Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 92 to 96

Got some news last night that yet another hiking friend has pulled off trail, to rethink if they'll continue. Apparently it happens a lot on Northern California. After the abundant beauty and water of the Sierras coming down into the dusty, dry and hot NorCal desert knocks a few people about.

I'm more concerned that the cold in Washington will have that affect for me and wreak havoc on my motivation there. Only one way to find out though,  hike on!

Today did feel a little toasty when hiking on an expose piece of trail. Luckily there was at least patchy shade most of the way to Burney Falls state park. Beautiful falls but it was a bit funny to see a few guys fishing for trout in it.



I delivered myself a box here so I was able to pick that up at the store and supplement with a few snacks. Also grabbed a soft drink and icecream to wait out the midday heat. The visitor centre has a nice shade shelter with power and free wifi so it was a good place to rest up.

As I got in late to the ranch and had to do chores before bed I was up much later than normal and certainly felt. Feet sore before lunch, pace slowed and a decent climb ahead I made it to the first water stop before deciding to find camp for the night.

Felt much better in the morning. The day was mostly shaded and a breeze made it a pretty decent temperature to hike in. It still had its own exposed sections though...



After a good nights sleep I was able to go past the planned camp. It meant a heavier water carry as I had to camp dry, but I made dinner at the last creek to save some weight and headed up to a great and fairly protected spot right atop a high saddle. It felt good to get the climb done, despite the feet finally starting to feel sore again with the heavy carry.

Shale rock, dusty path, hot sun and only shrubs with the rare pine tree today reminds me very much of the first few days of hiking. With one notable exception; The distinct lack of hikers. To give you an idea of the attrition rate by this point (or at least support the theory that a lot of hikers skip NorCal) it took nine hours before I saw a fellow Hiker, nine!

At the start I was seeing 20 different people by lunch and even in the Seirras I was seeing 10-15 PCT hikers a day. I know there are people close (2 planned to camp 2 miles ahead of where I stopped and 1 was going to camp where I made dinner) but there is certainly more solitude on the trail now.

While there is less people to split the bugs with, other wildlife is more abhndant too. Heaps of deer about some with really big antlers. I was also very excited to see my first Bear!! As soon as he saw me he bolted off so I wasn't able to get a picture. Not a full grown but certainly bigger than a cub.



It was almost an instant change into for rest and creeks again after a few hours of hiking. Didn't see one north bound PCT hiker all day. Path is most definitely greener here. Overgrown undergrowth covering the trail. Warning in the area about poison oak near trail so I was keeping an eye out at first... though not 100% on what it looks like.if I hit some I'm not affected by it.



Made it to the next stop though and got a lift into Shasta city where some friends arrived in the morning. Will take the day to recharge and resupply. The people in town are really proud of their untreated spring water. Miraculous apparently, tastes ok I guess...



Great dinner out with hikers before a good sleep. Big breakfast before shopping and then a KFC bucket for lunch. Easy afternoon now and will probably watch the new Bourne movie tonight before getting back to the trail tomorrow.

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 82.5 to 91

Turns out it was a hot day in the valley and with an impending few thousand foot climb out of town a nice after lunch swim sounded like a better plan. Water was quite chilly and going from the hot rocks in the sun to the water and back was very similar to a Snow - sauna run.

Eventually though it was time to move out so I got everything together and got back to the trail head. The climb was still long and hot so I was glad I was tackling it in the arvo. Stopped just before a nice spring with flowing water at a site with a few tent spots fashioned into the hillside.

Lots of mozzies again, like collect a dozen with the swing of a hand lots, but for some reason they went biting. Buzzing alone was enough to force me into my tent and after the huge burger for lunch and other food while still in town it was only some snacking on salami and MnM's for dessert before turning in.

Despite snow patches being few and far between now the lakes up here are still very impressive. A few I Hiked way above had some boats cruising around in them. Mostly fishing boats but I did see one wake boarder being towed and a few jet skis.



