The Williams family (Nancy & Terry & their nephew who was visiting) were up at 5am to be sure all of us “earlybird hikers” got at least some coffee, cereal and toast  before we hit the trail at 5:45. They are awesome folks! And the trail was awesome, too, pretty much all day, and that was good, because it’s only 24 miles to Belden, and our next resupply.

Back on the PCT, we did the nice comfortable climb up to Buck Summit, stopping for a second breakfast along the way.  There were no blowdowns on the trail–hooray!  I wouldn’t have wanted to hike this section a couple of months ago, though–it was obvious that there had been a lot of trees down, but the trail gorillas had recently (you could tell by the freshlooking woodchips, sawdust and cut logs) cleared them all out of the way, AND fixed the trail tread.  Thankyou, trail gorillas!!

Another great thing about the trail today was that it was so well-marked.  There were silver diamonds on the trees, main points labelled with signs (so you know where you are) and excellent signs at junctions.well-maintained trail tread and no big uphills. We were in forest a lot, but through the treetrunks we could see big canyons, huge dropoffs and dramatic cliffs. The treetrunks in this area are “painted” with fluorescent green lichen down to “snow level”, which looks like it’s about 10 or 12 feet deep.  Whew!  That’s a lot of snow!  Glad we didn’t have to deal with any of it! 

Clouds were building up in the east, and we could see rain falling in the distance, but it was the kind that doesn’t even hit the ground.  Around noon there were a few rumbles of thunder.  It was a very warm afternoon, and I was thinking “A bit of a shower would sure feel good, but I’ll take a pass on the lightning & thunder!”

By early afternoon we were out in the clear with a 360 degree view above timberline! Wow! We could see way down into the Feather River canyon, and we headed into the zillion switchbacks that take you down to Belden. I took a Vicodin and was able to sail down with no pain, only by the time we reached the bottom, my “downhilling muscles” were pretty fried.  What an amazing trail experience that is, though!  You start in what feels and looks like a high alpine zone with dramatic rocks, awesome views, scrubby trees and groundhugging plants, and by the time you’re down, it’s like you are in the green jungle, with (sigh) poison oak hanging over the trail.   The switchbacks at the top of the descent are pretty steep, but the lower you go, the longer and gentler they are.  At one point, the trail goes along a cliff, and it almost looks like you could jump off the trail right into the river, except that wouldn’t be a very good idea–it’s a LONG way down!

Finally we crossed the railroad tracks, and on our VERY tired feet, came walking into Belden Town resort.  Not bad, though–it had taken us from 6 am till 3:30 pm to do 24 miles!  We revived with lots of lemonade (3 tall glasses each!) and burgers at the much improved restaurant.  A kind motorcyclist let us use his cell phone to call the Braatens, and Mrs. B. said she’d come get us at 4:30.   Other hikers began drifting in; first to arrive was Noga, from Israel.  She looked exhausted, and collapsed on a bench in the shade to wait for her friends. 

Mrs. B picked us up, took us to Little Haven, and showed us the ropes…there’s a shower, but no laundry (other than rinsing socks) and no food (except for a bit in the morning, and whatever might be in the refrigerator.)  But when we went to the pile of resupply boxes to get ours, oh no!  Our box was not there!  We asked Mrs. B about it, and she said, “Oh, it’s at the post office.  If you’d called me a couple of days ago, I would have brought it here to the house.”  Megabummer!   The reason we sent it to Little Haven was to AVOID having to wait for the post office to be open.  And how in the world were we supposed to know to call her?  If we’d known, we could have called from Honker Pass.  We were very disappointed.  Our plan was to leave early tomorrow morning, but now we have to wait till at least 9 am, and then I still have to sort the food and put it in the packs.

So Bill and I claimed a couple of beds, I washed our socks and hung them out to dry on the deck, and then I scrounged in the fridge for dinner ideas.  I came up with some salami, yellow summer squash, and cheese, so I made a sort of stirfry concoction out of it.  Bill and I were the first hikers to arrive at Little Haven today, but by 6:30 there were a lot more.  The deck was full of hikers sorting their resupply boxes and trading stuff.  I actually got a couple of items that other hikers decided they didn’t want!  And since the river was just across the road, a group of young guys decided to go swimming.  We thought about going, too, but again, we were just too exhausted.  Bill spent most of his time just collapsed on the bed.

