July 10, 2006 Atomic has hiked on ahead. He doesn't plan to go into Tahoe. I am now hiking with Heather and Nathan. Nathan is the one with the boots like mine. You can tell how far someone is ahead of you by their tracks. Sun melts the tracts in the snow in about 2 hours. Snow is patchy now. 20 to 30 ft. at a time. Hiked about 17 miles today. Stopped at 4:30 and camped beside Lost Lake with Heather and Nathan.
July 11, 2006 Started hiking about 7:30. About a hour before the Hwy we started seeing day hikers. 20 to 25. When we reached the Hwy the park had a small store with hiking maps etc. They gave us cookies. Had lunch at a picnic table and had more cookies. Took about 2 hours just to get through lunch and cookies. Can you tell we enjoyed the cookies? Could see Silver Lake from the trail. We could have make it into South Lake Tahoe but it would have been too late to get a ride into town. We decided to stop by a stream about 4 miles from the road into town. Will take a down day in Tahoe as the rooms are cheap and so is the food. My replacement backpack should be at the Post office. The old one has served me well but am looking forward to the smaller one.
July 12, 2006 Started hiking about 7:15. Took about an hour and a half to reach the road. Car picked us up in about 15 min but let us out about 5 miles from town. It is much easier to get a ride close to the trail because they are use to seeing hikers. In town they just think you are a bum or homeless person. We walked the five miles. Reached the motel that had catered to hikers, even giving rides back to the trail. They had sold the business and new owners were not receptive to hikers. Found an inexpensive motel. All along the trail we had been told of this place that had a super buffet for $20. They were no longer in business. Post office is about 3 miles from my motel. Picked up my new backpack and did my laundry. Found an Albertsons grocery store nearby and bought supplies. Albertsons was going out of business. Not too much on shelves but they still had roasted chicken. Bought a half and had lunch. Discovered that I had left my water holder attached to my broken backpack when I shipped it to the maker. Now must try and find another one. Also need socks and iodine tablets to purify my water. Will do that tomorrow. Will try to just chill out for the rest of the day.
July 13, 2006 Discovered a sports store just down the block from where I am staying. I was able to find a holder for my water bottle, socks and tablets for my water. Found an all you can eat for $19 in one of the casinos. Played the slots for a couple of hours and lost $30. Decided to go to the movie and to bed early. Back to the trail tomorrow.
July 14, 2006 It was almost 11:00 before we were all ready to leave town. Caught a bus to Hwy 50 and hitched from there. Stopped at a small store with a deli and had a sandwich for lunch. The PCT trail and the Tahoe Rim trail are together in this area so there were several short distance hikers. Met some of the hikers I had not seen for awhile. They had started later than me and had been doing long distance since the beginning. Some of them are really having problems. I took it easy in the beginning so that my muscles could adjust. So far other than the blisters I have had no problems. Sore muscles, yes, but no injuries. Still have some heavy patches of snow .The lower elevations have big trees but they get smaller as you climb higher. With the late start I only did about 10 miles today. Camped alone tonight at Echo Lake. Heather and Nathan are somewhere behind.
July 15, 2006 Discovered today that I had left my park permit, mail drop addresses and fire permit in my motel when I changed to my new backpack. Called parents for next mail drop address and ask them to send addresses for the rest of the trip. Will need to get a new permit. Met up with Red and Gary. They had a ride into Tahoe and back to the trail in the same day. I am going to have to cut back on my down days if I plan to finish before the heavy snow in Washington. Hiked until 7:30 today. Camped with Red and Gary.
July 16, 2006 About 5 miles of the trail today was along a ridge. I could see lake Tahoe in the distance most of the day. Some up and down but not so steep. The only people I saw today was 4 portly people walking their dog. I have no idea where they come from. This is suppose to be a dry area with little or no water. I have seen several seasonal creeks with small amounts of water. Stopped early and cooked my evening meal beside one of the creeks. Need water to clean my pot and spoon. I walked another 4 miles before stopping for the evening beside another creek. Earlier today I had to use bug spray because of the mosquitoes and the dirt sticks to my legs. I tried to wash it off, without soap, in the 3 inch deep creek. Not as cold as the creeks have been. Beautiful sunset. Will camp alone tonight.
