7/22/14 Tuesday. A Walk in the Clouds

7/22/14.   7.2 miles

We heard thunder for quite some time last night but I never heard rain.  We woke at 5:30 and Peggy had some rain on her tent but the trees must have sheltered me, I had a dry tent.  We were hiking in the cold by 6:30, both of us kept our light jackets on. As we came out onto an open hilltop,  fog was blowing across the trail!   Brrr.  We were inside the cloud that hung on the mountaintop!

We moved up the trail and could look back and see the cloud stuck on the  top.  We had enough water for our 7.2 mile hike but came across this note from Patches about the spring. 

"Great Spring! Only 100 feet away...

Bottoms up!"

On this part of the trail there are lots of logging and access roads that we crossed as well as logging activity.  We saw a loaded log truck coming down a mountain road. 

Walking through the forest I heard a noise, glancing up hill as I walked I thought I'd see a deer.  Instead I stopped abruptly and whispered to Peggy,  "Bear!"  She closed the distance to me and saw this.

It was a 1-2 year old bear, not afraid of us at all.  It stood there long enough for us both to get our cameras out and snap 2 shots.  Then it climbed up on a log to get a better view of us and we decided to get away.  It always stops my heart a bit seeing big animals in the wild. It was thrilling though!

Donomore Meadow was overgrown, I'm glad it wasn't very wet, we'd have gotten soaked. 

Donomore Meadow. 

This old cabin is near Donomore Meadow and can be driven to on the back roads.

As we climbed up the trail to the border it was sunnier, the clouds dropped away and we came upon the sign for the border.

Canada is 920 miles, Washington is 498!

Hooray, we made it!

We let out a victory whoop hoping Robin could hear us at the top of the pass just 200 some yards away.

Robin had his trail magic laid out and had already fed 6 hikers (2 were horse packers riding on the trail).

We had scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, toast & jam, fresh peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, brownies, ginger ale.  That was what we ate but there were other things we didn't have a chance to eat!  Robin's trail magic is superb!  He said Patches and her parents had been there too and chatted with him about our meeting 2 days ago at Cook & Green Summit.  It's a small hiking community!

We'll rest up, resupply, Peggy will get a new tent and we'll plan the next portion going south from Sierra City to a place called Red's Meadow just south of Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. It should take us 24 days if we go to Red's Meadow. Stay tuned for the next part as we strive to finish California's PCT.

7/20/14 Sunday Devils On The Trail! 7/21/14 Monday. Thunderclouds All Around Us

7/20/14  15 miles

We were up early, 4 am, and quietly packed so we didn't wake the others camped nearby.  By 5 am we were road walking the 1 mile to the trail which started steeply up from the roadside.  We had to keep watch out for poison oak growing at this low elevation on the trail.  It was coolish in the early morning but promised to get hot soon.  We made pretty steady progress on the 9 mile uphill section.  We were passed by our friends from the RV Park after about 6 miles.  Finally we wound around Lower, Middle and Upper Devil's Peaks getting a great view of the Klamath River and Seiad Valley below. 

You can see the river and community far below, we were way down there just this morning.

Two of the Devils' Peaks.

We carried 3 liters of water each because we'd been told the springs may be dry and it turns out we were glad we did.  If they weren't dry then they were barely trickling with mucky water. We topped the steep section and found a semi shady spot for a break, we laid out our tents to dry since we'd camped on damp grass last night. 

This section was dry and rocky, we're traveling at the southern edge of the Red Buttes that lie just along the California/ Oregon border. 

In the right corner is Peggy & her umbrella.  (When we did laundry at the RV Park her hat shrunk horribly and a pair of my nylon socks melted! Her umbrella came in really handy for 2.5 days!)

We went over this saddle down into the basin beneath Kangaroo Peak. 

This is Kangaroo Spring, a shallow puddle that could be used if you had to.  It had dead bugs on the surface but the water felt cool and it could be filtered.  We were happy using our 3 liters from the RV Park. 

I keep getting my shirt, bandana & head wet whenever I could to stay cool.  It was getting pretty hot out.   

This area around a seep was bright with flowers. 

Lilly Pad Lake 

Just after lunch I started hearing a noise from Peggy's pack.  Had she left her phone on? Any electronic gadgets running?  It sounded like...a bee buzzing.  She decided to leave it alone until we unpacked that evening, but whenever we stopped we could both hear her pack buzzing.  After lots of ups and downs in elevation we had only a few more miles to go until we reached camp. 

Walking below the Red Buttes.

The deep red soil was so pretty. 

We met these 3 day hikers who told us they'd left a cooler of trail magic at the Cook and Green Summit where we would camp.  They knew the way to encourage us! 

Lava rock appeared across the trail. 

This is Cook and Green summit and the access road.

Soon we were drinking Ginger Ale, eating an apple and setting our packs down in the shade.  Patches, a young woman we met in Seiad Valley, and her parents, who had flown to Oregon from Boston to meet up with her, were at the Summit.  They offered us fruit, water and good conversation.  I told them Robin would be meeting us at the Oregon border on Tuesday and may have trail magic too if they were to meet up with him.  

Patches continued her walk north and her parents went back to Ashland to their Hotel.   The next order of business was finding the bee, Peggy opened her pack carefully and began taking items out,  still we heard buzzing.  She decided to open her tent stuff sack, now the buzz increased and I saw the big black & yellow bee.  It had gotten caught in the tent when we draped them over bushes to dry earlier in the day. (her tent zipper has been broken for weeks so the bee was easily caught in the open folds)  She released the poor thing, it did a practice flight and took off for parts unknown!     After reading, relaxing and setting up our camp we got dinner made and prepared our selves for sleep.  Tomorrow is another climb up from the road to the surrounding mountain tops.

7/21/14. 15 miles

This morning is a 3 mile 1,000 foot climb out of Cook and Green Summit.  We started off at 6am noticing the cloud cover and some dark thunderheads in the distance. Again we took 3 liters each because the water sources are unpredictable in this drought. We got great back views and could see the 3 Devils which we climbed yesterday.  

This is Mt Shasta to the east, the clouds are gathering.

We stopped at Beardog Spring to top off our water supply  it was surrounded by wildflowers in a small meadow.

The day was spent hiking up and then down in about equal measure. Looking down into steep valleys and hearing the cowbells of cattle grazing below.

We had a long lunch in this meadow, watching the clouds build.

The sign says H2O with an arrow leading to Alex Hole Spring.  I enjoy the way hikers take care of each other with notes telling one another what's available. 

The Green Tunnel.

We came around a mountain and I looked up, seeing men silhouetted

against the afternoon clouds.  They waved & yelled to me "How far have you come?"  I thought a second and gave them Peggy's mileage "About 1300 miles". "Wow! Congratulations, safe hiking!" They said and waved us on.  Later I saw a forest service Fire truck on the road and I think the men may have been out scouting fires from the peaks. 

Our camp was big and flat near Mud Springs where we got a liter of water by filtering from a tiny pool in a mosquitoe clogged meadow!  

  Mud Springs campsite, our last camp before the Oregon border.

We made an early dinner and got our camp set up because it looked and felt like rain. I made yellow curried lentils, green beans, red peppers and quinoa. Two young men hiked through on their way to the border 7.2 miles north. They were anxious to be in another state, California has seemed to last forever! Both of us would like a break from hiking and look forward to a rest in Medford.  I'm concerned that my 10 day previous rest didn't support me longer, I'm back to feeling really tired again. 

7/18/14 Friday. My 1,000 Mile Marker! 7/19/14 Saturday. Hiking Into Seiad Valley

7/18/14.  21 miles

I left the fly off the tent, it was hot, but I got a good nights sleep.  Peggy was on the trail before me at 6:10 making the climb out of Paradise Lake and over the next mountain.  I followed shortly thereafter,  walking in the early morning light that turned everything golden. 

This is the mountain back drop for Paradise Lake.

First the trail climbed through meadow and brush coming out onto a saddle where I could see lakes on both sides in the valleys below.

Then I ascended up and around this rock outcropping, from there the sun reflected off the red rock and soil creating a beautiful palette just right for photos!

The color made these steps beautiful and I took photos from multiple angles.

Looking back at the steps from the opposite mountainside. 

The stairs and trail are seen in the right bottom corner, still colored golden from the sunrise.

I thought the workmanship on this other set of stairs was beautiful too. 

