Category Archives: Backpacking

June 16- 19 miles, camping on Hat Creek Rim

Camping in the burned forest meant that I and all my gear were really ashy and I felt just filthy the entire day. It was entirely downhill to Old Station for seventeen miles and my feet were starting to ache. I stopped at Hat Creek so I could soak them for a bit in the cool water and I hiked the remaining five or so miles in my sandals.

Wildflowers along the trail

Hat Creek

Lassen Peak and Brokeoff Mountain

I had been hoping for a milkshake when I arived at the RV park on the edge of town, but the deli was closed- no milkshake! The resupply options were also pretty pathetic, so I decided to go to the fill-up station four and a half miles down the road. My feet were so tender I decided to hitch a ride with an elderly man in an old Cadillac.

While at the fill-up station, I managed to consume about 2,000 calories of ice cream, a burrito, juice, and Twinkies. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then I felt sick. While nursing my feet in a salt soak and rubbing my tummy, a couple of PCT hikers named Oak and Cyprus showed up. Cyprus is a retired dental hygienist and Oak was an engineer in the oil industry. They were very cute with their gear chat (we both love Zpacks products) and all the research they did to prepare for their trip. They’re also keeping a blog on their hike: Retire2Hike. Check it out!

Hat Creek Rim is a strikingly beautiful and formidable forty mile stretch of the Modoc Plateau in Central California. It was formed one million years ago when shifting fault lines dropped a section of the plateau 1,000 feet, leaving a stark, rocky cliff up to the rim. The PCT follows about twenty miles of the cliff rim: a relatively flat trail, though rugged, exceptionally hot and exposed. It is also one of the longest stretches of trail (thirty miles) without any natural water sources because all the water drains into a lost underground creek.

Fortunately for most hikers, a couple trail angles maintain a water cache about halfway through this section. Still, my pack was loaded with water (I don’t like to rely on water caches and I personally believe caches should be saved for emergencies). Since this is such a hot section, I opted to wait until the evening to head up the rim, camp and then get up early the next morning.

Mount Shasta Sunset

At the top of the climb to Hat Creek Rim, there is an overlook that offers an incredible view all the way from Lassen Peak to Mount Shatsa, and I hiked as fast as I could to catch both of those beautiful mountains in the sunset light.

I hiked until dark and accidentally startled another hiker, Clean Cut from Germany. He was cowboy camping (camping without a tent) and it inspired me to cowboy camp tonight, too. I hiked further up the trail to a grove of trees, rolled out my mat in the open air and am star gazing. No bugs and the weather is perfect- it’s beautiful!

June 17- 22.5 miles, camping near Cassle Falls River Road

Hat Creek Rim

Miserable. That’s what I was today- just plain miserable. I can’t believe how quickly I turned from feeling great and really enjoying every day to struggling so much I couldn’t wait to stop nearly every moment of the day. I loved the views, but the ache of my feet threatened to overpower my enjoyment of the trail.

Looking south toward Mt. Lassen

Shasta Daisies

My feet started aching after only a few miles, but I was still able to hike 9.3 miles by 10am- that’s almost a Ten By Ten! After about thirteen miles, I reached the water cache and I needed a BIG break. I put my feet up and napped for three and a half hours.

The rest helped, but I was still struggling with my feet. I found several blisters I didn’t know I had and other spots were just plain bruised. I was basically hobbling down the trail, wincing every time my foot rolled over a rock and rubbed a tender spot- and there are a lot of rocks on this section of trail! In fact, for most of the hike along the Rim, I was tripping and stumbling over rough lava rocks that stuck up out of the red earth.

Looking back toward Lassen Peak

After about 22 miles, I came to the only possible location for camping among the very rocky lava field. I tried cowboy camping again because I enjoyed it so much last night, but the mosquitoes soon showed up and I had to throw up the tent before I was eaten alive. It’s warmer inside my tent anyhow.

June 18- 8 miles, staying in Burney

It was a super easy eight miles to Burney today. I accidentally slept longer than I planned, but the sun woke me anyhow. I hiked three miles to the Crystal Lake Fish Hatchery where I could fill up on water and use their restrooms.