July 17, 2006 Kept waking up during the night. At one time I saw the light coming over the mountain and thought it was time to get up. It was the moon. I was up at 5:30 and walking by 6:00. Met a man about 35 walking south from Crater Lake. When he started he weighed 350 lbs. He has lost 90 lbs. Crossed Donor Pass today. A lot of history here regarding the wagon trains going west. Talked to a lady today that lives in the area. For years she has been collecting things that were discarded by the wagon trains. She said so many things were left behind that they are still easy to find. Just after leaving her I hit a big area of snow slipped and planed down the mountain. Was able to stop before ending up in the mud at the bottom. Saw the lady laughing. Reached Hwy 40 early and decided to hike the 4 miles on to Hwy 80. Better chance of getting a ride into Truckee for supplies. Had trouble finding a motel. I think the town must have an ordinance regarding signs. McDonalds sign is only about 6ft. Staying at the Truckee Inn. It seems I spend about as much time hitching into town for supplies as I do hiking. The AT was much closer to the towns and easier to get supplies. Towns all seem to be miles off the PCT.
July 18, 2006 Had breakfast at McDonalds and headed for the Hwy. When I got to the off ramp there was a sign posted "No Hitchhiking". I waited a little while hoping someone would pick me up before the police arrived. No one did. I called home ask them to see if there was a cab company in Truckee. They picked me up and for $20 took me back to the trail. It was noon by the time I was able to start hiking. Reached one of the two shelters on the whole trail. It was really a two story cabin. There were six hikers taking a break. Red, Gary and Crazy Horse was there. Hiked about 12 miles today. Camped on a ridge with Red, Gary, and Crazy Horse. When I got into my tent last night I found that I had lost my flashlight. It is very small and fits on my head. I hope I can find another one in Sierra City.
July 19, 2006 Woke up this morning to a hiker coming down the trail announcing that he had been kept up all night by a bear trying to get his food. He had camped in the valley and we had camped on the ridge. Less food for bears to eat on the ridge. That equals less bears. Passed the man with the bear problem about noon. Saw Gary and Red about 6:00. They had stopped for the night. I decided to keep walking into Sierra City. Two more hours of walking equaled a night in a bed. Did 30 miles today. Crispy and Janetor sent word that they were skipping ahead to Oregon. They will pick up this section after they reach Canada. Some people are beginning to worry that they may not be able to finish before winter closes the passes in Washington. I will need to make up about a week in order to finish. That will mean less time in town and some 30 mile days.
July 20, 2006 Sierra City is a small town of 250. Stayed at the Sierra Hotel. No TV, no phone, no air, but satin sheets. Spent the night chasing my pillow slipping off the bed. Arrived so late last night I didn't get any shopping or laundry done. It was after 12:00 before I got on the trail. Passed about 20 people just off the trail. They all had exactly the same tent and chair. They were camped on little flat sites that looked like some sort of camp ground. Red stopped to say hello but they only put up their hands. Found out later that they were on a "silent quest". Climbed 3000 ft first thing this morning. Very humid with overcast and rain off and on. Temp is in the low 70's. There is a group of 3 about two miles ahead. Don't know who they are. Only about 11 miles today. Camped near Red and Gary.
July 21, 2006 Hot with no rain. In the 90's. We have been finding small streams or springs every 5 or 6 miles. Three hikers passed me at about 6:30. They had been hiking 30 to 35 miles a day. I doubt I will see them again. Hiked 24 miles today. Camped again with Red and Gary.
July 22, 2006 Hot again today. Near 95. Stopped for lunch with Red and Gary. We reached a river about 3:30. It was so hot we decided to go for a swim. Water was cold but sure felt good. Washed some of the dirt and sweat off our cloths. Hiked another 3.5 miles before stopping for the day. We camped beside a creek. On the other side were three other hikers, Flow Easy, Puff Puff, and Snappy. I spread my sleeping bag on top of my tent to let it air and tried sleeping just on the pad. Only had the screen portion of the tent up but it was still too hot to sleep. Sometime early in the morning I pulled the sleeping bag over my body with my feet sticking out. Not a good night.
July 23, 2006 Really needed something cold to drink. Decided to hike to Bucks Lake. There is a small store with cold drinks and sandwiches. Reached it about 1:00. I can not ever remember enjoying a cold drink more. Temps are in the 90's. Ate lunch and hiked an additional 11 miles, all uphill. Stopped at 6:30 near one of the few water sources. Quite a few of us camping. There was Red, Gary, Nathan, Heather,Puff Puff, Snappy and Slow Easy. We were at a higher altitude, so it was a little cooler.
July 24, 2006 Started hiking about 7:00. Would be picking up my shipment of supplies and maps for the next area at Belden Town Resort. Arrived about 10:30. Not much of a resort. Old hotel with a bar downstairs and rocking chairs on the porch. People sitting in the rockers looked as if they had been sitting there a LONG TIME. My packaged had not arrived yet. Hiked about a mile into town to an RV Park that had a small restaurant and laundry facilities. A couple has a hikers hostel about a mile out of town. They picked me up and took me back so that I could take a shower and change into clean clothes. While I was getting a shower the owners of the hostel picked up my shipment. I saw no air-conditioning any where. At 4:00 I got a ride back to the trail. Red and Gary had gone ahead to swim in the river. The only way to cool off. The heat is suppose to break tomorrow late. It was all uphill again today. Passed Red and Gary about a mile and a half before I stopped. Camped alone .