It’s a very warm night, and even with the windows open, almost too sultry to sleep well.  But I love listening to the sound of trains going by on the other side of the river!  I did pray, though, that all will go well with getting our box tomorrow.  Bill and I agreed that when we do the PCT again, we will skip Little Haven and send our resupply box to Belden Town Resort. That way, we don’t have to deal with the post office at all! 

Walk to Rauros: The Argonath

Today was “blowdown day,” I think. We were having to deal with downed trees all morning, and it got pretty tedious!   Some were stepovers, some were climbovers, some were duckunders and some huge ones were even crawl-unders. But the forests are beautiful here– some very dark and solemn, some more open and sunny. The trees pretty much blocked most views, but we did get a few glimpses of Mt. Lassen’s tip peeking over a ridge in the distance.  And there were butterflies everywhere–so pretty!  We also saw a mama quail and her babies running down the trail.

Vicodin is making it possible for me to hike. All I needed to take for the entire day was one Vicodin and one Motrin.  To say that I am grateful for being able to hike with no pain would be a huge understatement!  I could do all sorts of contortions getting through the blowdowns, with no pain problems.  But the real test came when we began the long downhill to the Feather River.  It’s fun to watch the plant communities change as the trail switchbacks down.  We got great water at a nice spring along the trail, near the river.  We splished and splashed ourselves a bit, too–it was a very hot and actually rather humid day.  Both Bill and I were sweating like crazy–I had sweat literally running down my face, which is a rare experience for me.  When we reached the river, there was “Sneezer”, just coming up from a swim!   We thought about doing the same, but worrying about the need for more miles made us decide to pass up the opportunity.

The push up ‘n out of the Feather River canyon is very long.  We stopped partway up, at Bear Creek, and made some lunch.  I decided to rename it “Ladybug Creek”, because there were thousands of the cute little bugs all over the place!  Sneezer came along and joined us for awhile.  He says he’s planning to go to some trail angels at Buck Lake tonight.  We plan to just keep going.  After lunch, we headed up some more, but hallelujah, there’d been a trail gorilla crew at work, and the trail was GREAT–no more blowdowns, nice tread, and bushes all trimmed back.  And then (about midafternoon) we met Yeahbut and Elderly Ellen, heading SOBO!  They said they had stayed at the Buck Lake trail angels, and that it was awesome and we should go there.  We were still determined to push on, however.

Just before the side trail to Lookout Rock, there was an “ad” posted, inviting all PCT thruhikers to come on down to “Honker Pass” once they reached the road.  It described all the amenities there, and sounded great, but we were still determined–“We need miles!”  Finally we were down near the road, and stopped for a supper of crackers and cheese.  Then we hoisted our packs, prepared to get in another 4 miles or so before stopping for the night.  But at the road, to our astonishment, we were greeted by a very friendly guy who knew our names!  “Third Monty and White Beard!” he cheered when he saw us.  “I’ve been waiting for you!”  What???  We didn’t even know this guy!  It turned out that he’d just given Sneezer a ride down to the Honker Pass trail angel, and Sneezer told him we were not far behind.  We hesitated– a little– but finally the lure of food, showers and laundry was too strong.

Note from Alexa: Careful, that’s how Jill & Eustace ended up almost being Giant menu items!

I had been puzzling over my map, trying to find a “Honker Pass” in the area, but it turned out that’s just the name of a summer home owned by the Williams family.  It was a wonderful place–nice house with a HUGE deck full of lounging hikers, food everywhere,  little kids to play with, 6 very friendly dogs and the even more friendly Williams family.  Grandma Williams is keeping a log book of hikers–she sits with each of us and does a little interview and takes a photo.  Awww!  First item of , though was SHOWERS, to wash off the sweat of the day!  

