Day 78 to 88: Lakes, snow and miles.

Day 78

‌21 June 2019

Mi 1331.3 - 1328.0

After Cecile got on her bus to San Francisco I ran the usual errands I do when I’m in town, stuff like food, sunscreen etc.

I met and talked to a family that was out fundraising for their school’s annual summer camp. The father who ran the school and was a deacon was very nice and we shared stories for about half an hour. He had done a lot of hiking in Europe and was excited to hear about my experience on the PCT so far.

I left town fairly late and only hiked a little until I hit a nice creek with several camping spots. A section hiker from Portland named Ryan was already here when I arrived. I was surprised to see he was hiking with an old backpack with a steel exterior frame, it looked heavy but he liked it! We shared some anecdotes about the trail and life in general.

Day 79

‌22 June 2019

Mi 1328.0 - 1295.5

I hit my first river crossing today. The water was just below the knee but with a strong current. This year has been a very high snow year so as the snow is melting the rivers get pretty hectic.

I also crossed the midpoint of the PCT! Unfortunately since I flipped north technically I am not halfway yet, soon though!

After a long morning hike I had trail magic. This amazing family comes out every year and gives trail magic to hikers. I learned that they lost their home in the Camp Fire last November. The Camp fire was the deadliest fire in California since 1918 and completely destroyed Paradise, a town of about 27000 people. The fire killer 85 people and the material cost is estimated at $16.5 billion.

They were incredibly nice and I got to eat the best Nachos I had on trail. Here is a picture with the grand-mother (I think?) of the family.

Day 80

‌23 June 2019

Mi 1295.5 - 1270.3

I started relatively late at 8:15 after a long night sleep. At around 1pm I got to Belden, a very small town that essentially only has a general store and a restaurant. I got a burger and some drinks.

The climb out of Belden was fairly hard, but as usual with a long climb I got rewarded with some very nice views.

I keep hitting more and more snow every day as I go higher in elevation, I’m getting closer to the Sierras!

I camped at a decent spot but was disturbed by a couple of deers who circled my tent the entire night, a bit nerve racking but I got used to it after a few times.

Day 81

‌24 June 2019

Mi 1270.3 - 1241.4

A somewhat uneventful day today, just crushing miles in anticipation of the Sierras. I’m starting to see more and more hikers going northbound, the bubble is near.

Day 82

‌25 June 2019

Mi 1241.4 - 1207.3

Today was one of my hardest day in trail so far. I really wanted to get to an established campground by the end of the day. But before that I had to climb up and stay on a ridge for most of the day. It was really snowy and slowed me down quite a bit so I had to night hike a little. I got to the campground by 11pm, tired but glad I made it.

Day 83

‌26 June 2019

Mi 1207.3 - 1180.4

A nice day where I hit some snow once again. It seems like I’ll have some amount of snow every day from now on until I’m done with the Sierras. It’s not that bad though yet, mostly patches of hard packed snow that are easy to go through.

While it was only a 1.5 miles walk into Sierra City I got a hitch by a local. She was on her way to a meeting about getting a grant to turn private land into a state-owned forest to protect it. All that for a small loan of a million bucks.

I wished her good luck and headed to the general store. I got a burger named the “gut buster” on the menu. Ricky, the general store owner sure does know how to make a great burger. I stopped by the post office where my, very heavy, bear canister was waiting for me. It is required in bear country to protect the food so I reluctantly picked it up, already looking forward to sending it home at the end of the Sierras.

I didn’t want to stay too long so I got back on trail at 2pm.

Day 84

‌27 June 2019

Mi 1180.4 - 1153.4

The goal for today was Truckee. It was a long one for sure. I wanted to get to Truckee before 5pm so I could get a hitch easily. I managed to do it but it was very tiring. The perspective of a shower and hot food certainly helped me push through.

Around midday and after a steep climb in slushy snow I took a break in a really nice hut. It had been renovated a while ago and looked like the perfect place to stay in but I had my eyes set on another goal today so I just stopped for 5 minutes and kept going.

I got to donner pass and got a hitch really quickly by a local working the ski lifts during the off season. I demolished some Mc Donald’s and watched some TV glad to be done with this section.

Day 85

‌28 June 2019

I decided to take a zero and walked around Truckee for a while. With the 4th of July coming it was really busy. I also ran the usual errands. Most notably I got new earbuds and new socks! I never though I would get as excited as I am about socks before I started the trail. It’s the little things that make you happy I guess out here.

Day 86

‌29 June 2019

Mi 1153.4 - 1137.6

I got a hitch back to the trail by two very young locals who were just driving around. They were super nice and shared with me how their lives looked like in such a nice area. They essentially spend all winter doing ski / snowboard freeride competitions whenever they can get time off school. In the summer they switch to rock climbing and mountain biking.

It certainly makes you think about whether or not it’s worth it to live in a big city. I admit I was a little jealous of their quality of life.

Day 87

30 June 2019

Mi 1137.6 - 1109.6

I hiked most of the day between ski lifts, not the most ideal area to hike in but the views were still nice. There are so many alpine lakes with crystal clear water it’s incredible.

I camped next to one and got rocked to sleep by the sound of nearby frogs.

Day 88

‌1 July 2019

Mi 1109.6 - 1092.3

After Truckee... comes Lake Tahoe. A fairly big destination for tourists in California. I got there at probably the busiest time of the year. On trail I saw tons of day hikers. Crossing path with day hikers is when I realize how bad I smell in contrast to them... they smell so nice!

I had to take two different hitches and a bus to get to South Lake Tahoe but it felt great to take a break even though not that long ago I was in Truckee.