Hiking at Home: Days 83 – 90

Hiking the length of my home state has given me a lot of pride for all the diverse and beautiful places we have. But nothing beats hiking right up the road from my home. This is the best part of California and gets the stamp of approval from a Californian.

Day 83

Back on trail after a big 10 day break (mostly spent in Hawaii) and a freshly shaven face (goodbye trail beard)! I hit the trail around noon at Highway 80 / Donner Pass. The hiking was smooth, mostly snow free, and full of wildflowers. I forgot how much ground you can cover when you can see the ground. I walked at a comfortable pace and still managed a 22 mile day despite the late start. I’m loving this snow free stuff. My body feels capable of jumping right back into full days of walking but my hips did get weirdly sore toward the end of the day. Otherwise I’m rearing to get back into the swing of things and see NorCal! Goodbye Sierra’s, it’s been quite the adventure. 

This area of trail is about as close to home as it gets for me. Being in a section I’m familiar with is a special experience. I’ve day hiked some of these areas in the past and would often dream about walking them on a thru-hike. To make that dream come true is pretty dang cool!

Day 84

First thing in the morning I was offered real (not instant) hot (not cold soaked) coffee from Speed Queen, whom I had camped near. How could I say no? We sat and chatted for awhile over coffee before I left and it dawned on me how long it’s been since I’ve been able to just take my time in the morning. The Sierras (particularly with snow) sort of force you to be on a tight schedule all the time but Nor Cal is far more forgiving and I intend to take advantage of that. I cruised into Sierra City around midday after 16 miles on completely snow free trail. I took my time in town to kick off the stinky shoes, charge electronics, eat a burger, and get my resupply. Sled Dog rolled in an hour after me and we reunited for the first time since Tuolumne Meadows. After much sitting and chilling we returned to the trail and climbed up 3.5 more miles to one of the most stunning camp spots I’ve ever stayed at. We were right on the side of the Sierra Buttes with views of the mountains all around us and precisely at the 1200 mile marker.

Day 85

Sled Dog and I started the day with coffee from Speed Queen and got on our way, hiking around the Sierra Buttes and into Plumas National Forest. We ran into Roadrunner and spent the rest of the day hiking with her. The trail had a few snowy spots but nothing we couldn’t handle and was otherwise lovely. We finished after 29 miles and had dinner with a friendly deer. 

Day 86

It was a classic NorCal hiking day. We passed through our first proper burn scar, bushwhacked through overgrown shrubs, and experienced some real California summer sunshine. Not a single speck of snow. There was a significant detour around a severely overgrown section along dirt and gravel roads that probably added a few miles to our total mileage. But as for the actual PCT miles we covered: 26.

Day 87

Yet another classic NorCal day. No snow, toasty hot sunshine, burned trees, etc. I popped into Buck’s Lake for a quick food top off because I had barely not enough to get to Belden to resupply. It was an easy road walk into town and I was able to get a ride with a couple other hikers most of the way back to the trail. Sled Dog and I covered another 26 miles and camped at a lake called Three Lakes (it was one lake). I had the luxury of swimming and rinsing the grime off before bed. 

Day 88

Sled Dog and I slept in until nearly 7 because we were on a mission to have a chill day. We had 8 miles of descent into Belden down a few thousand feet. I got carried away and jogged a lot of it. Once in Belden, we posted up at the resort restaurant to charge electronics, eat real food, and sort of resupplies. I opted to only get enough to get to Chester (2-ish days away) because the resupply options were pretty slim. I returned to the trail by myself around 1. The sun was directly overhead and I had a massive, exposed climb ahead of me. It was a very hot and sweaty endeavor. I camped next to Chips Creek, rinsed the grime off of me in the creek, and had a mellow afternoon lounging around camp and eating. 

Day 89

My aim for this day was to get to Chester (35.5 miles away) or close to Chester so that I could roll in first thing in the morning. The hiking was smooth and even the grade for bigger climbs felt super reasonable and cruisy. The NorCal heat is officially starting to arrive, particularly in the burned areas where there isn’t any shade. But I’ll take heat any day over snow fields. I crossed the official halfway point (1325 miles) in the afternoon! In total, we covered 32 miles and rinsed off at Soldier Creek where I decided to stay. Despite my sleeping pad deflating faster and faster every night, this was my best night of sleep since coming back to trail a week ago.

Day 90

I started the day with a quick 3 miles down to Highway 36 where me and a couple other hikers got a hitch into Chester. A couple hours were spent in a diner for food, charge, and chilling. There was a real grocery store with real groceries so resupplying was easy. The guy behind me in line at the checkout offered me a ride back to the trailhead so that problem was solved. All in all it was a very smooth town stop. I was back on trail around midday and got another 18 miles down to catch up with Sled Dog at in established campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park.