Today on the hike I bumped into a couple of really cool guys. They Hiked the AT previously and pulled out 1100 lbs of rubbish!! during their hike. They got some recognition for it from some gear companies and are able to be out on the PCT doing the same thing. I personally saw them carrying almost 10 lbs of sharp broken glass, not a fun thing to hike with, until we came across a road and they were able to pass it onto helpful passers by.

Check them out if you have the time. Packing it Out



It was another long day but about 70% downhill, great right? Except for when it's steep down. Anyone who hikes or bushwalks can tell you that steep down takes it out of your legs as much as up works the lungs. It also didn't help that every so often there was a gap in the trees and you could see the massive hill you had to climb just on the other side of the valley...
When I got to the valley floor there was an awesome river with great swimming pools and some rapids to simulate a massaging hot tub, but without the heat. I went I  for a quick dip and took the chance to wash pants, socks and my shirt. Most other people had the same idea as it's been a while since South Lake Tahoe and there wasn't much opportunity in Seirra City.

Throughout the day I also reached another milestone, 2000 km!! Unlike it's mile counterparts it wasn't quite as grandeur but it made do.

Despite the blister I was determined to make it close to the next town, Belden. Was going a little slower than 'normal' and took some longer breaks. The blister has made me put more weight on the ball of my foot, so after long stretches I feel that a bit. Despite that I still managed to squeeze in just over 25 miles, making it 3 consecutive 25+ mile days!

Made camp in a nice saddle just a few miles short of Belden. Little bit if wind (and no water source) meant no bugs and good shrubbery protected the tent from any gusts. I had to go a bit off trail to find it, and do a little bushwalking to get there, but I thought it was a really great spot.



Took my time in the morning before making the trek down the hill to Belden. Not a while lot in town; Population of 12, No wifi or phone reception either. Luckily I had mailed myself food here from Tahoe. I don't think I could have Resupplied for the next 4.5 days in the campground kiosk.

The above said they do put on a decent meal and let hikers charge electronics for free. Ice-cream was welcome in the heat of the valley too. Some hikers jped in the river but I decided to shell out the $2 for a 3min hot shower... 3 of. Also took the opertunity to do an actual laundry load. When all was said and done (waiting on batteries to charge was the longest) I barely made it out before nightfall.

I was hoping to make it a bit further yesterday... but as it was I had a very long, but fairly gradual, climb. Luckily there was lots of water along the way so I didn't have to carry much. There was also quite a few Survey marks and bearing trees to keep me distracted. This part of the trail seems to follow very close to a boundary.



Eventually made it over the hill just after lunch and started a nice gradual descent for most of the rest of the day. Nearing the end of the day I crossed a dirt road with a small camping area to find a pile of ice with a few cans of coke left and a note saying they were for thru hikers. Looks like they were setup for the day and by the state of the ice I must have just missed them.

The next day started off as.many seem too... uphill... However today had a fairly special milestone at the top. The Midway Point! On the final climb I also met with Overhill, a fellow Hiker, which worked out well for photos. Next to the post someone had left some whisky for the celebration, I wanted to do a lot more miles so only had a small sip.



The remainder of the day seemed to drag on for a while though it was a pleasant downhill grade. Near the HWY to Chester (a lot of people went in for resupply) was also some more trail majic. Fresh bananas and cold orange juice, yum. Feet started feeling sore in the last hour or so, it's been another 2 long days in a row.

Great creek at camp so I soaked the feet until they went numb from the cold water, which only took about 1.5 minutes. Got them nice and clean and when feeling returned they actually felt kinda good.

Big plans to do a big day and it started off well. Then there was a side track to a geyser, only an extra 0.6 miles. Definitely worth it. Heaps of steps and you could see the water boiling out of the ground. Could have done without the sulfur smell though...