July 25, 2006 Did a 12 hour day today, 6:30 to 6:30. 80% of the day was in the trees and the rest was lava flat areas. I was thankful for the trees. The temp was in the high 90's. Took about one and a half hours for lunch near a spring. It was only a pipe coming out of the mountain but the water was cold. Hiked 13 miles after lunch to the next water source. A small creek about 1/2 mile off the trail. I had seen several deer during the day. There were two deer about 20 foot from the camp having a fight . Lasted for sometime. They just kept running around the camp site butting each other. Red, Gary and three new hikers were camping there.
July 26, 2006 Got up at 5:00 and started hiking at 6:00. It seems to take longer to get going these days. 30min should be enough time to eat, take down the tent, and pack everything.
It is 11 miles to the next water source and 15 to the road. I am going into town today to find an air-conditioned room. Need a good nights sleep. Reached the road at 11:30. It was all torn up and under construction. Cars were backed up with one lane at a time moving. We headed to the stopped cars in the hope of getting a ride. Just before we reached them the lead car started taking them through. Doubted that anyone would stop that line of cars to pick us up. We heard a horn blow and out of sight behind a dump truck a car had stopped. It was an ex-hiker. He took us to the only motel with air. Too early to check in so went to lunch and the grocery store just to keep cool, On the way back to the motel I crossed a culvert and saw two heads peeking out. It was raccoons in the water. I guess they were just trying to keep cool. I only have one pair of pants and it is difficult to do laundry. What to wear while washing them is the problem. Red called and offered to do mine with hers and Garys. Problem solved. A big towel will work as long as I stay in the room.
July 27, 2006 Learned that a friend that use to live in Sebring is now living in Redding. He will give me a ride into town for supplies when I reach Hwy 5. The man from the hotel gave Red, Gary and I a ride back to the trail. Hiked about 10 miles and camped with Red and Gary beside a small stream.
July 28, 2006 Hiked across Lassen Volcanic National Park today. There were hot springs, bubbling hot mud, and a hot lake. Water in lake was about 150 degrees. After leaving the park we found a lake with cool water and went for a swim. All of the lakes to this point had rocky bottoms, that was really hard on sore feet. This one had sand only a few feet from the edge. We rested for about half an hour before hiking on another six miles for a total of 22 miles. Camped with Red and Gary. One other hiker passed after we had set up our tents.
July 29, 2006 IT HAS FINALLY COOLED OFF. Woke up to 40 degrees this morning. Only reached a high of low 70's. Reached the road into Old Station. A trail angel was dropping off a hiker. We ask her if she knew if the water cachet ahead had been supplied. She said to come home with her and she would tell us all about it. We declined the kind offer and went to the little store just off the trail. She did tell us that when we reached the dry 30 mile stretch that there would be water at the cachet. Had lunch at the little deli in store and returned to the trail, We hiked to the ice cave and stopped for a while to explore it. There was no ice but at least it was nice and cool. We will go to sleep early. We plan to get up at 2:00 to hike that dry 30 mile stretch tomorrow. Camped with Red and Gary.
July 30, 2006 Got up at 3:00 and started hiking. Had to use flashlight to see the trail. Hiked 13 miles to the water cachet. There was not only water but soda on ice. Trail angels are the best. Stopped for lunch at 12:00 and took a 2 hr break. A fish hatchery is located along the trail. They had salmon, trout and blue crawfish. We got some water and rested for about half an hour. There were several hikers at the hatchery. I left ahead of the others to complete the 30 miles today. I have stopped and set up camp about 5 miles from the next road. So far none of the others has come by.
July 31, 2006 Knees camped across the trail last night. Other than that no one caught up. Slept in until 8:00 this morning. Tired after the 30 mile hike yesterday. I heard the others pass before I got up. I took the longer trail to Burney Falls. It was worth the extra mile to see the falls. Reached the State Park and camp ground about 10:30, Red, Gary, and the rest of the group from the hatchery was already there. I used the park showers to clean up and went to the store to pick up my shipment of new maps and supplies. There is a small store that sells hot dogs etc. Had lunch and repacked my backpack. Red, Gary and the others have already left. I plan to hike 15 miles before I stop for the night. A total of 21 miles for the day. I am feeling good and still enjoying the walk.
