Category: PCT Thru Hike

At mile 1412.4. Hiked 18.8 miles today. 

 I’ve struck trail magic in Northern California! Yesterday, I had an anonymous cooler full of cold sodas and snacks on the Hat Rim. Today, Tracy and John were waiting at a road crossing  for some lucky PCT hiker to come along. I was the lucky one. I had a Sprite and one of Tracy’s homemade brownies. And we were talking it turned out that Tracy had already accessed my blog via a link from PCTA.org.

It was a hot day, but at least yesterday there was some breeze, there was very little movement of the air today. A person at Burney ranch told me it was above 90 degrees and that it rarely got that hot at the ranch.

Trail Angel John told me that people hang glide off this.

Another hang gliding opp.

Flowers 

Walked through many fields. In some areas more grown up with trees there were very skittish cattle running around.

The first photo is my favorite flower. They are the same, but come in blue, white, and a rare purple. Wish I knew what these are called.

I ate lunch under the bridge where Hat Creek was gushing out of the PG&E power station. A man and his mom from Santa Rosa, Ca next to me were fishing. Here are the Rainbows that the man caught. 

Baum Lake is fed by Hat Creek just below the PG&E Power Station. I was so hot  I wanted to jump in, but I didn’t.

Arnaud Burney Ranch, I did my wash with a real washing machine fir once. Here are all my clothes with exception of down jacket and vest.

While clothes were drying I was taking a dip in the pool. I also had a fantastic dinner at the ranch. It was make your own burrito and salad. I had 2 gigantic tortillas each piled high with the works. After this, I had one of each of the desserts. Later, just before I hiked out, I was told that I was supposed to get the complimentary homemade ice cream for PCT hikers. I I’ve Burney Ranch 5 stars!

Eagle nest. I could hear baby eagles squawking like crazy. Earlier I saw an eagle flying around where there were several nests on large electric utility transmission  towers.

People: I met Soda at Burney Ranch. He had gone through the Sierras in May and to hear him, it sounds miserable.

 

At mile 1393.6 Hiked 23.9 miles today.

I  hiked an early 7 miles to the Chevron Statiion in Old Staion where I managed a  limited resupply to get me to  Dunesmeir. I bought 50 precooked breakfast sausages. Maybe I should start the sausage challenge. Live off sausages  for 5 days of hiking. I l’ai bought stovetop stuffing and plan to use sausage with stuffing. I am inventing a new breakfast called the PCT. Porridge with Cooked Turkey sausage.

The desert came to Northern California today at Hot Creek Rim. …oops… Hat Creek Rim. Everything is relative and I have nothing to complain about. My early season desert walks in SoCal weren’t typically hot and Hat Creek Rim will be hotter for hikers that arrive later in the season.

Hat Creek Rim had to be one of the most beautiful sections of the PCT that I have experienced. One walks on a high table of lava rocks and wild flowers overlooking broad expanses of green valleys a thousand or more feet below. The trail often tracks along the edge of the table with rocky precipitous drop offs to the valley below. Wind sweeps across this open highland sweeping grasses in waves. There are a variety of wildflowers dispersed among black lava rocks in sprigs, bunches, and bouquets of every color. Volcanic mountain ranges stretch across to far side of the broad valley with the east end anchored by snow blanketed Lassen and the west anchored by Mt Shasta. Only the towering Mt Shasta disturbs the blue sky with tiny wisps of clouds forming just below the peak. As the afternoon advances these cloud wisps join and extend in a string stretching beyond Shasta.

Today I had the first trail magic of Northern California. It was a cooler full of cold drinks and snacks and oranges hanging in a tree. Thank you anonymous trail magician! Great spot to find trail magic. Hat Creek Rim is where you reallly appreciate it.

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Here is Mt Shasta from Hat Creek Rim. Notice a cloud beginning to form.This is only happening to Shasta. Lassen and others didnt generate their own clouds. It’s own wether system  helps keep snow on Shasta.

Here is where I could have resupplied water but didn’t. There is a stream at the bottom of this gorge. A steep trail descends 450 vertical feet rob the stream. The PCT goes around this lava rock gorge.

Often the trail follows the edge.

Here are a few examples of flowers on the Rim.

 

 

At mile 1369.7. Hiked 19.4 miles today. 

Here is King Creek crossing. Impossible to cross here with dry feet unless you remove your shoes.

