Pacific Crest Trail Hike: CA Section M – Mile 1196 – 1288

Hello from the trail! This Northern California section was a rollercoaster of hiking difficultly with sincere climbs and severe descents. It also introduced me thoroughly to burn zones, hiking in substantial heat, and the joys of hiking with close friends. The miles were starting to come quicker which allowed me to insert more social time.

PCT CA Section M Summary

Statistics:

Days: 6
Full hiking days: 4
Zeroes: 0
Neros: 2
Total Trail Miles Hiked: 91.5
Total Miles Hiked: 94.5
Trail Elevation Gain: 16,167 ft
Trail Elevation Loss: 18,573 ft

Highlights:

Now deep into Northern California, I had a groove with the terrain and it was much easier to navigate in comparison to the Sierra.
There was a wonderful bubble of hikers around me and I thoroughly enjoyed the social component of both my daily hiking group and everyone I was running into.

Lowlights:

Logistical hurdles in the form of mail services was frustrating.
Long days hiking through burn zones was depressing, hot, and just plain dirty!

PCT CA Section M Detailed Version

Day 90 : Mile 1196.5 – 1210.4

Trail Daily Miles: 13.9
Total Daily Miles: 14.6
Total Trail Mileage: 1210.4
Elevation Gain: 3802
Elevation Loss: 1650
Weather: Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: I see you Northern California climbs.

As mentioned in the last post, there was a debacle with my resupply package and the mail system as I was getting ready to leave Sierra City. The post office in Sierra City is open for limited hours, which is understandable because of the size of the town. I had made the mistake of not realizing I could go into Quincy, CA therefore had a 7-day resupply sent to me to get me all the way to Chester, CA. When food is roughly 2 pounds per day, this adds up quickly (14-ish pounds?).

I had separated my food into the 2 sections (before and after Quincy) and went to the post office at their opening time. Unfortunately, no one was there. I waited 15, 30 minutes and began asking around to locals if they knew what was going on. Turns out it was a recently created federal holiday (June 19th) and they would not be opening at all. I completely had lost track of what day it was so I didn’t think about it! The outcome was me carrying a wildly heavy pack. I was not the only hiker that was unaware and there were other very heavy packs as a result.

Prick and Bags met Yeti and I for breakfast as they also had to do a quick resupply. When it was time to leave town, the struggles in Sierra City continued as all of us tried to hitch back to the trailhead. Prick and Bags gave up quickly and just walked the road back up, while I (with my heavy pack) did not want to any extra miles. Yeti and I were unsuccessful in getting a hitch for about an hour? We tried to take a shortcut that ended up going through a neighborhood aka a deadend. Eventually, Dizzo and Squints had a trail angel pick up set up and he quick gave us a ride up the road before taking them on their errands.

The trend of steep climbs exiting towns in Northern California continued and we had about a 3000 ft climb straight away. It was much more gradual than I was expecting and opened up after a few miles to expansive views. We all ate lunch around a beautiful lake and I vividly remember having an absolute giggle fit at our conversations. After a relatively short day with a decent amount of elevation gain, we settled into a campsite that began demonstrating what the mosquitoes would look like in the future.

Day 91: Mile 1210.4 – 1235.8

Trail Daily Miles: 25.4
Total Daily Miles: 26.4
Total Trail Mileage: 1235.8
Elevation Gain: 4418
Elevation Loss: 4761
Weather: Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Making miles.

A relatively early wake up call due to heat beginning to be a serious consideration. We went from having to wake up in the Sierra in freezing temperatures early to use the hard packed snow to midday being too hot and therefore untenable as an option to hike. I guess waking up early is the name of the game on the PCT!

This was honestly a very average day through burn zones and up steep elevations. There were some snow traverses that surprised all of us – including Bags who fell and injured her butt! She is such a champ that even when she is bruised and bleeding, she remains positive.

There was a longer dry stretch coming up that we needed to consider when picking a campsite. This section had water, but often is was a bit off trail and you had to work for it. Based on where we needed to set ourselves up for the highlight of the next day, we had to dry camp (ie not at a water source). The last water source before our chosen campsite was 0.3 miles off of the trail, which may not sound like much, but after 25 miles – 0.6 feels like a lot of work. Of course it was also down (then up) a hill full of mosquitoes. Our campsite was near a road and a large burn zone but it set us up well for the summer solstice hike!

Day 92: Mile 1235.8 – 1260.9

Trail Daily Miles: 25.1
Total Daily Miles: 25.9
Total Trail Mileage: 1260.9
Elevation Gain: 4834
Elevation Loss: 5436
Weather: Sun, Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: Skinny dipping, blowdowns, and cowboy camping – oh my!

The four of us left camp early to avoid the heat and because there was a major river we were aiming for to be at around lunchtime to go swimming. It was the Summer Solstice which is officially Hike Naked Day and of course offers the most sunlight for us to have hiked in. At the start of the day, Prick and Bags made a bet of how many blowdowns (trees that we had to step/climb over on the trail) we would encounter and little did we know that this was going to be an epic day of blowdowns.

Within a mile, we had already counted over 25 (therefore Prick won) and would go on to count over 400 for the day. The first half of the day was through a major burn area that had not had much trail maintenance yet. I resembled a chimney sweep quite quickly. Bags and I lost the trail for a bit and also took a forest road alternative to save some of a navigational headache. We were counting down the hot, sticky, dirty/soot covered miles until the river!

