Twig Adventures

Category: Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail

PCBCRT Day 69: Sonora Peak

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

Saturday, Sep 16th, 2023, 0630-1440NE of Disaster Peak to Sonora Pass, then ride to Pinecrest, plus side trip to the top of Sonora Peak 20.5 miles, Gain 5100′, Loss 4600′, elevation 6200′ I got on the trail early as usual, but my neighbor got an even earlier start, disappearing into the dark. It was barely light by 6 am. I greeted some pink clouds at a saddle first thing. I recalled this vista from before, which then seemed parched and barren. This morning there was still snow and a green valley below. It felt like early summer. I descended for a bit but there were many short and punchy bumps as the trail worked through some rugged terrain. I had[…]

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PCBCRT Day 68: Wolves or Huskies?

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail

Friday, Sep 15th, 2023, 0630-1840South of the Nipple to just NE of Disaster Peak31.5 miles, Gain 6330′, Loss 5730′, elevation 9110′ Oddly, I was hearing tree frogs creaking a few times overnight. At least I think that’s what they were. What a strange place for them to be. Speaking of strange, when I camped in this section in 2018, I was next to the Lost Lakes only a few miles north of where I woke this morning. That night, I woke abruptly to something sniffing around my tent. I yelled at whatever it was to “GET!” Another hiker was cowboy camping nearby and he calmly explained “It’s ok, they’re just huskies.” They had been sniffing him too and he woke[…]

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PCBCRT Day 67: I Just Can’t Get Enough

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Thursday, Sep 14th, 2023, 0630-1900Finish TRT into Tahoe City, then ride to Carson Pass, then 10.5 mile hike SOBO on the PCT12 miles, Gain 1800′, Loss 1850′, elevation 8520′ The TRT was supposed to be the finish to my longer PCBCRT thru-hike. But I had some time to kill and the Sierra were calling me. A couple of other hikes I was interested in seemed either too logistically complicated or not feasible due to weather events. To do the Uinta Highline trail required a rental car, buses, and difficult hitches. Then Sky informed me that the Lowest to Highest route was probably not accessible because flooding from the hurricane had damaged many of the roads in Death Valley. So I’d[…]

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PCBCRT Day 66: The Homestretch

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Wednesday, Sep 13th, 2023, 0630-1840Desolation wilderness border to Tahoe City 26.5 miles, Gain 2940′, Loss 4640′, elevation 6360′ It was a beautiful morning among the boulders…but wet. My tent had some condensation on the inside and my ground tarp was soaked. I couldn’t imagine how the gravely granite soil could hold so much moisture. Probably the snow had melted from my flat spot not all that long ago. The day was pretty ordinary, compared to the previous one. I continued down away from the wilderness, past the lake, and through a lot of woods. I climbed for some decent views around Barker Pass, then to the parting of the TRT from the PCT near Twin Peaks. I officially made it[…]

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PCBCRT Day 65: Dicks Peak

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Tuesday, Sep 12th, 2023, 0800-2040Echo Lake Parking to wilderness border24.5 miles, Gain 4900′, Loss 4480′, elevation 7940′ I slept really well inside Sky’s van. It was very cozy. We hung out for a bit making coffee and eating breakfast in the morning. We had a big day ahead but neither of us were in a rush. I guess that comes from the confidence of being thru-hikers…we know we can do big miles in a day. We had to, given the restrictions imposed by the area. The Desolation wilderness had so many bear interactions in past years that they moved to requiring bear canisters for overnight stays. They also have quotas for the most popular areas around the lakes. Such campsites[…]

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PCBCRT Day 64: Half Day

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Monday, Sep 11th, 2023, 0640-1120Round Lake to HWY 5013.5 miles, Gain 1950′, Loss 2810′, elevation 7520′ Plans to meet up with my Hayduke buddy Sky finally came together. Originally they were going to meet me in Tahoe City to hike the whole TRT. But they got caught in the mud at Burning Man, then had a lot to clean up afterwards. I heard from them this morning that they were driving all the way from Oakland and would be arriving in the afternoon. This worked out perfectly because it was about 15 miles to Echo lake from where I was, but I couldn’t go further than that, given the restrictions with the Desolation wilderness. The TRT\PCT segment that goes through[…]

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PCBCRT Day 63: Around Freel

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Sunday, Sep 10th, 2023, 0645-1920Edgewood Creek to Round Lake29 miles, Gain 5400′, Loss 4500′, elevation 8090′ I was a good night next to the boulders. I woke with a migraine that was hard to shake, though. A steady uphill with a heavy pack wasn’t the best combo, but I got by. The trail wound through ski areas and along the backside of the rim, with views down into the valley where Carson City sits. The forest continued to be rather dry, reminding me of New Mexico. I was pretty mesmerized looking at more of the Nevada mountain ranges in the distance. They called to me. This was my last day hiking the trail in Nevada, but I hoped there would[…]

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PCBCRT Day 62: South Lake Tahoe in and out

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Saturday, Sep 9th, 2023, 0650-1830Spooner Lake\Hwy 50 to Edgewood Creek16 miles, Gain 2240′, Loss 2510′, elevation 7190′ This was half a town day, so not much detail to record. The trail climbed from the hwy steadily to arrive at another sagebrush capped hill top. It was a good warm up for the morning…not that I was very cold. It was remarkably warmer than the previous morning. I caught up to Natty on the descent from the hill and we talked while we hiked. When I told him my name, a bell rang and he remembered meeting me at Lake Morena, a day before I finished the PCT in 2018. I remembered meeting 2 hikers at the restaurant there, but not[…]

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PCBCRT Day 61: Crushing on Crushed Granite

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Friday, Sep 8th, 2023, 0700-2030Galena Falls to south of Spooner Lake\Hwy 5031 miles, Gain 3580′, Loss 5190′, elevation 7450′ I woke feeling very satisfied from my accomplishment the night before. I allowed a later start, as it was very cold and I’d had a long day previously. The sun rose, radiating light and heat into the valley. A grouse cackled nearby, not knowing I was laying in my tent so close to her morning pecking grounds. I rejoined the TRT from the side trail and moseyed down to the highway and vehicle campground. I used the toilet and filled my water bottles. I was hoping someone might be making a sharable breakfast but had no luck. I’m not sure that[…]

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PCBCRT Day 60: Mount Rose

Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail

Thursday, Sep 7th, 2023, 0640-2030Watson Lake to Galena Falls, +side trip to Mt Rose.30 miles, Gain 6600′, Loss 5320′, elevation 9050′ It was a slow build up to a big finale kind of day. The morning was pretty easy but nothing exciting. I passed through an active logging area and saw a chainsaw sitting on the side of the trail, unattended. I could have practiced my sawyer skills. I caught up to Silver Bullet mid morning and we stopped to chat. I would have liked to hike with her but she was taking it slower, getting back into the swing of things. I planned my food carry based on my higher mile days, so our schedules didn’t really align. Still,[…]

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