Category: Pacific Crest Trail

Saturday, Sep 2nd, 2023, 0740-17308 miles past Sierra City to Peter Grubb Hut26 miles, Gain 5030′, Loss 3650′, elevation 7810′ Wetness management is a hard skill to figure out and even harder to get right in all circumstances. There are many factors that play into it. Thinking back on my experiences with multiple days of rain on the AT, in New Zealand, and the Colorado Trail, it can feel like a losing battle to keep stuff dry. You fight the good fight but after a long enough timeline, everything becomes either damp or completely saturated. We were optimistic that it wouldn’t rain overnight, given the clearing skies the day before. Inevitably, the rain began around midnight. At first it was[…]

Friday, Sep 1st, 2023, 0600-1940Ridge NE of Spencer Lakes to 8 miles past Sierra City 28 miles, Gain 4100′, Loss 5000′, elevation 6440′ I woke just as rain started to splatter my tent. It remained light until I was able to pack, thank goodness. I hated packing a wet tent. The wind howled all night but the trees ran perfect interference. A few whiffs reached me but nothing major. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be protected in this way, but every gust still worried me. I ended up putting my earplugs in…if I couldn’t hear the gusts coming, they couldn’t bother me. Most would be hesitant to leave their tents in such gusty and wet conditions, but we were[…]

Thursday, Aug 31st, 2023, 0630-1940Middle Fork Feather River to ridge NE of Spencer Lakes32.4 miles, Gain 8110′, Loss 3760′, elevation 7340′ I remembered almost nothing about the trail from this day, 5 years ago, except that it was pretty hard. The figure of 8,000 feet came to me, as I recalled this as my biggest day of elevation gain to this point. I pretty much repeated the day this time around, with the same starting point and a similar distance hiked. I usually had very good recall of my campsites, but had no inkling of where I ended up that day. I must have been struggling a lot not to remember. There was a big climb out of the Middle[…]

Wednesday, Aug 30th, 2023, 0600-20156 miles past Belden to Middle Fork Feather River27 miles, Gain 3230′, Loss 6110′, elevation 2980′ I was so relieved to pack my stuff and escape the wind in the morning. The site was scenic but the exposure sucked. This was why I almost always preferred to camp low in the trees. Out Here camped next to me and was ready to go promptly at dawn, as well. I don’t usually find other hikers that are as motivated to get such an early start. He was trying to push big miles to make it to Truckee in time to meet up with a friend. His schedule pretty much aligned with mine, so we ended up hiking[…]

Tuesday, Aug 29th, 2023, 0630-1920Cold Spring to 6 miles past Belden24.5 miles, Gain 5358′, Loss 5925′, elevation 5925′ Sleeping in such a large burn area was a bit spooky. There were dead branches falling intermittently all night, but soon it would be whole trees. A squirrel came down the tree next to me to investigate and scold me, in the dark, which was strange. I thought it was a raccoon at first. It’s a wonder that any squirrels and chipmunks survived the fire. I think about how many millions must have perished. The trail meandered along a meadow early in the morning, then up for 4 miles to the top of Frog Mountain. The ridge offered good views north. I[…]

Monday, Aug 28th, 2023, 0930-1920Hwy 36 to Cold Spring26 miles, Gain 5085′, Loss 3645′, elevation 6500′ Once I left town, it was a pretty uneventful day. I was slow in packing and eating some leftover Velveeta shells and cheese for breakfast. I said goodbye to Annika and Michael, then hit the grocery store for a few more items. I was very impressed by the selection and size of the store. I wish I had gone there first before the Dollar General. As I was leaving, a man asked if I needed a ride to the trailhead. Wow, that was easy! Perhaps he had come up with the best tactic for getting women into his car: live in a trail town[…]

Saturday, Aug 26th, 2023, 0610-1800Lassen NP Boundary to Hwy 3630 miles, Gain 4000′, Loss 5000′, elevation 5050′ Despite such an early start and many miles the day before, I didn’t sleep very well. First I was uncomfortable because of the lumpy ground, then cold. I thought I must be a wimp to be so cold, until I looked at my thermometer. It reached 33 degrees, almost freezing! In fact, there was frost on my tent and the plants surrounding me. No wonder I felt a chill in my 30 degree quilt. Yikes, my gear was not ready for this cold, neither was I. To make matters worse, I had a ton of condensation in my tent. I hated camping in[…]

Friday, Aug 25th, 2023, 0350-1910Hat Creek to Hat Creek Lassen NP Boundary 33.5 miles, Gain 4690′, Loss 4820′, elevation 6200′ My early morning start went well and according to plan. I had my coffee and breakfast, broke camp, and headed into the dark. I was rather used to walking in the early mornings by the light of my headlamp, from previous late-season hikes. The best part was that it wasn’t cold, which always makes an early start more palatable. It was really pleasant and easy going up some some switchbacks out of the valley. Then I hit a flattish lava field that was open to the sky, which was really quite amazing. I felt like I was walking on the[…]

Thursday, Aug 24th, 2023, 0620-1945Deadman Creek to Hat Creek32 miles, Gain 2770′, Loss 4820′, elevation 3020′ I had another big day planned. My goal was to make it to Burney Falls for lunch (only 20 miles to go), then another 12 miles to the hatchery at Hat Creek, so I’d be in a good position for a very early crack at the extremely hot, dry and exposed Hat Creek rim section the following day. No time to waste! I employed a similar early morning, dark walking strategy for Hat Creek rim in 2018 and it worked very well. The morning had a few short overgrown spots but suddenly became very well maintained cruisey trail, all downhill. I was chewing up[…]

Wednesday, Aug 23rd, 2023, 0610-1930Ash Camp & McCloud River to Deadman Creek33 miles, Gain 7400′, Loss 4440′, elevation 5070′ A heavy mist hung in the valley in the morning, but at least my tent was pretty dry. I neglected to note that a huge climb awaited. My muscles were sore as I started up, which got me wondering how long I’d be climbing? 10.5 miles and 4000′ it turns out. Ugh…all morning. On top of that, the trail was bit overgrown and with a fair number of big blowdowns. All the overgrowth was pretty soaked with condensation, too. I never thought I’d be going uphill through a car wash on the PCT…that was more of a PNT thing. Luckily the[…]