August 1, 2006 I hiked last night until 8:30. Camped with Red, Gary, Grizzly Adams, Chariot, Comfortably Numb, Rabbit and Knees. More or less walked with Knees today. Was able to take the first pictures of a deer. He allowed me to get within 10 feet. He seemed as curious about me as I did him. I am hiking at 6,000 feet with a tempeture of 80. Was surprised to see patches of snow in the shade. They had about 30 feet of snow in this area ,this year. I plan to hike 20 miles today. There is water about 1/2 mile off the trail. The next water is about 15 miles further. I don't think I can do 35 miles.
August 2, 2006 Every time I phone in my journal before the end of the day, things don't work out the way I plan. Yesterday Red, Gary and I had decided to stop for the day, at a spring about 1/2 mile off the trail. Red, & Gary were ahead by about 1/2 hour. When I got to the trail to the spring there were no footprints leading to the spring. I had discovered that there was a small creek about 2 miles further. I thought they must have decided to go there. About 1/2 mile past the spring, off in the woods, I found them with their tent already set up. I told them that I didn't have enough water to stop, that I would need to go on to the next water. They decided to take their tent down and go, They were short on water too.
Had a hard time locating the trail. Don't think anyone had used it for sometime. Grass chest high. Got our water and went back to the trail to camp. We saw a rather large snake that I think was a rattler but the color was all wrong. It was a greenish brown but it had rattlers.
Now for the 2nd of August. We hiked 23 miles today. Saw no other hikers. We stopped at a small creek and cooked dinner. Washed our pot and hiked on to an old logging road to spend the night. Since you have been reading so much about Red and Gary, I thought I would tell you a little about them. They are a husband and wife, retired for about 5 years. I think he was a fireman. They have hiked the APT, bicycled across the United States twice, bicycled across Australia and New Zealand. They own no home but have a 22ft trailer in Arizona. They are good company in the evening.
August 3, 2006 In the early part of the day I had a 2,000ft climb. After that is flattened out a bit. I had planned to hike 23 miles but by 3:30 I had hiked 20 . Decided I could do the other 6.5 miles to Interstate 5. It is illegal to hitch on California's Interstate Hwys. I had planned to stay at the Best Western and had their phone number. I called and ask if they had a cab company in town. They did not. I was able to talked the owner into picking the 3 of us up. We had to agree to a two night stay, which we planned any way. I had only been in the motel a short time when my cell phone rang. It was the local post office telling me that I had a package. They were closed but was told to just knock on the back door. It was my MP3. I had sent it to a friend to record some new music. I had heard the same songs over and over and over. He knew that I planned to be in town and had given the post office my phone number. Went for pizza, chicken wings and salad for dinner. Saw Crazy Horse at the pizza place. It had been a while since I saw him.
August 4, 2004 I didn't have to get out of bed early and start hiking. I could just sleep in. I got up about 9:00 and went to a place called the "Bakery" for breakfast. Ask the motel manager if there was a laundry nearby. He said we could do our laundry in the motels. Very nice of him. Had leftover pizza for lunch and headed to the store for supplies. Had planned to have dinner at a Thai Restaurant. The least expensive thing on the menu was $18.00. Settled for a meatloaf dinner. Back to the room to pack up for the return to the trail tomorrow. Food plays a big part when in town.
August 5, 2006 The motel owner gave us a ride back to the trail. We hiked 15 miles, most of it around a big rock mountain called Castle Craig. We saw a section hiker called Anna Marie. She was hiking from Tahoe to Ashland. Saw several day hikers. They are all so clean.
Clothes look new not ragged and stained like mine. Stopped for water early because we knew it would be a dry camp for the night. The only place flat enough to put up our tents was half in the trail. Very thankful there where no late hikers to walk into us.
August 6, 2006 Lots of day hikers. When I got to the road there were about 100 cyclist . They were doing a 100 mile ride. There were tents set up with food and water. Riders were friendly but the people feeding didn't offer food but did give us a soda. We hiked on to the next road crossing. There was a parking lot with good camp sites nearby. It looked as if it could start to rain at any time. There was a port a potty. It sure beats going behind a tree. We decided to stop for the day.
August 7, 2006 Woke up to a hard rain. Stayed in tent until it stopped, about 8:00. All morning it was cloudy but no rain. Just after we stopped for lunch a storm moved in. I put on my rain jacket but had no rain pants. They had torn up and had to be thrown away miles back. I could see the lightening bouncing off the mountains. I had no place to go so I just had to keep walking. The temp dropped from 70 to 40 within about 10 min. I looked down at my hand and it was covered with ice. That was the coldest I have been on the whole hike. It didn't last but about 45 min. but I was close to hyperthermia. We reached a primitive camp site and decided to stop at 4:30. It started to rain again as soon as the tent was up. Cooked dinner inside. Not much room but it was more or less dry. I went to sleep about 6:00.
August 8, 2006 Woke up at 7:00. Slept 11 hours. Looked at my legs and discovered that I was broke out with poison ivy. Have some antihistamine but will wait until tonight to take it. Reached the spring where we planned to get water. It was full of cow s$#@. Hiked up a ways and found another area that seemed to be clean and filled our water bottles. Met Crazy Horse hiking toward me. He had almost been hit by lightening yesterday and had hitched into town. He was hiking backwards to pick up where he had left the trail yesterday. Had a hard time finding a flat spot to camp. I have a very small tent and only need a 3 x 6 space. Red and Gary share a tent and need a larger space. I found a small area under a tree and they camped in the road.
August 9, 2006 Started hiking about 7:00. Gary was hiking ahead Red next and I was in the rear. I heard Red yelling bears, bears everywhere. When I caught up to her there was a mother bear coming toward Gary with teeth bared and drooling. He loosened his backpack ( later said he planned to throw it at her) and started backing up slowly. I saw two cub's climbing a tree. Glary reached us and we all stood still hoping she would stop. She did. The cubs climbed down and they all went off through the woods. We waited a while then went on. That was the first real encounter we have had with bears. We have to go into Edna for supplies. It is a 13 mile hitch. The third car stopped and gave us a ride into town. Edna is only 2 blocks but is really unique. It has an old fashioned drug store with a soda fountain. It has its own brewery. Edna Brewing Co is small but neat. I found some medication at the drug store for my poison ivy. I needed some clothes to wear when I wash my hiking pants. I did wear my rain pants when doing laundry but they had to be thrown away. Red has been washing my clothes with hers and Garys while I was wearing a towel. I stopped a thrift store and bought a tee shirt and cotton PJ bottoms for $1.75. I can wear them while I am in town and get rid of them when I leave. Too heavy to pack. There was a sign on the trail telling us that the next 55.6 miles was closed due to forest fires. Some of the hikers went through anyway. We are thinking of not taking the risk. Will decide in the morning. I am going to do this treatment on my poison ivy , put on my new cloths and go to dinner.
August 10, 2006 We decided to not risk the hike through the fire area. On the AT I never once felt I was in danger. Not so on this trip. There has been many time when I felt that danger was near. Crossing some of the rivers. A rock could turn under your foot and loose your balance. With a heavy back pack it would have been difficult to recover footing. Walking on the edge of a snow cliff when an inch could mean the difference between safety and a 1000 ft fall. No need to walk into the fire when advised to stay out. We will take a bus to Yreka today and another tomorrow to Seiad Valley and pick up the trail past the fire area. For all of you that would like to eat what you want and still loose weight, hiking is the answer. I went into the drug store yesterday and got on the scale. I have lost 65lbs.
August 10 - August 12, 2006 **Wildfires** Got off trail in Etna, CA 8-10-06 and got back on in Seiad Valley, CA 8-12-06. Trail has wildfires and is not safe to cross!
August 11, 2006 We rode buses around the fire and arrived in Seiad Valley about 5:30 on the 11th. Post office was closed and had to camp there until morning. Picked up my supplies with the new maps. A new pair of shoes in this shipment. Time to get rid of my PJ and tee. They have been my mode of dress since I purchased them. PJ were the heavy plaid kind but still got some odd looks. They were well worth the $1.75 but am looking forward to reaching a store where I can buy hiking shorts.
August 12, 2006 To complete the day: I had a 4,000ft climb from Saied Valley.There was 12 through hikers leaving the same day as I did. Only one had hiked through the fire area. He said one fire was only about 3 miles from the trail. I kept seeing signs that said Sate of Jefferson and also the radio station I was listening too said it was in the great Sate of Jefferson. Found that this was an area that had been trying to form another state in North California. Met my first South bound hikers. Mr. Magoo and Elf. They had started in Canada and was hiking south. I was hiking about 6:00 when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Red. She and Gary left ahead of me and had already stopped for the night. I had not seen them as they were off the trail.
August 13, 2006 Stopped for lunch beside a spring. The cows had left their droppings behind again. Had lunch anyway. About 1:00 we reached the Oregon border. We each had a small bottle to toast the completion of California. We had hiked 1706 miles. We rested for about 10 min and walked on. Stopped about 4:30 at a camp site with tables and a spring box. No cow patties We had hiked over 20 miles and the site was so nice we just decided to call it a day.
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