Author Archives: Jake

20 Miles

Choppy weather today. We started off packing up without any rain, but before we started walking we put on rain jackets because sprinkles were coming down. On our way out we passed by our camp neighbor, Happy Hour. He was also disappointed to have rain again. The jackets, like the rain, only lasted about ten minutes. We got water after a couple miles and then made our way down to a trailhead and campground. About a mile before the trailhead we said good morning to Right On Time. At the trailhead, a trail angel named Rabbit (or Buzzard Bait) was set up with a hand-washing station, coolers of beer & pop, a meat & cheese tray, chips & salsa, fresh cut watermelon, potato chips, some bag chairs, and a log book. He had it all! Super nice guy and fun to chat with. We met a lady named Snow On The Trail who told us there are fires near the trail where we plan to exit for Etna, we’ll have to monitor that since it’s right where we’re headed and we’ll be there in 30 miles. It was fairly hot and sunny until after lunch, which was on the side of a stone/dirt road. We had leapfrogged with Sage and Bucket a couple times, but hadn’t spoken much. At lunch we figured out that we hadn’t seen them since Idyllwild when we all climbed around the boulder blocking the trail. The trail climbs up to treeline and a storm developed while we made our way up. We could hear thunder, but no visible lightning. Trying to play it safe, we took a short break to let it pass, but eventually just pressed on hoping to get back into the trees around the bend in the ridge. A brief break in the storm, and unexpected cell service, gave us time to make a hotel reservation for Etna. Further up the trail we found Stoked who was waiting on Right On Time to show up. Heavier rain and brief hail made the end of the day soggy and slightly cold, but we arrived at camp after it stopped. Happy Hour came through and was again looking for water, but was headed for the next campsite. After dark it sounded like Snow On The Trail, Stoked, and Right On Time all passed our tent.

25 Miles

Light rain during the night, but a calm and dry morning. Flash and Nope leapfrogged with us all day. Stoked and Right On Time, and Shorts and Pepperjack were also at the first water source. Lunch was at a trailhead where an old dude warned us all that Etna was getting overrun with hikers. We had rain off and on all afternoon, mixed with light hail and scary-close lightning. It tapered off by the time we reached camp near some grazing, mooing cows. Ran into Happy Hour who was looking for water, but decided to pitch near us instead of going ahead to the next stream. Sleep came quick after a big day.

20 Miles

The first water source of the day had pitcher plants growing along the seepage around the stream. Syn The Bouge, Poppins, Stoked, Right On Time, Flash, and Nope were already there filling up when we got there. We leapfrogged with them most of the morning on the climb. Our lunch stop was on a ridge with smoke filling the valley below. Leapfrogged Flash and Nope, and Shorts and Pepperjack most of the afternoon. We camped above a lake that had a kayak that was free to use. We didn’t, but if we had gotten there early in the afternoon I would have taken it for a spin. Shorts and Pepperjack camped nearby, but had to arrange some swap of spaces with a couple ladies who were just passing through, but eating dinner near the shore. At dusk, some sort of flute music was playing. Either someone hiked in and played a couple songs for everyone in the area, or they played songs from their phone. Regardless, it was pleasant.

10 Miles

Packed up and checked out of the room before getting coffee, again, from All Aboard. With no other restaurant options, we waited for the brewery to open. While we were waiting, Good Nut walked by and we told him about the bus at 12:44. He was headed to get tacos when the Mexican place opened. We got beers and food at brewery, but we missed the bus at 12:44 that we wanted. I still blame the server for not running my credit card fast enough, but realistically we should have gone for tacos instead. The next bus wasn’t until 7, so we hitched a ride with a guy that appeared to be moving out of his car into a house. He said he’d give us a ride to the trail if we helped him move his mattress inside, so we walked to where his house was and I helped him get his car unloaded. He dropped us at the trailhead around 2 where we saw Stoked and Right On Time. With plenty of time left in the day, we hiked 10 miles to camp. Full Moon and some other dude were already there cowboy camping. Not two minutes into our conversation with them, the other dude farted unabashedly loud and said nothing. Marie and I were both surprised, but laughed about it later. They had gotten the good spots near the trail so we scouted out a place we could setup and found one just behind them. Later on we were joined by Snow On The Trail, Shorts, and Pepperjack.