Since I planned to hitch hike from the trailhead into downtown Burney, I wanted to get as clean as possible. I stripped down to wash my shirt in the bathroom sink just as a ranger opened the door. I thought, “Oh, man, I’m gonna get busted for being Hiker Trash,” but the moment he saw me standing there in my underwear, he jumped back and apologies just poured from his mouth. It was pretty funny. Being part of the county Fish and Game department, the rangers are very accommodating to hikers and they had no problem with me practically taking a bath in the sink.

So, let’s talk about what it means to be Hiker Trash. The term refers to any trashy behavior that you would normally see in homeless people or punks, but are now being acted out by completely respectable and formerly civilized folk. These behaviors include, but are not limited to:

•Being incredibly dirty and smelly all the time

•Living out of a bag

•Bathing, sleeping, or generally hanging out in places you’re not supposed to (and then having the cops shoo you away)

•Eating copious amounts of “unhealthy” food

•Talking shamelessly about bodily functions

•Mooching food or rides from other hikers or proper folk

•Going to the bathroom in random and bizarre places

•Cursing, singing, and crying at the drop of a hat

•Running around in little to no clothing (they say that if you don’t see any naked hikers, you’re not on the PCT!)

•Appearing to have no job and no care in the world other than meeting one’s basic needs of eating, sleeping, and moving.

Crystal Lake

Once on the highway, I alternated between road walking and attempting to hitch a ride. I’ve always had a hard time staying put while I hitched if my destination was close enough to walk to. I’ve got this thing about taking matters into my own hands as much as possible when it comes to situations like hitch hiking. I walked probably about a mile and a half before an elderly man picked me up and drove me the remaining six miles to town.

Hiker Trash Oak and Cyprus

I ran into Oak and Cyprus (Hiker Trash!) at the Rite-Aid, a couple of nice elderly ladies bought lunch for me at the diner (just because they wanted to be a part of the journey), and I’ve got myself a comfy bed at the Charm Motel for the night. Nice day.

June 19- 0 miles or 300 miles? Staying in Ashland

So, this morning I got on a bus to Redding, then another bus to Medford, and finally a third bus to Ashland, skipping about 300 miles of the PCT that I originally planned on thru-hiking. Ever since my first week on the trail, I’ve felt the pressure of my schedule pushing me along and essentially limiting my trail experience. As a teacher, I’m able to take a generous amount of time off every summer, but my plan to hike 1,570 miles from Echo Lake to Canada had me arriving home one, maybe two, days before I needed to be back at work. I think it was a bit headstrong of me to assume I’d feel good about this schedule while on the trail. There are days when I hike more miles than I expect and it puts me ahead of schedule, but then there are days when something comes up (weather, detours, side-trips, rest days) and I don’t want to feel the stress of not being able to finish my hike.

Burney bus to Redding

My goal this summer is primarily to finish hiking the PCT, that means Ashland to Canada, not Echo Lake to Canada. Rehiking Northern California was just an extra treat, so I’ve made the choice to skip from Burney to Ashland and then reevaluate my itinerary. I may still be able to hike some of Northern California- we’ll see.

Goodbye, Mount Shasta

I caught an early bus to Redding and then waited around the Greyhound station for my bus to Medford. The wait felt pretty depressing. I’m confident in my decision, but that doesn’t make it less disappointing. I’ll miss hiking the Russian Wilderness and the Trinity Alps.

The methheads at the station were a nuisance. One of them was making googly eyes and poiting at me, he even tried to give me his number. This caught the attention of the only other non-drug addict at the station and she leaned over, gave him the hairy eyeball and the middle finger. Her name is Carrie and she was heading to Shasta. Once on the bus, she said, “you sit in the front with me and when I get off, you STAY in the front!” She grew up on a campground in the Shasta area and was a regular tour guide along the ride. Thank you, Carrie! You made that bus ride so much better!

Riding the Greyhound with Carrie

I have a good friend in Ashland with whom I lived and played in a string quartet with during graduate school. I’ll stay with her until my resupply box arrives on Tuesday, then I’ll hike out once more. Since Kim’s an active musician in the area, she’s hooking me up with tickets to orchestra concerts and plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Woot!

The last bus dropped me off right at a grocery store and I couldn’t help but go shopping! I made the excuse of needing groceries for the next several days plus wanting to stock Kim’s fridge for her. I was grabbing everything that looked tasty, like cheese, veggies, salami, and peaches. It wasn’t until I was in the checkout line that I realized I might not be able to carry everything to Kim’s apartment. Nonetheless, in classic Hiker Trash style, I managed it.