Here is where I crossed King creek using a log by walking upstream.

Next I came to this boardwalk crossing a beautiful green wetland.

I came to Twin Lake where I took a break and swam. The deer didn’t seem to mind.

I walked along Twin Lake for a while.

I walked through miles of burned forest that allowed many views of Mount Lassen. Mount Lassen is over 10,000 feet.

Here is a view of where I had a long lunch. There was a little creek running through this meadow so I ate on the creek bank. It was 12/30 and I had already walked over 13 miles and only had 6.2 miles left for the day.

 Just before exiting Lassen National Park a beautiful gold colored juvenile bear bounded  across the meadow in front of me. It crossed the trail and kept going. I played a little loud music in case there was a mama bear. Wish I had gotten that video because the bear was out in the open and running free.

One last look at Mt Lassen as the trail turns into a valley and away from this snow draped volcanoes.

Looking ahead out of the burn zone to the next landscape.

Hat creek just feet behind my tent.

My tent for tonight where I hear water spilling over rocks in Hat creek.  

The Thru-hikers:

Met a new thru-hiker named Rainman. He told me that a lot of hikers who skipped the Sierras are NOBO like me. He has been seeing them. And I thought I was the only one. 🙂  

While resting after lunch alongside a stream, none other than Ramen-Jamen came walking up. He was headed southbound having skipped the Sierras after Forester Pass. Ramen-Jamen and I had met on the PCT in SOCAL. Just before reaching  my camp on Har creek I ran into Yellow Jacket and Life Hack. In SoCal they were part of a large group of hikers that were known as the Brits and Aussies. These two are all that are left. I guess the others split off or quit hiking. YJ and LH had hiked 29 miles the previous day to get to Old Station  (a  town). Now they were faces with another 29 mile day if they were to get through Lassen without camping. This is due to the Bear Canister rule. Instead, they were resting and taking a short day with camping just before the park boundary. Ironically, that spot is near where I saw a bear today.

Thinking about Ga Tech I asked Yellow Jacket how she got her name. She said Thunper named her. She went on to describe Thumper as an older Mormon man. I asked, “Do you mean Jack?” Yes, Jack is snow known by his trail name Thumper. As Thumper hiked behind YJ, he thought that her blonde hair looked yellow against her jacket so he named her Yellow Jacket. 

At mile 1350.3. Hiked 22.8 miles today.

My original plan was to hike to boundary spring and camp outside Lassen National Park. This was to make it easy to hike through Lassen without camping which would have required carrying a bear canister. I then realized that I could camp in the Lassen National Park campground and use the campground’s bear lockers. A bonus was that I could have dinner at nearby Drakesbad ranch. 

At Drakesbad, not only did I have dinner, but I had a hot shower, clothes washing in the sink, and a swim in the hot springs fed swimming pool. This is a place that charges $200 per person per night. A couple would spend $400 for one night. I paid only $15 for a gourmet dinner of spinach salad, wild boar, rice, and steamed vegetables, and a dessert. Non-alcoholic beverage included. As a PCT hiker and not a paying customer, I had to eat outside by myself, not in the dining room with the others. Even with the isolation, I was able to make friends with a couple of guests, Pete and Jack. They live east of San Francisco, but are from New York. We met on the trail just up the hill from Drakesbad. They had just seen a bear that I had missed. 

It is hard to describe how good these comforts that Drakesbad Guest Ranch offers PCT hikers makes me feel. It recharges me physically and lifts my spirits. Oh yes, I bought an ice cream sandwich and Cliff Bar from their store. Saved the Cliff Bar for my mid morning energy boost.

The hike itself was mostly through wooded areas,but the trail was easy. I started late and still made Drakesbad at 5:30 pm. I didn’t make the 0.6 mile round trip to Terminal Geyser, but I smelled it and that was enough. It isn’t real geyser, it is a steam vent.

Here is Mount Lassen in distance. Today I entered Lassen National Park.

Here Ia the trail. Much of the day was spent hiking through forests with few views. There were some hot climbs also.

There is the North Fork of Feather River a mile or two ahead in valley below. Same river that flows through Belden.

Here is some Geothermal stuff in Lassen NP. It stinks and it is hot to stand nearby. Hot enough as it was without standing next to geothermal features. I had been kept moving by the mosquitoes. Can’t take a break the mosquitoes make me keep moving.