0 Miles

Rain today! Egg sandwiches and coffee from All Aboard Espresso across the street. Took the bus up to Shasta City to get a few things at the pharmacy and outfitter that we couldn’t find in Dunsmuir. When we left Rite-Aid we called to see when the next bus would arrive only to watch it drive by from across the parking lot. It was the last bus for 5 hours so we went to Say Cheese for pizza and beers while we watched the Olympics. Not wanting to waste the whole day in Shasta City, we walked over to get a hitch, but struck out. Tried to get a table at the bistro to further kill time, but they were full. Tried hitching again and actually got a ride from a strange couple who may have been on some sort of substance, still made it back to Dunsmuir though. Dinner was Mexican food from one of the few open places in town where we saw Big Red, B.C., and The Count.

5 Miles

Not a lot of sleep last night as it was too hot. I was up before my alarm, which was set for 4:30. Everyone in camp was getting up around the same time. By headlamp we started down to the highway. About 2 miles in the sun had risen enough to see normally. We passed the 1500 mile marker along the way and eventually made it to the on ramp where the bus picks up. Sisyphus and Hermit and about 10 others joined us. We all piled into the bus when it arrived, instantly filling the bus with a wonderful aroma. Getting into Dunsmuir around 7:30 meant waiting around for an hour before anything opened. There are very few options here and we probably should have gone further up to Shasta City instead, but we can make it work. After a couple laps of walking around the main downtown area, The Wheelhouse opened an we got breakfast. Afterward, we picked up our resupply food from IGA and Dollar General, then got beers from Yaks to kill time until we could check into our room. Lunch was from the Burger Barn, which was delicious. We got milkshakes too. A smallish dinner was later picked up from Pizza Factory, but that was a meatball sub and garlic bread.

22 Miles

The pit toilet at Ash Camp is a box of horrors. By far the worst toilet I’ve ever seen. I’ve used plenty of disgusting toilets over the years, but this one I refused. I turned right around and said under my breath, “I’d much rather shit in the woods.” We got rolling and climbed a bit, up through the swaths of poison oak. Fingers-crossed that I didn’t brush up against any of it. We leapfrogged with Flavortown at the first water source, and also a group of old dudes who were section hiking. The lunch spot was right before our last water source of the day, Squaw Valley River. We packed out enough water for the rest of the day, plus camp, plus the short hike tomorrow morning. Up from the river we climbed with all of this water. I chatted a bit with The Count near the top. We all pressed on and reached an old logging road that we followed down. The view of Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta (although barely visible due to smoke) along the way was amazing and a nice treat at the end of the day. When we got to camp, Sisyphus and Hermit joined us. Everyone was planning to get up early tomorrow to catch the first bus into Dunsmuir. We should be able to do 5 miles before 7, it’s almost all downhill.

23 Miles

Didn’t get cleaner air, and it sounds like we won’t have any until after Shasta. We’re doing alright with it though. The miles were fairly gentle today, although a fair amount of vegetation to deal with. Lots of overgrowth and poison oak. We saw Coach, Spin, Bluegrass, Big Red, B.C., The Count, Flavortown, Syn The Bouge, and Poppins at various points throughout the day. Camp also included Sisyphus, Hermit, and Full Moon. We havent seen Full Moon since the Sierra so it was fun to see him again. Polkadot was not with him though, she had to get off trail for a job. We were able to get into the ice cold creek next to Ash Camp. It was very refreshing after a long, hot day to get some of the dirt off and cool down.

20 Miles

Some night hikers, who we suspect were Bluegrass and Spin, rolled into camp last night around 11:30. They were surprisingly quiet setting up their tents and turning in. We tried to afford them the same courtesy when we left in the morning. However, we didn’t get a chance to ask them today if we were successful. We camped at a site that’s about a half-mile up from where most hikers we saw today were staying. We saw a girl hiking down as we were coming up from gathering water, but didn’t learn her name. Later in the morning we saw a bear walking along a forest road (that makes 4 for the whole trail so far). We were pretty far away so it was just a black spot moving up the road. Shortly after, Ninja and Tidbits passed us. We asked if they also saw the bear, but they hadn’t. They told us that Sunshine was coming up and we should surprise her by knowing her name even though we’ve never met. So we did, and it was the same girl from the creek in the morning. We all eventually stopped at the same spot to eat lunch. A guy named Good Nut was there, and Big Red joined us eventually. We talked about food, where we’re all from, what we do in the real world, hiking bubbles, etc. It was fun meeting them all, and we leapfrogged with them a bit the rest of the day. The smoke coming up from the (presumable) Dixie Fire was pretty thick today. It kept the temperature somewhat bearable, however. I hope the winds change tomorrow so we can get some cleaner air.

8 Miles

We had a smooth morning getting out of Burney. Slept in until 8, then out the door around 11. A quick stop to the ATM, the post office, and then breakfast at Blackberry Patch. Initially, we tried to hitch right outside of the diner, but decided to move up the highway a bit to stand in the shade. We didn’t even reach the shade before a nice, older couple pulled over. The ride was a big help to us and the couple were long-time locals. They seemed insistent to take us to Burney Falls so instead of taking us back to the spot along the highway where the PCT crosses it, they took us to a trailhead that was directly across from Burney Falls. They knew it avoided the entrance fee to the state park and would put us close to the trail. It also put us ahead by 8 miles, which we didn’t mind. Taking a footbridge over the river, we were in the park. The general store was supposed to have soft serve ice cream, but the machine was broke. Instead, we got a couple beers and walked over to the gazebo where all the thru-hikers were hanging out. I didn’t know most of them, but we did know who some of them were: Bluegrass, Spin, 700, Scenic Route, The Count, B.C., and Big Red (the last 3 are all from Minnesota and go by The Minnesota Hikings). It was nice hanging out, but we still hadn’t actually hiked yet, so we finished our drinks, checked out the falls, and then headed out. As we were leaving the park, we passed Sisyphus who was already aware of the developing party in the gazebo. After 8 miles we stopped for the day and set up the tent. We were near Upper Jake Spring, which was cool for obvious reasons. The spring itself was but a trickle. Lots of yellow jackets were around it too, but they left us alone. We gathered our water, made dinner, and then turned in.

0 Miles

A long night in the church gym. The temperature in there was hot and with about 20 hikers all rustling around on their sleeping pads, it was tough to fall asleep. Around midnight some hikers returned from the bar and were definitely trying to be quiet, but we all know how that goes. Then there was some crazy lady (not a hiker) yelling into the gym around 2am. Somehow there were people getting up and heading out around 5am, but I just laid there hoping to fall asleep again until about 6. We went to Blackberry Patch for breakfast and then back to the church to grab clothes so we could start laundry. Hung out while our clothes washed. For lunch we got beers and burgers and bowled. Sisyphus and Hermit were also there so we chatted with them a bit. On the way back to the church gym we saw Pricepoint and Honeybear. Caught up with them, swapping stories about getting around the fire closure. We grabbed our packs and checked in at the Charm Motel. Marie started feeling sick on our way to get our resupply from Safeway and eventually while shopping she had to bail and go back to the room. Picked up pizza and a salad from Gepetto’s and then hung out in the room the rest of the night.

18 Miles

Didn’t sleep well because it was very hot and a few hikers were night-hiking right past our tent. Unlike yesterday, we didn’t have cloud or smoke cover, so the miles were hot. They were fairly easy though with almost no elevation change. We did 13 miles to a creek where we ate lunch. There were two other hikers already there when we arrived and 700, Scenic Route, Bluegrass, and Spin joined us shortly after. Everyone was excited to be in town in a few miles, complaining about the heat, dust, and long water carries. Felt like the lunchspots in the desert again. We dipped our hats in the cold river before moving on. A quick 5 miles to the highway where we got a hitch into Burney from a guy that works for a logging company. He dropped us off at the Safeway, but we decided to wait to do our resupply until tomorrow so we aren’t lugging food around. One of the local churches has a gym that they are letting hikers use. Many thanks to Word of Life Church for the shower and floor space. There were no available rooms left in town so this was a huge help. We were able to get a room reserved for tomorrow though. Magnet was at the gym too and we were able to catch up with her a bit. Dinner was from Julio’s, and then snacks from Dollar General. Crossword puzzles and snacks in the gym before it was lights out.

24 Miles

We got out of camp around 7:30, and made the 8 miles to JJ’s Cafe in no time. There we got second breakfast and picked up snacks and a tallboy Mike’s Harder Pineapple Mandarin. 24 ounces I shouldn’t be carrying, but I wanted something for after the infamous Hat Creek Rim. The first stop outside of the cafe was to Subway Cave. It was cool and dark down there, but we left quickly. Onwards toward water. True to nature, the walk along Hat Creek Rim was hot, dry, and exposed, even with the few clouds and smoke in the sky. Our water source was 8 miles away and down a steep ravine. After climbing back up with the water we’d need for the next 8 miles, we took a quick break to eat a snack in the shade. The last part of the day was outlining the plateau we were on until it finally dropped down. At the bottom we stopped for the night. The water cache here breaks up an otherwise-dry, 21-mile stretch. I drank that tallboy with my ramen dinner and it was glorious. Coach, and a few other hikers, were already hanging out when we arrived. With the little reception that I had at the campsite, I confirmed Marie’s earlier finding that all of the hotels in Burney are booked tomorrow. We can try to stay at the church or just resupply and get back on trail. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, we still have 18 miles to town so a full day and won’t get in until evening.