Too much to carry?

I spent several days in Ashland while I waited for a resupply box to arrive. During that time, I took full advantage of all of Ashland’s fine delicacies and delights! I attended one outdoor Baroque concert at a winery and two plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, went to the lake with some friends, wined and dined early in the morning and late into the evening, and generally relaxed in the soothing atmosphere of this wonderful town.

Chicken and waffles with Kim

Afternoon bliss at Emigrant Lake

Links

Installment No. 25- Etna to Ashland, 2015

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

June 12- 14.5 miles, camping at Frog Spring

After taking an entire day of rest, also called a Zero Day, I was ready to tackle the 5,000-foot climb out of the Belden Town canyon. Last night, I camped on the banks of the Feather River, near the Belden Town Resort with a 22-year-old lady hiker named Haley. We took a couple dips in the river and enjoyed the warm weather with a couple of beers and lots of eating. It was a very lazy day, to say the least. I almost lost my phone, though, when the river current increased and flooded the beach, along with my cell phone and external battery. I had to buy three lousy boxes of instant rice from the resort store and bury my phone in it. It survived- lucky me! The Beldon staff saved the bag of rice and labeled it “The Phone Dehydrator” for the next idiot who leaves their phone on the beach.

Goodbye, Belden!

I’ve been dreading this climb for several days, but before I knew it, I were past the hottest and most exposed part of the trail. It’s amazing how fast you can hike after three cups of coffee and a good night’s sleep. The air was heavey with humidity and the sweet smell of Northern Californian wildflowers, all of which are in bloom right now.

With “I’ll be back” hiking in front of me, he kept kicking up all the pollen from the flowers and grasses. I could see the clouds of it billowing behind him and I then had to walk through it. It gave me the worst allergies I’ve ever had hiking. I was sneezing and blowing my nose in my hanky for miles. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it and I also couldn’t hike as fast anymore, so I dropped back and hiked alone.

All morning, I focused on the place where the trail crossed Chips Creek. I knew there would be an opportunity to dip in the shallow pool and lounge for a bit. The water was almost too cold, but it felt wonderful to go in quickly and dunk. I then grabbed my bag of Fritos and water bottle and threw my sleeping pad out on a large rock to dry off. It was HEAVENLY!

Waterfall along the trail

Ramen for lunch by Chips Creek

Climbing higher past Chips Creek became more and more beautiful. Section N and Lassen National Forest is one of my favorite places on the PCT, excluding the initial climb, of course. There were so many downed trees as I crested the mountain. One of the things I’m most afraid of are trees falling on me while I sleep in my little tent. This is why windy nights really freak me out. Luckily, it’s a beautiful night with no wind and minimal mosquitoes.

Camping at Frog Spring

It’s nice camping with “I’ll be back” again. He eats all my leftovers that I can’t manage. We joked about this being a symbiotic relationship because he gets more food and I don’t have to carry it! He’s also fun to talk with because he’s interested in many things, he’s opinionated, and he screws up his words a lot, which is always entertaining. He’s particularly chatty tonight because he’s had way too much sugar. Even now, while I write in my tent, he’s yakking on about something over in his tent. Makes me laugh.

June 13- 20.5 miles, camping below Butt Mountain

Yup, you read that right. It is indeed called Butt Mountain. What I want to know is what’s the difference between a butt and a butte, and is it pronounced with a short “u” or long “u.” There are also a number of PCT jokes that fly around about the distance from Butt Mountain to Dick’s Pass, but I won’t get too crass and go into them here.

I got off to a late start this morning: 9 AM! I was trying to call Drakesbad to find out if the guest ranch had a computer I could use and there was a bit of reception at Frog Spring. I didn’t get an answer because it’s Saturday and no one picked up, but, I decided, that if they didn’t have one, I could wait until I got to the library in Burney.

Cold Spring

The hike was pretty easy today, without many large changes in elevation. The only challenge was that all but one of the water sources for the day were off-trail by 0.3 to 0.5 miles, and usually down a steep spur trail. They were also spaced further apart than in any of the recent sections through the Sierras. This meant having to either carry water for 8 to 12 mile chunks or adding more mileage by visiting more water sources. I chose to just carry more, and it was the heaviest my pack has been since Echo Lake!

