 1367.1) to bushcamp (mile 1382.2)

Miles: 15.1

It poured last night. We woke up naturally at 6 am but since it was still raining we both fell back asleep. We were just under 8 miles from our designated meeting point with Laurie’s mom and we figured we could walk fast if need be.

The rain stopped around 7:00 am and we could see light coming through the tent.

“Sun??” Asked Laurie as she stuck her head out of the drenched and sagging rain fly.

The sky was still grey but the clouds were thining. We were hopeful for some sunshine. It had been a few days since we felt the warmth of the sun’s rays.

As we rolled up our pads we noticed moisture on Andy’s side of the tent. Could we have a hole in the tent floor? Our tent bag has many rips from bushwhacking and perhaps the tent got cut also? We decided to investigate further when we dried out the tent.

We put away our soaked tent and rain fly and were walking by 8:20am. By that time the sunlight illuminated the dripping pine trees. It was a magical moment.

We walked through puddles on the trail and through steaming meadows. The air was crisp but not cold. We quickly shed our layers and embraced the sunshine.

The trail meandered through the pine forest, crossing many dirt roads and past RV’s in the distance.

We climbed up and then down and could see the town of Old Station in the distance. As we dropped down into the valley we caught glimpses of Lassen. It looked as though it got a new dusting of snow!

Eventually we made it to the cutoff for the Subway Cave. Here we met Sue and we all piled into the RV to drive the half mile to JJ’s.

Town food is very subjective. On the trail you often hear that food at a certain restaurant is the “best on the trail.” This restaurant had that reputation.

Unfortunately we were underwhelmed. Some of the food was really good while others were ok at best. The burger Andy had was delicious while the egg scramble Laurie ordered and the Greek salad Sue ordered were ok. Even so we enjoyed the change it offered from trail food.

Paradise Valley Cafe before mile 200 wins for best Greek salad thus far while JJ’s has had the best burger.

We dried our wet tent and clothes on the deck, searched unsuccessfully for a hole in the tent, chatted with Sue and uploaded blog posts.

By 3 pm and with 11 liters of water between us we shouldered our packs and hit the trail once more. We were at the beginning of a 30 mile waterless stretch on the Hat Creek Rim. Andy walked through the Subway Cave and we all started back on the PCT together.

Sue walked with us for about 2 miles. Flowers mixed in with the tall grasses offered a smattering of red, yellow and purple amongst the green.

We climbed up 400 ft to the Hat Creek Overlook where we got our first views of Mt. Shasta. From here the trail stayed relatively level.

We walked on a mix of lava rock and dirt. It took a lot more effort and concentration than walking on the soft pine needles of the previous day.

We reached camp around 7 pm. Both of us were tired and our feet hurt. Andy boiled water for dinner while Laurie made home and got cozy.

Tonight the sky is clear and we will sleep with no rain fly. We watched the sun set behind Shasta as birds chirped in the trees surrounding our camp. Aside from their singing it is peacefully quiet.

Tonight we are grateful for a cloudless night and fast wifi in public places.

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.