Twig Adventures

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[…]

Tuesday, Aug 22nd, 2023, 0850-1930Soda Creek I-5 to Ash Camp & McCloud River27 miles, Gain 6870′, Loss 6580′, elevation 2390′ It rained all night, making me so happy and lucky to have stayed another day with Karaoke. I even had to get up to grab an extra blanket, it was chilly! I walked with Karaoke to work in the light rain and we took our picture with Smokey the Bear, who was warning of high fire danger. I made sure my umbrella was in the picture. Even with all the rain, the fire danger was still high and the many fires were still burning. I said goodby but hoped I’d see Karaoke again…I had to come back to climb Mt.[…]

Wednesday, Aug 16th, 2023, 0610-1200PCT SOBO mm 1133 to Castella18 miles, Gain 900′, Loss 5000′, elevation 2030′ Smoke filled the valley when I woke in the morning, not unlike my visita looking down upon Castle Crags in 2018. How ironic that I was racing to get through or around the first fire closure that year. Paradise was burning, along with numerous other fires throughout California and Oregon, yet somehow, miraculously, this was the only one that affected the trail during that time. I just made it through before the USFS officially closed the area and now it seemed I had just squeezed through, once again.  I checked the website to see that no fewer than 19 fire incidents in the[…]