Next distraction was Boiling Point Lake a beautiful torqouise geyser fed lake. Steam coming off it as well and lots of warning signs not to jump in for a dip in the boiling hot water... Despite how great a nice hot bath sounded I heeded the signs and just took pictures.



The third distraction for the day was a little camp resort called Drakesbad. Cold soft drink and a beer with the plan to stay for a buffet style lunch. When asking about the lunch I was condescendingly told that they serve their "actual" guests first, staff second and hikers last.
I guess it makes sense, we would eat more at this point but as a paying customer I didn't feel like hanging around for the slops. After beer the afternoon miles fell a little slower but it's put me in a good position for the next two days. There is a dry stretch before Burney and I should be able to make it to a camp at the last water tomorrow, then knock over the dry miles the next day.

Very cold morning so it was a bit of a later start. With the day mostly.flat or gentle.down it was easy to knock over some fast miles. This gave me the chance for another cool side trip to the 'Subway' a lava tube about 700 meters long that you can walk through. Smaller than the ones at Undarra (sp?) bit very cool to walk through!



Back into a drier section again meant big water carries. Food getting near the end so it's not as bad as earlier carries. One of the water sources, Lost creek, did involve a very steep side trail to collect from though.  Ditched most gear at the top but doing a scramble with 5 lt of water wasn't fun at the end of an already long day.

The day started a bit cold again with a chilling wind but knowing I was headed for town I was able to break camp by 7am. It heated up fairly quickly as the day went on and the breeze came and went. This section reminded me so much of outback QLD. Dry brown grass and red dusty soil. In fact remove the scenic snow capped mountains of Lassen and Shastre from the horizon and replace pines with gums and other prominent trees with wattles and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference.



Along the rim was a pretty famous (by PCT homer standards) 'cache 22' which certainly rose above expectations. Even if you shouldn't rely on it... There was plenty of water but also snacks, first aid, toiletries and even a solar panels to recharge at!



After the cache there was another 13 miles of long, hot, exposed dryness. I stopped to take a break and lucked out with phone service. The temp was just over 30°c, not bad for the middle of summer when the breeze was on. When checking Facebook I discovered that Brisbane was experiencing 29°c, middle of winter. No wonder I'm not feeling the heat too bad over here!  Might need someone to drag me out of my tent when it starts snowing in Washington though....
Made plans to stay in Burney but it was all booked so I back tracked 1.5 miles to the Guest Ranch. Worked out very well as there was only 2 guests and 2 full racks of ribs for us to share. Free home made Ice-cream; showers and laundry inc in price. Onto Burney Falls for a swim tomorrow and to pick up a box I mailed myself.

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 76 to 82

A day of chores in South Lake Tahoe,  grocery shopping, replacing the backplate in my SMD pack, visiting the post office, laundry... it almost feels like hard work! On the plus side in my travels today I bumped into plenty of people that I haven't seen in a while.

After a big day running around I felt as if I hadn't rested and decides to take another day off. Efforts to invogorate hikers on the idea of water skiing g failed as most of them were tired after big days or had chores of their own. Plus South Lake Tahoe is an expensive adventure town for those type of things so it wasn't cheap. $65 pp for 4 hours... if we got 8 people... and then fuel on top of that!

Revitalised by town I was ready to hit the trail again. Free bus the length of town before sticking out my thumb for a hitch. It didn't take long before I was back amongst the trees and beautiful lakes.



I calculated that with the remain zero days I'm likely to take I need to average 22 ish miles a day to finish when I want to. They say after the Seirra Mountains it's easier to consistently pull off big days. 23.5 miles later, including a small pass, I was at a camp feeling fine and actually thought about doing more. It helps that I no longer have the bear can or micro spikes and especially that I am back into my SMD pack. The day after the recent 26+ mile day still fresh in mind had me decide to stop for the day though.

Had a cold night sleep. I think mostly due to a nearby waterfall throwing some mist into the air. Still made really good time and crushed 24 miles by 530pm. Passed some cool views of South Lake Tahoe today but I think the moss covered trees etched it out for beauty.