We hiked up to a meadow to tiny Buckhorn Spring that was only inches deep.  I filtered and drank 1/2 a liter right there, it was heavenly to get good cold water. Then the trail began to descend for miles as it led us down to Grider Creek and Seiad Valley.  Poison oak would begin to be a problem bordering the trail as we went below 4,000 feet.  Grider Creek had  3 bridge crossings and we rested at each one, taking time to get our clothing, hats, hair etc. wet to keep cool.

At the 2nd crossing Peggy reminded me I logged my 1,000th mile this summer!

As we hiked down we found thimble berries, 

wild strawberries 

and wild raspberries growing beside the path that we sampled as we went, such a treat!  We also worked hard not to touch the increasingly healthy poison oak hanging into the trail. 

At some point we decided to hike 21 miles today and make it all the way to the campground. Once we committed ourselves there was no camping spot to be found due to the poison oak growing all over. 

We arrived at the campground at 7:15pm exhausted and ready for dinner.  First we filtered water for our dinner and the next days hiking,  then we located a campsite.  Once we set up tents we got to cook dinner at a picnic table!   Due to mosquitoes we ate dinner in our tents and went to bed at 9:00 as darkness fell.  This was a long day and our feet were sore!

7/19/14.  7.2 miles

Today we slept in until 6:00 because we had only a 7.2 mile road walk into Seiad Valley.  The PCT goes over a bridge on the Klamath River then right through town on the highway. 

This was our destination.  We planned to camp on the lawn, wash clothes, shower and get our resupply boxes for the next 2.5 days to the Oregon border.

Peggy walking into the RV Park.  

We camped with 5 other tents on the grass to the left.  It ended up being triple digit heat as we sat on the grass, got our clothes wet to keep cool and tried not to do much moving around.  There were 5-6 other hikers resting there too. 

We got lunch at the small cafe,  some sodas and resupply items at the small store, read books on the lawn and chatted with other hikers.

One man was from Georgia, named Whitewater.  He'd gotten a rattlesnake bite on the trail out of Etna.  He was 2 miles from the highway when he'd gotten water with 4 other hikers, put his pack on and stepped back on the PCT to hike.  He didn't see the 4 foot snake on the trail and must have stepped on it.  He said it felt like a baseball bat hit his ankle.  He instinctively knew he'd been bit. 

He yelled and made a commotion that brought the others running then he called his wife in Georgia who immediately called Etna's fire station.  By the time he hiked the 2 miles down to the highway with the others (one hiker being an EMT) he could hear the ambulance coming.  They got him into the ambulance, monitoring his breathing and the bite.  By the time they got him to town they all knew it had been a dry bite. The snake had not released venom and only hit him with one fang.  He stayed in town that night and was back on the trail the next day, cautious but determined to hike.  His story was amazing but chilling to think about. 

Another young lady was hiking not the PCT but a trail called the Bigfoot Trail.  She followed the PCT only rarely,  used GPS to locate her trail and did a fair bit of bushwhacking.  Along her 175 mile trail she used a book called The Conifer Trail that helped identify 32 species of conifer, some I'd never heard of.  Her trail sounded really interesting.  

We were spending a nero (a day that we did some hiking) here, leaving in the early morning for the 2.5 day hike to the Oregon border. 

We were allowed to set up our tents at 6:00 pm but no one got in theirs,  it was just too hot.  Peggy & I were planning on a 4am wake up so we could get on the trail early while it might be cool. 

Hiker midnight is 9:00 and all was quiet except for dogs in the neighboring homes and trucks driving the highway.  Finally we got to sleep.

7/16/14 Wednesday Cloudy Skies. 7/17/14 Thursday Make Way For...Donkeys?

7/16/14. 14 miles

Yogurt, fresh fruit & pastries were purchased yesterday, 7/15/14, our zero day, so we had a great breakfast in our Motel room this morning!  Quietly we left our room and hiked up the main road of Etna to Alderbrook Manor where Peggy's Stepmom had mailed us cookies. Not only did Peggy have cookies, but 2 other packages of goodies and a note from her niece.  She was glad to get all the love from family and friends.  Cookies & goodies stashed in our packs we crossed the road to begin hitching our ride to the summit and our trail, 10 miles up a two lane winding, paved road. 