19 Miles

I could hear hikers walking past the tent in the morning, one by one. We eventually got up and packed. The first mile was the hardest of the entire day. We did a short climb out of the campground and then the rest of the day was practically flat. The miles came smoothly and we made good time. Lunch was early, around 10:45, but we had already gotten to the lake so we stopped anyway. Shoreline was huge, the drought obvious. We ate, collected water, then started rolling through the burn area before Hat Creek. The burn went on for miles, which made it hot and exposed. The silver lining was that the smoke from the Dixie Fire was hanging over the area so it blocked the sun a bit. Arrived at the river early, around 4:30, so we had plenty of time to soak our feet in the river. There was a fairly large group of hikers in this one spot, but everyone had plenty of space. 700, Scenic Route, Nugget, Beekeeper, Bluegrass, Spin, Hot Springs, and Sophie aka Magnet. We haven’t seen her since Hikertown, about a month and a half ago. Most of the group gathered while eating dinner and played a game of Villagers & Werewolves. I had never played before, but it was a fun game with no physical requirements like cards or dice: perfect for hiking. After we, the villagers, won, we all started either turning in for the night, or taking off for a night hike. Hiker midnight was going to come early.

19 Miles

Our bus was scheduled to pick us up at 8:20, and we were at the stop by 8:10. It was right on time, and the driver already knew about the arrangement for dropping us at the trailhead. A smooth start. Once we got to the trailhead, we ate a snack because we hadn’t eaten breakfast and it was already 10am. The tricky part about today’s hiking is the bear can requirement that Lassen NP has in place. If we use backcountry campsites, we have to have a bear can. You can hike all the way through the park in one day. Or, you can use the bear boxes at a developed campground within the park. We chose the last option. We weren’t going to hike all the way through today because that would be a 34 mile day. If we hiked to the last campsite before the park boundary it would only be a 15 and we’d have a lot of time to kill at camp. And we’d still have to do the whole park tomorrow. Instead, we did 19 to the Warner Valley campground. As we were scouting an unoccupied spot, Sunny came up to us and offered to share their spot. Hikers helping hikers. A few hikers were already set up there: 700, Scenic Route, and another (I forget his name). We scraped out a flat spot near the road, but put large tree branches next to the tent for a barricade of sorts. Cooked dinner, chatted with Houdini and Stampede, stashed our food in the bear box, then went to bed.

0 Miles

Checked out of the hostel, grabbed breakfast from Coffee And and then hung out at the depot until our Reno shuttle arrived. Two other hikers were taking the same shuttle and we shared our information about the bus to Chester. The buzz among hikers is how to get around this fire and most of the rooms in Chester are booked up from hikers and firefighters. We decided to stay in Susanville to avoid taking a room from firefighters in Chester, especially since it will be easy to take the bus from Susanville all the way past Chester and directly to the trailhead. The Reno airport was kind of odd since we haven’t been in an airport in over a year, and the number of people wearing masks (properly!) was surprising. We waited a couple hours for our bus to Susanville, which dropped us off across the street from our hotel at the Wal-Mart. We intentionally got a room with two beds in case we needed to share it with other hikers, but ended up having the whole room to ourselves. After checking in and dropping our packs in the room, we walked back over to Wal-Mart to get some extra food and snacks for the room. Followed by walking over to the Taco Bell for late lunch. I love Taco Bell. The place was struggling though and we ended up with two extra bean burritos. Oh well, they would be eaten. We later had Happy Garden Chinese food, which was delicious. Another night in a bed, so nice.