The camp site I reached had heaps and heaps of dry wood around. Normally too tired or late to make a fire but tonight I felt good and had some spare paper A4 map sheets that needed desposing of so it made sense to make a fire. It's also apparently a good way to lure other hikers to site should you want company.

Turns out there's still a few mountains and passes to conquer, and 2 of the passes were today. Lots more moss.covered trees and views abound. At one point you followed along a ridge for about 3 miles with near 360° views the entire time.

Eventually made it to the Peter Grove hut and after a long day it was a welcome site. A nice hut like the ones in the Vic High Country that hikers can seek shelter for the night. When I arrived 1/2 was occupied by a 10 strong group of summer camp children (+3 camp councillors.) They were making a big batch of been and rice burritos and were happy to share with a thru hiker!!



Some of the kids were pretty interested in my accent and the hike I'd been on and the councillors did a good job of running interference when I needed to organise bed/gear for the night. As I had just got a fresh resupply from home I also had some spare Tim-Tams so I was able to give the kids a taste from home. The councillors had to split one but all were thankful.
The hut also had a long drop, well it was more of a looong drop. First time I have seen a 2 story outhouse.



The miles seemed to drop quickly and breaks were cut short due to bugs (Mozzies at the first stop, flies at the second and stoners at the third) so I made the planned camp just before 4pm. Since it was so early I pushed on and made my first 30 mile day! 30.8 to be exact. Still had time to see some good views and find some survey bearing trees and corner marks, recently marked up with fresh flagging tape.



Despite feeling good about the achievement I'm not sure I'd like to do too many long days. I did find myself looking just at the path 1 meter in front the majority of the time. Some people only see the finish line, which is fine, but I want to see everything on the way.

An easy few miles into Sierra City to a friendly little General store with free wifi, charging station and a Pound burger for early lunch. Selection in the store is a little slim but enough for a resupply. Soon as batteries are recharged I'll hike on.

Hiking - 2016 PCT - Day 63 to 75

Had a BBQ by the pool at the place we hired which was pretty good. The next day most people had a lazy morning sorting packs and food for the next small stretch. I headed out to buy a new pack and ended up with an Osprey Atmos. Fortunately one of my hiker friends is staying in town until tomorrow (monday). So I'll leave my old pack with him to mail out.

A few of us went to the cenima before doing another BBQ for dinner again and relaxing in the hot tub. They are pretty prompt with their 10pm pools closed rule so it wasn't a late night. Had some corn flakes for breakfast before catching the 3 busses necessary to get back to the trail. 2/3 were free shuttles Mammoth runs around town so it wasn't pricey but took some time.

Despite getting it properly fitted at the shop I think the torso length on the new pack is too short... with some adjustment it was OK but it still gave me about the same/worse back pain as my broken pack... maybe a full day at a decent adjustment will be ok or hopefully by Monday I can get a reply and might have a new SMD pack sent out and send this one home for spare/friends... I'll almost have as many packs as dad has camping fridges!

Despite pack woes the trail is still beautiful. Some cool rock formations in the mountain, seen similar rocks elsewhere too but the Devils Post holes were good to see. There were also more amazing lakes, mountains and rivers flowing strong.



Last night I had my first "the hell am I doing out here" thoughts. It was drizzle/rain for the last hour of hiking, and pretty cold. When I got to camp I setup the tent quickly and jumped inside, figured I;d sort sleeping gear and dinner later. After killing the 20 or so mozzies that managed to follow me into my tent in the 10 or so seconds the fly was open I laid there, on the ground, with my sore back. By 7pm the sun was still shining but I forced down some food and setup my sleeping mat, thankfully I was tired enough to fall asleep through the back pain.

All those thoughts from last night were squashed after less than a mile out of camp in the morning. I turned a corner to the below view of Thousand Island Lake and remembered 'Oh yeah, that's why I'm here.'

