This morning we were hiking by 6:10 under clear skies. As we wound down a mountain we heard chainsaws and saw logging being done. We could hear trees falling. A sign said logging in progress on private land. After crossing the logging road we noodled for 3 miles. The map looks like a roller coaster (or lasagna noodle, hence noodling). I'm fatigued from not sleeping well for the last nights, both Peggy and I are tired. Nevertheless we are enjoying the long views around us, craggy peaks and lakes.
We walked through boggy green meadows and came across a nice place for a break atop an overlook. There was a double trunked Bristle Cone Pine that looked like a fun resting place. (It was sort of a hard seat once I settled in)
Dark clouds began to form so once again we scuttled across open mountain sides and exposed ridges to stay down from the mountain tops where lightening could find us. We found water at a nice stream called White Rock Creek where we also rested at a campsite there.
Shortly the dark clouds overhead began misting on us, then plunking big drops, then hailing! Quickly we packed everything away, donned our rain gear which covers our packs as well and thought of hiking into the woods. Instead we had to duck under sheltering trees as hail began to blanket the forest floor and ping off my hat brim!
Climbing up hill I was behind Peggy when thunder clapped and I looked up. I saw a marmot, scared by the thunder, running down the trail toward me! It acted like it didn't see me at all as I tried to get out of it's way, arms wheeling, I stumbled to the side of the narrow trail. When it finally saw me it veered up the hillside whizzing past me and diving under a rock. It was like a galloping horse, eyes wide open, I thought it would run me over!
There were occasional lightening flashes as we made our way out of the valley and up the hill.
At the top the rain stopped and we found a beautiful sandy, open campsite with big boulders and scattered trees. We decided it was the best spot we were liable to find and called it a day.
As the afternoon moved into evening the skies cleared and we dried our wet gear. We ate dinner in the sun and looked around the hilltop and the valley below, we were at 8,500 ft elevation. We'll be hiking into Soda Springs tomorrow morning.
8/1/14 Friday. 4.5 miles
We slept in until 6am after a good night's sleep. In 1.5 miles we'll pass the Peter Grubb Ski Hut that's a nice place to sleep if you need to get out of the weather.
We climbed up to Castle Pass and enjoyed the views, Castle Peak is a two fingered peak easily identifiable from miles away. We would be able to see it for 2 days as we moved further south.
Down the mountain around 11:00am we began to hear traffic noises and knew
I-80 was getting nearer. Soon we could see a roadside rest area through the trees, we cut off trail to hitch a ride from the parking lot to Soda Springs 3 miles away. Stepping off the trail and onto the sidewalk I said hello to a lady standing nearby. She asked where we'd come from, we certainly looked out of place!
That began an enjoyable conversation about the PCT going from Mexico to Canada and we were hiking the California section. She and her husband offered to drive us to Soda Springs, they dropped us off at the Post Office where we could get our resupply boxes and eat lunch.
Jerry & Linda, from Pittsburg, were in California to visit family. We had a delightful conversation on the drive to Soda Springs, many thanks to both of you for offering to help us get to the Post Office and on to our next 5 day section of the PCT, hope your family visit was wonderful!
Our packages picked up, we repacked our food on the front porch of the store, went into the store for a deli sandwich, drink and ice cream bar. The store allowed me to plug in and recharge my solar power device and we relaxed in chairs on the porch chatting with patrons about our hike. Around 2:15 a gentleman offered us a ride to the trailhead and we picked up our now heavy packs, (5 days of food and 3 liters of water) stowed them in the car and he drove us right to the trail. He declined a photo but we thanked him and he tooted his horn, waving goodbye to us.
Water looks scarce in the coming miles so we plan to dry camp, carrying water with us for dinner, breakfast and until the next water source tomorrow. We climbed Donner Pass marveling at the steep granite grade. Arriving at a wide spot in the trail there was an informational sign that we read.
This is the Truckee Trail, the quote says "We made a roller and fastened chains together and pulled the wagons up withe 12 oxen on the top and the same at the bottom" Nicholas Carriger . Sep 22, 1846. The slope is near vertical, they staged the wagons in a small meadow we could still see below. There were quotes from pioneer journals about the fearsome challenge they faced as they tried to get up that mountain face. We walked to the edge of the face and peered over, incredible! We spent a good 1/2 hour marveling at the fortitude of the pioneers.
The trail took us across the top of a rock slope and we could look back to see where the immigrants pulled up their wagons. It was amazing to think about!
Back on the trail we hiked along the tops of these bald hills, the trail is visible below.
We found a flat spot further along and protected from wind where we set up camp, looking at Anderson Peak where we'll be hiking tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment