Sticking to it, the last 5 mile leg of the day was a brutal down hill that made my legs scream at me! I would have actually taken a break had it not been for the dense Poison Oak, a first since the Desert Section, that filled the hill side.
Read MoreDay 82 - Sierra Buttes. 1221.5 (22.8)
This area is popular for outdoor enthusiast of every kind. With it being the Friday before the 4th of July (Monday), all of the road, trail-heads and off road access points were filled with groups ready for a weekend of fun. Most unaware the PCT went right past their campsite, it was fun talking to everyone. Definitely the most non-hiker activity I've seen on trail since I began nearly 3 months ago.
The area had very few water access points close to the trail. This would force me to carry more water than I had in the previous month. Something I didn't complete hate, since it meant that there was less snow. On Day 78, South-bounders were spreading the word that the last major on trail snow would be close to mile 1,225... and at the end of today, I was nearly there.
Toward the end of the day, my feet were in a bit of pain. My shoes were shot, and I wouldn't be receiving a new pair until the end of this leg from Sierra City to Belden. Around 2 miles from camp, I smashed my toes and yelled out a vicious F***! Not 20 feet around the corner, Irish Matt was working on gathering water, which he had hiked without for the past 10 miles or so. He looked at me with eyes that said, "oh, that was you and you are in pain as well". I mentioned my thoughts for camp in just a couple miles and then I moved along.
Shortly after arriving in camp, Irish Matt walking in and figured it was a nice spot to call it a day. Eating dinner around a tiny campfire (this area was pretty dry), it was the first time he and I actually had a chance to get to know one another. Good company and a meal is all it takes to wash away some of the aches and pains that occur on the trail. As the sun set, I gathered water for the night and following day, relaxed listening to a Joe Rogan Experience podcast episode and updated my progress in my trail journal.
Day 81 - A Day of Recharging. 1198.7 (4.7)
Mileage Breakdown: 1.4 mile road walk from Sierra City to PCT + 3.3 miles on PCT = 4.7 miles total.
My foot felt much better this morning after having cleaned it up last night. Today my goal was to let the blister air out as much as possible, with hopes that a the old skin would stiffen and create a strong natural band-aid over the new skin.
Sierra City is a wonderful town, filled with lots of life from both residents and car travelers. The majority of the commotion in town came from the PCT hikers who have been allowed to set up camp at the local church yard on all days but Sunday. Next to the church was a nice restroom with a shower. Though the water was cold, the temperature outside was in the high 90's which made the water more welcoming that it could have been.
One of the properties in town has access to a large swimming hole. It was a little walk down a small trail, but once there it was worth every step. Skinny Thor (ST) and I hung out there for a short period before heading back to the General Store. I would eat three large meals from the restaurant, two of which were burgers and one was a gigantic breakfast burrito. I surprised myself when I finished the burrito. I guess my body is telling me something about my eating habits. NOT ENOUGH! But really it's nearly impossible to eat enough.
As mid afternoon arrived, I started to contemplate leaving town today. Skinny Thor chose to wait for Back-Track (she started the PCT with ST) who should be arriving tomorrow. He wanted to discuss each others strategies for the rest of the trail. I got the sense that ST wanted to walk faster and further each day than his friend. Most people who started the trail with someone found staying together a challenge in itself.
Finally having made up my mind, I left town around 7:00 pm which gave me 2 hours of light to hike in. I decided to walk the road back to the trail, as I wasn't in the mood to try hitching and it was only 1.4 miles back to the trail.
My pace was slow from having eaten so much, but I kept it steady. I was unsure what the camping situation would be, but the maps indicated there were some open campsites before starting the exposed climb out of the Sierra City Valley.
Tonight's camp was in the top 10 campsites along the trail. The lens on my phone's camera was dirty and I didn't realize it. The pictures don't do the site justice at all!
There was one other person in camp, I would later find out it was Simon, a section hiker I met while in Sierra City. His friend had decided the trail wasn't for him and he was going back to his home in Switzerland. I say again, getting to Sierra City was tough for a lot of hikers.
As I was setting up my tent, Simon unzipped his tent (it was dark as the sun had already set), looked out and yelled, "HEY". I didn't know what it was all about, but he later told me he thought I was a bear.
Day 80 - Tough Day to Sierra City. 1195.4 (23.2)
That all said, while in Sierra City, I met more hikers leaving the trail than anywhere else on the trail. It was a tough place for everyone to get to.
Read MoreDay 79 - Smoke, Mosquitoes and a Blister. 1172.2 (21.2)
I would spend a lot of time this morning at Donner Pass Ski Lodge with Mr. Clean, Back-Track and Ranger. The Lodge wasn't open, but they did have outlets on the outside of the building which is always handy. With hopes of eating real eggs for breakfast, the three of us hung out to see if the place would open at a reasonable hour. Eventually someone from around the area told us that it didn't open up till 11:00 am.
I waited around for another half an hour while my phone and battery pack charged, then called my brother to wish him a happy birthday again! On Day 77, I was unsure about the cell service ahead, so I called my Brother to wish him a happy birthday, however, his birthday was really on Day 79... today. It so happened I had non-stop cell service for the previous few days. It's been great knowing it's there... but it's also a real distraction. I'd look at my phone, see that I currently have solid cell service, get excited because I could do things on my phone, realize I didn't have anything I needed or wanted to do on my phone, then turn it back off. It was an endless cycle, but that's what happens when you go 2 or more weeks without having any service. Eventually I would stop doing this and only look for service when I needed to call home.
After leaving Donner Pass, I really needed to find a place to do some business. The challenge was that the PCT paralleled a busy highway without too much cover. Also there were a couple large groups of children learning how to rock climb. With so many people around, I had to really search a ways off-trail to find an appropriate spot. Even then I was always on the look out for the stray hiker who could come around a corner I hadn't noticed. Fun times.
The rest of the day I was mostly in dense forest with little to no view, lots of mosquitoes and the smoke from nearby wildfires started to fill up the valleys. At some points the smoke was dense enough that I could taste it in my mouth as I breathed. Once on top of a high ridge above the smoke, I could see that there was a fire burning to the south. The wind was pushing the smoke toward my location, but it was far enough away that I wasn't concerned about it reaching me tonight or tomorrow and tomorrow I would be trying to hike to Sierra City, a little over 25 miles away.
As evening rolled around, I was in some serious pain from a "hot spot" on the heel of my right foot. Because of it, I moved as quickly as possible for the last 2 miles so I could get off my feet and have a look at the damage. A note: while in South Lake Tahoe, I walked many miles around town in my camp shoes... or rather pieces of lightweight durable rubber with straps on the top. This was a big mistake! In town, I earned a medium size blister that I took care of and it had been feeling okay. Today it all came back to bite me.
Tonight's camp was with an older backpacker, Paragee, and we did the mosquito dance was we setup our tents and gathered water from a nearby stream.
WARNING: The last image is of a massive blister on my foot. It may be disturbing to you. I think it's pretty impressive.