The Seirra are nothing short of amazing. Every day for over a week I have been greeted by one glorious view after another. Today was a much better day with the pack too after the adjustments yesterday I only barely felt any back soreness. I assume it was remnants of the pain from the day before.

After winding through the beautiful Toulumne Meadows for almost 8 miles I arrived at the campground late arvo and tried to get a Half Dome permit. Fresh out :/ but second on the waiting list for tomorrow if people no show. I'm also going to get in line at 7am to hopefully get a permit issued at 11am for the following day.

Got to the permit line at 650 am and found 4 people already waiting... to go the oposite direction. Knowing we were guaranteed the spot made he early start seem worth it but or was still a wait until we officially got our permits.

While waiting in the line and chatting the other hikers loved tails of the PCT. As they were in front of us and also 100% sure on getting permits they offered us their safety food! Strawberries, choc chip cookies, pistachio nuts, blue berries, chicken sausages, salsa, a few other snacks and even a beer! Made the 4 hour wait for permits seem like a good thing.

Despite needing to descend down to Yosemite Valley there was quite a bit more climbing to do. Once again though we were rewarded with great views. Some sections seemed pretty fast... but that was because I was almost in a jog. The Mozzies in Sunrise Meadow were so thick it almost felt like you were hiking in the shadow of a cloud...

After guiding a pair of lost day hikers back to a Trail junction, that would lead them to a road by nightfall, Burn Sides and I pushed on towards Clouds Rest. Dark grey clouds and the sound of thunder behind us had us stop about 0.7 miles short of the summit at a safe site to camp.

The storm turned out to be all bark and no bite. There was light spitting for all of 30 seconds. I think only a dozen or so drops hit my tent... Still it was a good camp and put us in a prime position for the morning. We headed up just after sun rise to see a golden glow descend upon Half Dome.

Seeing it lit by the morning sun made us even more excited to climb it. We wasted no time heading down off Clouds Rest and starting back up again towards half dome.

On the trail up we were asked by at least a half dozen people if we had extra permits. It sounded so weird, who would line up for 4 hours for an extra permit... but if you had a 3 person  permit and someone got sick I guess it would work. Still felt strange being asked.

After a lot of steps we finally made it to the fun bit. The cables to climb. Granite rock smoothed by a million footsteps, small wooden platforms you could barely fit a shoe on and People in front scared of heights.  It was pretty awesome!



At the top we had amazing views and awesome cliffs to sit on the edge of. I had to wait for one place where people were carefully (some crawling) making their way for a photo op. When my turn came I hoped over the first few rocks to the main ledge before dropping down past where the people before me dared to venture.

By the time we were heading back down the bulk of the early morning day hikers had started to arrive. This caused a massive traffic jam on the cables. I opted to hop on the outside, still having firm grasp of one line, and scoot past everyone. 2 people told me it was dangerous and 1 guy called me stupid but at least a dozen said something along the lines of "wow, that's pretty neat."

To finish off the side trip we took the Mist trail out. It was off the back if suggestions from friends and I'm glad we took it! I'm also very very glad that I was going down... Lots and lots of steps. Big ones. Two fabulous waterfalls with the spray from one covering the trail down. Was nice and refreshing after hiking down the hot valley.

On the mist trail we also started to see a lot of holiday/tourists. Some dressed like they were heading to the city. It was interesting the mix of day hikers, people just starting the long JMT hike, people with toddlers, people wearing thongs (flip flops) and even some in leather dress shoes and business slacks/shirts.



Yosemite Valley itself was very very touristy. Despite being a National park it felt more like a theme park. Shuttle busses, different eateries, hire bikes, activities for kids and of course the massive crowds to go with it. After having a lack luster (and expensive) burger we started trying to get back to trail.