0 Miles

The fire has grown to 2,200 acres with 0% containment. We checked out of our room, walked to Jax Diner for breakfast, and then caught the bus to West End Beach where we planned to take a side trail back up to the PCT. As the day went on though, the PCTA closed the section ahead that was affected by the Dixie Fire. We went to the pub nearby and started looking at reroute options. Instead of hiking a couple days into Sierra City and having a difficult time getting out and around the closure, we decided to go back to Truckee and work around the closure from there. We can get a bus from there to Reno, then Susanville, then Chester with an option (pending approval from the bus operator) to get dropped off at the trailhead. That would save us having to hitch, we can fill out our resupply (since the stretch between Chester to Burney is longer than Truckee to Sierra City), and we could sleep in a bed again. The reroute skips about 180 miles and we will miss the official halfway milestone, but that’s okay. We caught the next bus back into Truckee where the town had become completely packed with people. Truckee Thursday is apparently a monthly street festival where they shut down the main road and bring in food trucks and vendors. We checked into the hostel, dropped our bags, and then headed over to check out the spread. As expected, all of the food places had long wait times and we struggled to find a place to eat, but eventually got a spot at 1882 Bar and Grill. We ate and then headed back to the room to relax.

1 (+3) Mile (Granite Chief Trail)

We had intended to hike the 12 miles to the road and then try to hitch into Truckee, but we happened to check the Granite Chief trail information when we reached its junction with the PCT. It would take us to Squaw Valley ski resort where there is a bus that could take us to Truckee for free. That became our new plan and it worked out pretty well. Much shorter, less hassle with hitching, and put us in town earlier. When we got down to the resort we hung out at the bus stop and made a hotel reservation. The bus showed up and took us to downtown Truckee where we got breakfast at Wagon Train. Our first breakfast in the tent this morning didn’t count. Afterwards we went to Tahoe Mountain Sports so I could get new shoes. The Sierra were rough on my feet and the shoes held up pretty well, but the holes in the sides and the lack of grip on the soles meant it was time to replace. I couldn’t find the same shoes, so I’ll be hiking in a different size and style of shoe when we hit the trail tomorrow. I also got a new sun hoody. I’ve worn the same shirt while hiking since we started at the border, but it’s been sun-bleached, stained, and has a permanent stink to it. The past week or two I’ve noticed that the back of my neck, which takes the most direct sunlight while we’re moving, has felt like I’m getting burned. I assume the fabric has just reached its end so now I have a new one to wear. We then went next door to the Safeway and got a very small resupply. We’re going to resupply again in Sierra City, which is only a couple days away. The quick resupplies should make the hiking easier since we’ll be carrying less per stretch. We ran into Scooter and another hiker while waiting on the bus and they mentioned a new wildfire that’s about 10 miles south of the trail near Belden. There are about 140 trail miles until we reach that point, but still something we’ll have to watch closely. It’s burning in a canyon that leads straight to the PCT and winds could push it there quickly. Not to mention the smoke that will likely be covering that whole area making it unpleasant or dangerous to hike through. We checked in at the hotel, took showers, did laundry, and then went next door to 5050 Brewery to look up information about this new fire. Dinner was take-out from the Thai place next to the brewery, which we took back to the room.

19 Miles

Three days in a row! We saw a small cub towards the end of the day. Never saw the mom though. It was hard to see it through all of the trees and boulders. Lots of trail magic this morning too. After the first 2 miles we arrived at a trailhead that had a surprising amount of cars for how remote it felt. One of the guys there, trail name: Bearicade, came up and asked if we were thru-hikers and then offered Cokes, which we took. About a mile or two later we passed some day-hikers who offered us their bag of grapes after we told them we were doing the PCT. Most of the hikers in this area are TRTers and these ladies were into what we were doing. So, we had fresh grapes at lunch. We leapfrogged Scooter today, who we’ve seen a few times the past couple days. She was unsure about the upcoming ridgewalk because of how bad the wind was blowing, but she was okay to go if she could go with us. There had been a long burst of wind, which likely hit her when she left the saddle. She was ahead of us at that point, and we were still crossing it. I had just assumed it was typical wind on a saddle since that happens regularly, but it must have been a long burst. Anyway, she turned back, chatted with us, and then we led the way. We all did just fine because the wind was much calmer as soon as we started walking. Figures.

20 Miles

No return of the bear, and I was able to sleep just fine. The hiking was fairly easy today. We had a short climb and then almost all flat or downhill the rest of the day. The shade of the trees in this section is great. There are some hot, exposed parts here and there, but mainly in tree cover. With excellent conditions, we pushed to do 20 today. About 8 miles before camp, we came up on another bear. Juvenile with brownish fur, it sauntered away after spotting us. We continued on until we reached camp. There was another hiker already setup when we arrived, but didn’t seem to mind us staying here too. There are many other hikers in this area; the TRT, TYT, and PCT are all co-located for a stretch. Thru-hikers share tent sites all the time, but not all backcountry campers are thru-hikers and/or want to share. We ate our dinner and slept without any unwelcome visitors tonight, thankfully.