Wed. Oct. 5     Miles today: 22.6         No. CA Section Q

I think that this was one of our coldest mornings yet on the PCT!  My gaiters and shoelaces were frozen stiff, which meant that putting on shoes was a challenge!  The drinking tube for my Platypus was also frozen.  We had to wait till 6:15 to get up, because it was so dark, but it turned out to be a sunny morning with only a few clouds.  It was so cold that we started hiking well-bundled up, and didn’t stop for breakfast till we were a goodly ways down in the Marble Valley and had plenty of sun.

I thought that the Marble Mountains were really interesting.  In relation to the trail, they were up above us, and they are not solid marble, but layered.   The PCT contours right below many impressive peaks.  It would have been prime “peak bagging” time if we weren’t trying so hard to push on for the finishline of our hike.  I also enjoyed looking at the marble rock formations right by the trail that have developed caves, deep pits, and even “sculptured effects.”  There is a lot of variety!  After breakfast in a “sun patch”, we passed a cute little shingled ranger cabin.  We were still slogging, crunching and creaking through the snow that covered the trail.  I was hoping that Bill would feel better, but not this morning–he had a very hard time with any uphill trail, even the gentlest of uphills.  He could not move any faster than a very slow plod.  On downhills–that’s another story!  Then he went on a tear, and I could not keep up with him!

As we continued hiking, the snow on the trail slowly grew less, though the mountainsides still had plenty.  I must say that one nice thing about snow on the tail is that it covers up and cushions what would otherwise be a very rough, rocky tread.  On the downside, however, when it MELTS (which it was busy doing today) it turns the trail into a long, skinny mud puddle.  The snow also knocked over all the plants along the trail, so there was often snow mixed with “mushed’ plants to tangle up our feet.  The PCT slowly climbed up to the crest, where we found some amazing gnarly trees.  We are always very impressed with trees like this–talk about determined and persistent!  Well, we were determined and persistent, too, because we were really looking forward to getting out of the snow.  And at last, we made it!

The trail became FLAT (which made Bill cheer–now he could hike faster!) and began to travel through wide, DRY meadows where we could see the Siskiyou Mountains and the Klamath River canyon up ahead.  And then we were finally going DOWN (now Bill could “fly”!) into green forest with no snow, just pretty dogwoods decked out in fall colors.  At one point the PCT came down to a road and we weren’t sure which way to go till we saw a big arrow somebody had made with rocks. 

Our goal for today had been the 3rd footbridge across Grider Creek, and I was afraid we’d never make it, because Bill had such a slow and terrible time with the uphills today.  But the long, long downhill to Grider Creek saved us, because Bill could almost run, and I walked as fast as I could, trying to keep up.  He is much braver than I am about downhills!  So we made it to the third footbridge after all.  Finding a flat place to set up the tarp was tough–we finally squeezed in among some bushes near the bridge.  The sky was full of clouds blowing in, which we hoped would prove harmless. 

Tonight Grider Creek is serenading us with its deep rushing, roaring sound, and we thanked God for helping us make it this far, not only on the PCT, but with each other.  We have been married 37 years today, and we are very grateful to the Lord for bringing us together and helping us two very ordinary, selfish people learn to love and forgive and care for each other for so long.  Back in Washington State, a couple we met who were dayhiking the PCT asked us when we’d started our hike.  When we told them “May 11”, their immediate reaction was, “I can’t believe you’re still married!”  Well, by God’s grace, we are, and GLAD of it.  So even though we are tired and very sore and “hiker hunger” is back again full force, we can rejoice not only in the challenge of the PCT, but in being together for so long. 

Tues. Oct. 4     Miles today: 22.9        No. CA Section Q

The first thing I did today was go to the window and look out at the sky.  Oh no!  Still gray and cloudy!  There was even some ground fog in the Etna valley.  Stepping outside confirmed that it was VERY cold.  But we checked the latest weather reports for today, and every one of them said, “Sun!”.  So we decided to be brave and head for the PCT. 

Vicki Harrison insisted on feeding us one last huge and awesome breakfast, then we tossed our packs in the back of Dave’s pickup, said goodbye to lovely Alderbrook house, and we were off!  I have to admit, though…I was scared.  There looked like a lot of snow on the mountains, and the snow level was down awfully low. Would we be able to follow the trail, or would we get lost?  Well, the snow was beautiful along the road.  We felt as if we were driving through a Christmas card.  Dave was wishing out loud that he’d thought to bring his camera!

At the PCT trailhead on Etna Summit, we shouldered our packs, while Dave wished us all the best, and kindly took a picture of us “ready to roll” in the snow.  I took a deep breath and said, “OK, Lord, here we go!  Please help us find the trail!” and we were off.  At first the snow on the trail was pretty shallow, but the farther we went, the deeper it got (fortunately never more than 10-12 inches, so only twice were we a bit uncertain about where the trail went).  Since it was nice, fresh, powdery snow, there were lots of animal tracks, including a bear, whose paw print looked impressively big next to Bill’s track!  Not far along from the Summit, there was a PCT register, which Bill signed.  The last dated entry before his was on Sept. 18!  Bill said he wrote that tomorrow is our 37th wedding anniversary.   Awwww, how sweet of him!   Since we’ll be ontrail that day, we can celebrate when we get to Ashland!

All day long we were walking through snow.  I had snow powder all over my feet right up to the tops of my gaiters.  But the forest-in-snow scenery was incredibly beautiful, and it wasn’t too long before the sun DID come out and we had a stunning blue sky to go with the pure white snow.  At one point a narrow ridge just off the trail gave us a view of Mt. Shasta all snowy white–no more gray with dirty white streaks.  And it turned out that the only real “hazard” we had to face all day was big globs of snow falling off the trees and landing on us!  When that happened, we had to “dust off” whichever one of us the glob had landed on, before it could melt down our neck or on our pack.  Also at times, walking under the trees was like walking through a rainshower, they were dripping so much!  The air was cold, but very clear and fresh, and best of all, it SMELLED like snow!

But by afternoon, Bill began to “fade.”  He had been doing great all morning, hiking at a good pace, but now he began once again to have a very hard time with any uphill climbs.  So once again, to lighten his load, I took a bunch of food out of his pack and put in in mine.  Before sundown, I was seriously starting to watch for a place to camp, a bit concerned because everything was covered with snow and Bill was really getting tired and slow.  But just before it really got dark, I spotted a usable patch of bare ground under some trees.  Hurray!  We hurried to put up the tarp.  Brrrr–it was 36 degrees when we crawled into our sleeping bags.  Figuring it would be a really cold night, we were both wearing almost all our clothes except raingear, in order to stay warm.  But it was wonderful to be back on the PCT and to know that Seiad Valley was only another couple of days ahead, then the finish line at Ashland!