We needed a ride to where we started, 21 miles up the valley, which unfortunately was a 1.5 hour car trip around.  After trying for a while we were finally pocked up by a friendly face, the ranger that issued us the Half Dome permits! He was down in the valley for training. He also lived down there but offered us a place to stay and a ride when he was going back up... he following afternoon. We thanked him but being eager to get back to the PCT we got dropped at the main HWY junction instead.

Wasn't too long before someone came by. She asked where we were headed and despite planning on turning west she decided that taking us east would be ok too. She was on a year long road trip around he USA and didn't have any set plans. To say thanks we offered some fuel money and to share a beer. It was already pretty late so Wind (a trail name given to her for changing directions for us) ended up camping there too.

Late start the next day as I needed to charge electronics for an 8 day stretch in the wilderness. Finally made it out around lunch to knock off a fee miles before dark. More awesome falls and rock formations and as I was following a creek down most of the afternoon I made really good time too.

Today was a pretty tough day physically. Lots of climbing and heaps of rivers to cross. There was 7 where getting wet was the only option as well which slowed down the day. Still plenty of rivers meant plenty of cool little waterfalls. The views on the climbs were pretty good too.



Found a relatively mossie free camping space... at least for a while. After setting up and making dinner they finally found me. Still not anywhere near as bad as some nights I've had. Where I went to brush my teeth must have been a good spot for them though, they seemed to swarm out after me. I quickly finished and headed to the safety of my tent. Only 1 made it inside with me. It didn't last long.

Heard through the hiker grapevine today that another couple I knew had to pull off trail because of a disease from a tick bite! That brings the total (that I know of) to at least 25 people. Some from injury/illness others from lack of funds and a few because they simple had enough. Some of the injured have hopped back on but others were bad enough that they're out for the season.

Lots of steep up and down today but not many rivers that required getting wet. The second half of the day wasn't as bad with the hills and I fell in with some hikers I hadn't seen for a while that convinced me to push onto the next milestone. 1000 MILES!!



Mozzies were really bad 0.25 mi either side of the marker so it was a quick snap then an even quicker exit. It was funny seeing people hike in their rain gear and bug net to escape the swarm. Lucky for me Bushmans seems to do the trick... Might need to get some more though...

Last day in the Sierra Mountains and they were as beautiful as ever. It was a very distinct change in mountain ranges too. From tall granite to towering sedement/rock. It was as of someone drew a line and each type of mountain stayed on its side. There was also a pretty cool view of the trail, sometimes it's hard to see/pick where it goes without a map... other times you just wish it was.

Spent the night at Kennedy Meadows (North) and had an awesome prime rib dinner. A few hikers are organising a 4th of July party on trail, so stocked up some supplies to pack out for that too. It was only 10 miles out but that was good because of the extra party food etc pack was a little heavier. Despite the change in mountains we weren't quite done with the snow yet, with quite a few fields to cross/climb.



After a fairly big 4th of July night, which included jungle juice made in a bear can, a lot of hikers were sluggish in the morning. I stuck (mostly) to my small bottle of bourbon so I didn't feel bad but definitely had a slower pace. Managed to get in a decent distance and camped by Noble lake. Far less mozzies the last 2 nights as well which is very welcome.

Started the day rather slowly, it was 46 mies to town so I thought I could do it in 3 easy days. Was making pretty good time though and hit some awesome trail magic just in time for smoko. With my belly full of burger, MnM's, chips/salsa, fresh fruit and 2 cans of coke I rocketed the next few miles. By lunch I had already reached the planned camp and decided to push on.

Made 26.5 miles by the end of the day so will get into town a day early. I think it must be a family trait because on the way home from a family vacation we always seemed to push some big days and end up ahead of schedule too.



Was a really good day until I had to descend over 1800 ft in just under 1.5 miles. Very steep down made the bottom of my feet cain. Still made it into South Lake Tahoe to find a care package from home, my bounce box, new shoes and everything I needed to get back into my old pack! Going to look into hiring a ski boat tomorrow but need to find a few hikers to share it with first.