The trail provided fantastic views of distant Lassen Peak and Brokeoff Mountain. At 10,460 feet tall and 27,000 years old, Lassen is a relatively young, active volcano and is part of a chain that extends all the way through Cascade Range. It’s technically a lava dome and it last erupted in 1915. It’s much older neighbor, Brokeoff, over 500,000 years old, used to belong to the ancient stratovolcano called Mount Tehama, now-eroded to merely Brokeoff Mountain, and was once much taller than Lassen is today.

Mount Lassen in the distance

I hiked alone for most of the day, but later in the day I met Katia and Olivia from Washington DC. They’re cousins and are hiking various sections of the trail for the entire summer.

Katia & Olivia, cousins from Washington D.C.

For the last three uphill miles of the day, I turned on some music and popped my phone into my homemade plastic cup speakers. I think I need to make a fresh set because these honeys are on their last legs. I guess rain, sun, and getting smashed by trees and puppies will do that to speakers made out of a paper towel tube and two plastic cups!

“I’ll be back” fumbled up to the campsite tonight looking really tired. He immediately ate at least one bar, maybe two before making dinner. We’re both in our tents for an early night. He’s passed out already, but I’m listening to the deer meander around camp. I’ve brought all my gear inside my tent because I don’t want to wake up in the night finding the deer licking my trekking pole. They like the salt on the handles.

June 14- 20 miles, camping at the North Fork Feather River

Itchy and Scratchy- that’s what I’m naming my two legs now. I’m so covered in mosquito bites, that my legs are swollen and it takes all my willpower to resist pulling my own skin off. The only relief I can get is when I take a dip in really cold water to numb the bites and then slather on the anti-itch cream.

PCT Midpoint Monument

I passed the PCT midpoint early this morning. This means I’m now closer to Canada than I am to Mexico. If I were to drive from Mexico to Canada it’d be 1,200 miles.

It was a fairly boring and uneventful hiking day. There wasn’t much to see between all the trees, except occasionally Lassen and Brokeoff, way in the distance. The PCT doesn’t actually climb either of those peaks, which is a shame, but it can be done as a side trip.

Highway 36 near Chester had some special trail magic: coolers full of water and extra backpacking food, a binder full of information on what the little town of Chester offers, and the contact info for a local trail angel. “I’ll be back” was super excited and instantly set to eating a Mountain House meal he found in the cooler.

Our goal for this evening was the North Fork Feather River. It’s much smaller than it’s two sister rivers, but it’s still a lovely place to camp. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of teeny, tiny flies that like to bite hikers, so it’s not quite heaven. Tomorrow will be exciting: a geyser, a boiling mud lake, and lunch at Drakesbad Guest Ranch!

North Fork Feather River

June 15- 19.5 miles, camping near Prospect Peak

What a fantastic day! I felt like a regular tourist: sightseeing, eating in a restaurant, and lounging by a pool. We hiked ten miles to Drakesbad Guest Ranch and along the way we visited Terminal Geyser and Boiling Mud Lake. Lassen Volanic National Park has a number of sights such as these and two of them are near the PCT.

Terminal Geyser

Terminal Geyser

Boiling Mud Lake

We arrived at Drakesbad just in time for lunch. They serve a buffet so we loaded up on salads, fruit, sandwiches, cookies and coffee. “I’ll be back” had two sandwiches, a plate of salad, and six oatmeal cookies all by himself. The Ranch policy is that hikers who buy a meal can also take a shower and use the hot spring pool. So, we definitely took advantage of it!

Drakesbad Guest Ranch

We decided to hike an additional ten miles tonight, but the bugs were absolutely monstrous for about six of those miles. Every time I stopped, they would swarm me- there was no escape. We practically ran for those six miles. I didn’t think it was possible to change my shirt while hiking with a backpack, but I did it!

Collecting water from Lower Twin Lake

We hiked into the evening and once we were out of the bug zone, it was lovely. The temperature was cool, the trail was soft and gentle, and the stars began to come out- we even saw the space station float by before it dipped below the horizon. We’re camping below Prospect Peak, a late-Ice Age shield volcano, surrounded by dead lodgepole pines. There’s no wind tonight, so I’m not worried about one falling on me!

Camping below Prospect Peak

Links

Installment No. 24- Drakesbad to Burney, June 2015

Drakesbad Guest Ranch

Lassen Volanic National Park