Dinner was a feast, including BBQ ribs, and once you ate all the meat off a rib, you could just toss it to the dogs, and they would devour it–crunch, munch!   And there was a fresh fruit salad of peaches and blackberries, plus loads of other great food.  Once it got dark, there were piles of “mattresses” and all you had to do was pick one out, lay it on the deck, and bed down for the night.  It looked like a PCT hiker slumber party.  There was a campfire, too, and happy hikers everywhere.  I am very glad we decided to come here–sure, we could have gotten a few more miles, but this is just too awesome to miss.  I am so glad I could have a whole day of hiking with no pain, AND another first– NO SNOW on the trail today!   Hooray!  

Walk to Rauros: Near high Emyn Muil, Orcs catch up and attack at night

Last night in the middle of the night, a whole pack of coyotes went by our camp, ‘talking” to each other in their weird coyote voices.  I grabbed my trek poles ready to “whomp on ’em” if needed, but they just loped on by.  Coyotes don’t sound anything like dogs.  They almost sound human.  We were up at 5 am, hoping for lots of miles today.

Down below us to the east, there was huge Gold Lake shimmering in the early morning light.  Beautiful!  But as soon as we began hiking again,  the pain in the back of my right hip next to the spine just got worse and worse, till I was reduced to just limping along as fast as I could, yelping a bit when it hurt too much. To say I was miserable and frustrated would be an understatement. By 10:30 am, every time I put my right foot down, I was gasping from the pain and trying very hard not to cry.  I was kicking myself for not having checked my Motrin supply when we were in Sierra City–I was down to only 5 left, and decided to save those for the long, tough downhill to Belden.  So for now, it was pretty awful for me, painwise.

But we reached the wonderful “A Tree” spring with lots of cold, delicious water, and that was a really cheering-up event!  We drank and drank–it was awesome.  But back to hiking we went, and not only was I hurting, but there were snowfields on the trail again.  We actually crossed a little creek on a snow bridge on the north face of Gibraltar Peak!  And there were lots of blowdowns to negotiate, also.  But we cheered again at the top of a climb when at last we spotted the snowy peak of Mt. Lassen on the horizon!  Hooray! 

We also began meeting other hikers, and I tried hard to smile and give them a cheery greeting even though by now every step I took was agonizing, painwise.  Finally I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore, and I literally, out loud, cried out to God,  “PLEASE, please, Father, help me! Either heal my hip or show me what to do!”

A couple of minutes later, I had an idea.  “Maybe I could buy some Motrin from another hiker….”  I resolved to ask the next hiker who came along, and a few minutes later along came a SOBO guy!  I greeted him with, “Hi!  Hey, I have a little problem.  I’m almost out of Motrin, and I need more.  Could I buy some from you?”  “Sure!” he said, and we both took off our packs.  He rummaged about in his and hauled out his medicine kit.  “I’ve got something better than Motrin,” he said.  “How about Vicodin?”  I was shocked.  Vicodin is a prescription painkiller.  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to take from your prescription,” I said.  “Motrin is fine.”  But he insisted that he could get as much Vicodin as he wanted from his girlfriend who was a nurse, and not only that, but he insisted on giving it to me for free, along with more Motrin!    We told him about all the hiker-friendly amenities at the Red Moose in Sierra City, and he said he’d definitely stop there.  (He was hiking from Belden to Kennedy Meadows).  I took one of the Vicodin and we all headed our separate ways.

Within 30 minutes, my hip felt a lot better, and after an hour, I had no pain at all and could hike normally at full speed.  What a joy!  To be able to walk freely and happily along without limping and gasping at every step was a huge blessing.   I know Vicodin is not  a cure for whatever is wrong, but oh man, it feels so good to be able to just HIKE!  I walked along thanking God for His quick help.  I am so grateful!

The SOBO guy had also told us about a good water source up ahead.  When we got there,we followed his directions and were able to replenish our water supplies with more cold, delicious water from another spring.  It’s been a very warm day, with a lot of long uphills, so we needed that water!

And so we walked happily along the viewful ridges, and through forests and along Nelson Creek, before finally stopping for the day near the Bear Wallow trail, up above the Grass Valley Reservoir.  I was disappointed that we’d only done 25 miles–it felt like 30 (we are both very tired).  But it’s my fault–I was going so slowly this morning because of the pain in my hip.  I am totally grateful to God for His help–it never even occurred to me to ask another hiker for Motrin (I guess I was in too much pain to be thinking straight).  I am really looking forward to tomorrow!

Walk to Rauros: In ruins of weathered stone near the Emyn Muil

It was pretty dark in the forest in a creek canyon at 5:15 this morning– no problem– we were headed for breakfast in Sierra City! Oh yes! We passed Mr. Mountain Goat (just getting up) and reached the shortcut turnoff for town. My only disappointment as we headed briskly along on such a beautiful morning was that the back of my right hip is still really hurting anytime I have to walk downhill.  I finally “solved” it temporarily by walking as if  I were balancing something on my head.  I sure wish I knew what the problem is.  But the thought of “Hot breakfast!  Sierra City!” was enough to erase most any concern!

The walk into town is fun–through the campground (where a few people were just beginning to emerge sleepily from their tents) and then the interesting houses (some are log cabins), each with snowmobiles parked outside and covered with tarps for the summer.  Once at the highway, we headed for the Red Moose. Hmm– in the front window was a big “Sorry, we’re CLOSED” sign– but stuck on the window just above it was a little note that said “PCT People– knock or holler– we’re open for YOU!” And when we stuck our heads in the door, the place was full of hikers eating breakfast!

There was a menu, but most hikers were just saying, “give me one of everything!” We ate and ate and enjoyed talking to everybody.  The Red Moose’s new owners are awesome!  They let hikers camp in the backyard, take showers, do laundry, use their cell phone, and sort resupply boxes, all for free.  Wow!  More and more hikers kept arriving from the trail, and as each came in the door, all the rest of us would cheer and welcome them.  It was totally fun!  Eventually I went and got our  PO box, did a shopping run to the store and finally we headed out, walking the shoulder of Highway 49, back to the trail.

First thing, of course, is the big climb (4.5 hours) up and around the Sierra Buttes, on a hot day.  The first few miles are nice shady switchbacks, but eventually, the trail is out in the sun and it’s pretty rocky.  A trail crew was out doing some badly needed brushing work, and we thanked them heartily!  There was a moment of excitement as two jets flew by BELOW us, twisting and weaving their way along the canyon at treetop level. 

Finally we reached the top of the climb, and began meeting dayhikers, who were headed to and from Sierra Buttes.  Obviously they didn’t come in the way we did!  They park their cars at various other nearby access trailheads.  The north side of the Buttes still has snow on it, and there was snow by the trail, but none ON the trail (good!).  Once you are at the top, the route spends awhile as a “crest walk” looking down on all the lakes shimmering blue down below. At one point, we reached a trailhead parking area and it wasn’t clear where to go next.  We were standing around studying our maps, when some guys came along and set us straight–“Just follow the road to the Packer Lake turnoff.” 

So we did, and enjoyed the beautiful views as we walked along.  The mosquitoes were pretty bad,though.  As long as we keep moving we’re fine, but the minute we stop, we get swarmed.  The trail went up and down, and at every “up”, I was scanning the horizon for a sight of Mt. Lassen–no luck on that yet!  The wildflowers along the trail were very nice, but not as numerous as before.  This is rugged, rocky country, crisscrossed by many dirt roads, with dramatic volcanic rock formations along the crest of the ridges.  We’re back to having to be careful about water–the trail stays up high above the many lakes; creeks and springs on the trail are few.  So though we are no longer having to carry heavy bear cans, ice axes, crampons, etc., we do have to carry a pretty heavy water load.

We found what we thought would be a really nice campsite, flat and breezy on top of a ridge.  The sunset was beautiful–all red and gold.  Bill and I were doing our share of oohing and aahing as we watched it, and we weren’t the only ones–a car came by on a dirt road we didn’t even know was there, and a bunch of people got out to watch the sunset, too. 

But after the sun went down, the breeze stopped and the mosquitoes were back.  Bummer.  We are cowboy camped, and the thought of leaving our sleeping bags to put up the net tent (probably getting well chewed up in the process) was just too much.  So we just squiggled down into our bags and draped headnets over us.  I spent some time asking God for wisdom about how to fix my hip pain problem.  Every time I’ve asked before, He always has answered, and I am trusting that will be the case this time, too.   