At Drakesbad I walked across this boardwalk.

I swam and soaked tired muscles in this hot springs fed pool at Drakesbad. Earlier in the day the pool was at 130 degrees so in order to prevent cooking the guests the caretaker had to pump in cold creek water. 

 

At mile 1327.5. Hiked 16.6 miles today.

 Got a very late start around 10:30 am because I was uploading and editing blog entries that were backlogged for   days. I keep up with the blog each day by writing on notepad and selecting. editing and compressing photos and placing photos in an album labeled for its day. When I have connectivity to the internet. I upload the photos, copy and paste the text into a new blog post, and place photos in appropriate position within the text. I also select “feature” photo, the one you see at the header of the post. So you see, even if you keep up with writing, there is more to do once you have connectivity. It takes some time.

I caught up with 2nd Breakfast and Capico as they were finishing their lunches. We sat and talked as I ate my lunch. I finished up a jar of peanut butter that I had transferred to a vacuum seal bag. I’ve been carrying it since Sierra City. Every time I squeeze some peanut butter from the bag and eat it. I feel a little ill. This time wasn’t an exception. I hiked along while burping. 

It is no longer desert, but  once again, water takes some planning. Some water is off the trail with as much as a one mile round trip. I made a 0.6 mile RT down a steep hill to water to supply me the next 15 miles. There were other water stops along the 15 miles, but they all required more off trail hikes.  I chose to camp at Soldier Creek at 15 miles, but I had no info that their were campsites near Soldier creek. Finding a level campsite a half mike before Soldier Creek I stopped short of water. The  liter and  half of water remaining from 15 miles back was enough for camp.. I’ll be dry, but I’ll reach the stream early in the morning.

Lassen National Park requires bear canisters so tomorrow I am hiking 18.8 miles to a spring on the park boundary. I’ll camp just outside the park and the following day hike at least 19.3 miles so that I am out of the park for my next campsite. As long as I am not camping in the park without a Béar canister, I’m legal.

Here is the trail.

These flowers grow everywhere around the rocky lava soil. I’ve seen a lot of these flowers the last  week, but they weren’t in full bloom until now.

Open area. THe last part of the day was hiking through dense forest.

Here is the PCT halfway post. 1325 miles. I have really hiked 950 miles so I’m not halfway yet, but I do have 1325 miles left to Canada, so I celebrated all by myself. I was also alll by myself at the monument at the beginning of the PCT. There was a deer nearby, but no people. The feature photo is me sitting on this midpoint post.

At mile 1310.9. Hiked 24.1 miles today.

The day went well because breakfast was heavy. I microwaved Santa Fe Rice Beans and Steak from resupply for breakfast. I also cooked pancakes with grape syrup. I had half a pot of coffee. Next thing  I know, Brenda, owner of Hiker Haven is bringing me cantaloupe, strawberries, and muffins. For once I wasn’t hungry a couple of hours after hitting the trail. I started out at 6:15 am because Brenda runs the shuttle at 6 am. 

A good part of the day was spent crossing creeks and climbing out of Belden via the Chips Creek drainage. Near the end of the climb, a very large bear came charging down the hill right in front of me. I wouldn’t want to meet whatever scared that bear enough to make him run like that. Maybe it was a larger bear, or perhaps Sasquatch or it could have been Oscar with his rubber and gun.

At the end of the day reached a brand new landscape, lava formations. 

People: 

Hiked with 2nd Breakfast some and Oscar, Shawn, and ? were also going NOBO and saw them a few times. I was surprised to see Ninja Fabric bear Cold Sprimg. I had thought she had quit the trail. She was headed south to the Sierras.

Here is the PCT crossing the bridge at North Fork Feather River. Gold Rush country.

Here is a stamping mill on the PCT at Belden.

Here is Sweet Shrub. I crushed some and rubbed under my arms, but it didn’t help my body odor much.

A lot of creek crossings on the way up from Belden.

Here I am. Beard getting longer, man getting skinnier.

Here you can see the weather. A few raindrops, snow pellets, and sleet fell on me, but I lucked out, nothing bad.

Here are green meadows over the top.

1300 miles! Not yet for me though. I will go back and pick up the Sierras in August. I’ve hiked around 850 miles so far.

Scenery 

Lava country. 

My campsite.