Once we got to the river, there were many hikers there which was exciting! People were swimming, rinsing off their clothes, and generally enjoying the cool water in contrast to the steamy day. Prick, Bags, and I skinny dipped in the river to celebrate the Summer Solstice and heard through the grapevine that Yeti in fact, did hike naked for about 5 miles – which was brave considering the blowdown situation.

After the river, there was a large climb that we were all perhaps dreading. Luckily there was a lot of water along the way, it was on the shaded side of the mountain, I had cooled off in the river prior, and it was the Solstice which meant I had ample light to go slow. It turned out to be okay, though sweaty, but I had a lot of great podcasts to listen to! Upon arrival at the top of the ridge, I was greeted with sweeping views that felt like a reward.

I was talked into cowboy camping for the first time ie camping out in the open with no tent. Though it was a full moon, it was a star filled treat. There were tiny critters running around on this ridge throughout the night and I did not sleep too well, but I am happy I had the experience. I appreciate other hikers opening my world and giving me the space and confidence to be even marginally braver. The differences in all of us are a gift, not a barrier to relationships.

Day 93: Mile 1260.9 – 1269.0

Trail Daily Miles: 8.1
Total Daily Miles: 8.1
Total Trail Mileage:
Elevation Gain: 785
Elevation Loss: 1138
Weather: Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: Thankful for Trail Angels

The longer day before set me up perfectly for a short hiking day to get into Quincy, CA for a quick in and out of town. The 8 miles flew by and there was a decently large group attempting to get a long hitch into town. It took longer than expected and hoped, but Yeti and I got a hitch while Prick and Bags were still hiking and were able to have breakfast. We went to get our free ice cream at the Quincy Toy Store, which was a demonstration of the trail community at its best. Prick and Bags got into town and we all met at the brewery for a drink and… went back to the Toy Store for a second round of ice cream!

All of us stayed at a Trail Angel’s house, Pounder, that night along with several other hikers. I believe there were 12 of us in total, so it felt like a hiker party. We were able to do laundry – with amazing loaner clothes pictured below – shower, and resupply while in town and were able to be carted all over the place thanks to Pounder’s kindness. This was one of my first true Trail Angel experiences and I’m eternally thankful for a trail community.

Day 94: Mile 1269.0 – 1280.0

Trail Daily Miles: 11
Total Daily Miles: 11.5
Total Trail Mileage: 1280.0
Elevation Gain: 2105
Elevation Loss: 1398
Weather: Sun
Overall Day Sentiment: This feels like Summer Camp!

Though only a short day of hiking was planned, we wanted to get back to the trail. After leaving Pounder’s house and having a good breakfast in town, Yeti and I headed out while Prick and Bags had just arrived to breakfast and would meet us soon. Little did we know that people have an aversion to picking me up and we were unable to get a hitch for an hour. The moment that Bags and Prick show up, we get a ride. I guess I am bad luck!

There was a decent climb (of course) from the highway but gifted us with beautiful views of Mount Lassen. There were not a lot of water and camping options in this short stretch so I chose an off trail proper campground on a lake in hopes of it being a desirable swimming spot. The group was also needing to head into Belden in the morning as Yeti needed to pick up an imperative package and the climb out of Belden is infamous on trail for being a nightmare. So the earlier we could all get in town, the more comfortable that climb would be.

Upon arrival at the campground, I was greeted with a beautiful swimming lake. I quickly set up my tent and ran down to the water. Prick and Bags ended up inflating their sleeping pad and using it to float while Yeti and I swam around. Even though I had just had a proper shower the day before, rinsing off in a lake after a hot day made the impact of the shower last longer. Hiking through burn zones are just plain dirty and ash continually sticks to my sunscreened legs.

A few other hikers joined us later in the evening, Nuclear Yeti and Chasky, and we were able to spend some time near a fire. Between hiking, swimming, and a campfire – the day just felt like summer camp. I’m feeling immensely lucky that I am able to experience a sense of joy and adventure in my 30’s.

Day 95 Part 1: Mile 1280.0 – 1288.0

Trail Daily Miles: 8.0
Total Daily Miles: 8.0
Total Trail Mileage: 1288.0
Elevation Gain: 223
Elevation Loss: 4190
Weather: Sun, Hot
Overall Day Sentiment: If this was the descent..

An early wake up was called for to get down into Belden so that we could swiftly get out of Belden as there infamous long and hot climb on the other side. The descent was relatively steep for the 8 miles dropping over 500 feet per mile. The trail was overgrown and at times hard to navigate through the bushes. It also included a bonus snow traverse despite temperatures recently soaring. The trail spits out on train tracks and there is a short road walk to get to the main downtown area for this village.

I had heard that there was a music festival happening in this small non descript place and oh boy, there was. I walked in that morning to the festival wrapping up and a minor amount of chaos. People had been camping around the area so they were emerging from a few nights of hard partying. Despite being the hiker, I was one of the most intact and put together individuals walking through. This festival also meant that the services provided in town were a bit different. There were some food trucks and drink stands where there would normally just be the small hotel providing some of these.

Our group was snacking and gearing up for the ascent out of town, though Yeti had to stay behind because of his package. It was delivered to the RV Park down the street and though they say they are open 7 days a week … they were not. He was forced to stay in town while the remainder of us left to tackle the climb, but had plans to meet us later.

This was not a particularly beautiful section, but enjoy the photos nevertheless!

xoxo Leeann/Kanga