Walk to Rauros: In ruins of weathered stone near the Emyn Muil

What a great place– staying at the Peter Grubb hut! It turned out we were all early risers (5 am), and everybody was eager to put a dent in the miles to Sierra City.  I asked Mr. Mountain Goat about what he’d been cooking last night that smelled so good, and that’s when I found out that the key ingredients were fresh garlic and “AUSSIE shiraz”.  He was also planning to make himself a really nice breakfast, so when Bill and I and Myra headed out for the trail, he headed for the kitchen!  He told me that by the time he reached Pooh Corner, he’d been just about ready to quit the PCT and go home to Australia, but then he decided, “No way will I let California ‘beat” me!  I am NOT going to let the ‘white demon’ (snow!) make me give up!” 

So off we went into a very chilly morning, through very green, very muddy meadows, with lingering patches of snow.  The trail goes up and down a lot (no “killer ups”, though) and at the top of every “up”, there is an awesome view.   I kept scanning the horizon for the Sierra Buttes, and pretty soon, there they were–a dramatic, jagged profile in the distance.

After that,  every “up” showed the Buttes getting closer. We were still dealing with some “where is the trail?” hunting in the snow on northfacing, shady slopes, but we always managed to find it again.  Everywhere we looked, there were mountains rising up from brilliantly green valleys.  Beautiful!  We also spent many hours crossing mountainsides that were covered with mules’ ears and lupines–very pretty, but after awhile, having to constantly push through them got a bit tedious. 

I cheered when I got to one of my favorite PCT spots, which I call “The Big Lava Dropoff”.  I wish I could think of a more colorful name, but that’s what it is–a very high cliff of lava that goes straight down to a lovely meadow below.  The PCT goes right along the edge of the cliff, which is also studded with huge lava boulders, and the views are great!  We stopped for lunch in the shade of a tree, and just as we finished, along came Mr. Mountain Goat, moving fast!  We followed him soon after, thinking about where to get water, since we were running low. 

Near  Jackson Reservoir, we met a retired couple out for a walk on the PCT and asked them whether the springs up ahead were running (we’d planned to get water there), and they said, “Yes, but why don’t you just go to the campground for water?  It’s less than a quarter mile off the trail.”  So we decided to do that, and were sitting near the water faucet eating Snickers and drinking “bug juice” (Emergen-C mixed with Crystalite) when the couple came along again and invited us to their camp!  It seems they’ve been camping here and watching for PCT hikers so that they can feed them and hear their stories! 

It turned out that they are from Texas, but like to camp here at Jackson Reservoir in their RV, accompanied by their big gray kitty, Chevy.  They gave us huge sandwiches with lots of lettuce & tomato,  lots of chips and drinks, and even some hot beans!  They told us that yesterday they got to hang out with two French-speaking thruhikers (one from France, one from Quebec) who were hiking together.  So we hung out for quite awhile,too, telling them tales of the High Sierra and other adventures we’ve had so far. 

We finally got going again (we really wanted to reach Sierra City for breakfast tomorrow!) and enjoyed following the PCT as it wound through an unbelievably rocky, rugged, scenic, narrow canyon.  A bit more climbing, and from that point on, it’s downhill all the way to Sierra City.  A lot of rocky switchbacks took us down to the bridge over Milton Creek, where there was flat, dirt ground for camping, and a nice pool in the creek!  It had been a long, hot day, and we were both very sweaty, so we stopped there, set up a cowboy camp, and Bill went for a “swim” (he is brave–that water was freeeeezing!) ) and I slooshed off.  

Mr. Mountain Goat came by–we must have passed him somewhere.  He said he was going to camp soon, too.  When we got into our sleeping bags, it felt so good to be clean, and the creek was making a pleasant, quiet sound, not the whitewater roar of the High Sierra creeks.  I am a bit worried about the back of my right hip, though.  It hurts!  Motrin keeps the pain tolerable, but I don’t know why it hasn’t gone away.  Downhills are what gives me a problem–uphills are fine.  Coming down the switchbacks to our nice camp here by the creek, it started to hurt a fair amount.   All I can do is pray about it and keep going.  But what a great thought–“Sierra City for breakfast!” 

Walk to Rauros: Reach lowlands between the Downs and Emyn Muil