The one vehicle that we didn't think would pick us up stopped.  The small Toyota pickup was full of tools and lumber for a job over the summit and down into Sawyers Bar. We clambered aboard and hung on but we made it. 

Thanks, Todd,  for the ride to Etna Summit!

Climbing up from the summit around 8:30 am, we were glad for overcast skies even though it felt muggy, the temperature in Etna had been quite hot.  After 4 miles we rested in the shade and met Red, who we'd seen multiple times in Etna, and another hiker as they passed us going north.  Our next destination was water at a lake outlet where we met 2 guys, then Blue Skies hiked up as well. We'd met him far south in the desert early in our hike and we saw him in Etna too.  None of us liked the yellowish hue of the water...then we heard cow bells back in the brush.  We decided to move on, hoping for better water later. 

We moved over saddles, contoured across rock strewn hillsides, around mountains and into new valleys.

We started in the middle of the far mountains and hiked left around the bowl, over the nearest forested hill to where we could look back on the whole morning's travels.  

Across more rocky slopes with increased elevation, we were getting tired of having no cooling breezes.  Smoke from fires in the area, one near Redding, multiple fires in Oregon, all made the skies hazy.  

More exposed, rocky trail, some was red  stone, some black & white granite. 

Small succulents have turned from green to red as the growing season winds down.

Peggy's making her way across this long beautiful stretch. 

Fisher Lake was up near the peak of the mountain hidden in a rocky pocket that couldn't be seen from the trail.  We found the access trail and checked it out. It was warm and full of salamanders!  I'd had hopes of a cool swim but neither of us really even wanted to filter the water.  We chose to hike back 1/4 mile to a small creek to get water there. 

 After that we set up camp near the lake, made dinner, ate some yummy cookies and crawled into our tents.  The clouds looked dark and full of rain & we prepared for that possibility.  Later a gentleman named Mark hiked in looking for a campsite.  He ended up hanging his hammock nearby as the first drops of rain fell.  Rain necessitated putting up the tent fly which made the air in the tent even more still and hot.  We both worked at getting the pitch just right for the best air flow and went to sleep.  

7/17/14  15 miles

It was pretty warm most of the night and I didn't use the sleeping bag very much. At 5am it was misting lightly but stopped as we started to hike at 6. 

The rose colored sunrise hit the mountain behind the lake and colored everything. 

Beautiful clouds as the sun struggles to break through early in the morning.

We had a big climb from the lake this morning, across the rock face and straight up!  We got cold water from a small spring as we began to ascend.

We hiked up and over the top.

 

Then we looked down on this beautiful lake on the other side. You can tell the skies are hazy from smoke.

Finally we completed the really steep climb.  It was stunning to look at all the ranges of mountains we were going to be hiking into.

The white colored mountains far away are the Marble Mountains.

After a short break we followed the trail as it descended past small lakes far below and at one point we heard loud cow bells.  It sounded like they were coming up the hill toward us as we were moving down some switch backs.  We stepped just off the trail as a dozen horses and donkeys trailed past us up the switch backs!  One had a cow bell around its neck but none had a halter on.  They were loose and grazing in the high meadows and used the PCT to move from place to place!  They all looked us in the eye as they moseyed by one after the other. The rest of the day other hikers we passed talked about those horses and donkeys on the trail!  The trail dipped down into the Little Marble Valley where there was an old cabin by a stream.  We paused for water and lunch, resting in the shade.  There were other hikers doing the same but one young lady recognized us from Agua Dulce 2 months ago!  It was Ridge Runner!  We'd seen her months ago (she hiked through the Sierras while we went around them) and now she was passing us again! She looked great, it was so good to see her again!

These white granite mountains overlook the Little Marble Valley.  Fallen boulders litter the valley floor where we walked.

After resting and saying goodbye to Ridge Runner we got back on the trail too. Our destination was Paradise Lake a few miles further on the trail.  When I saw the lake it was so low I wondered how we would get water from it.  Certainly I weren't going to be getting in the water for a cooling float.   We found a camp spot and walked around trying to find an incoming water source for a cleaner flow but ended up using the outflow.  I am really weary today, we both are going to get dinner fixed and turn in.