Week 10: a week of trail magic!

Day 64 | 7/13/24 | 1093.4-1099.5

I slept in a bit this morning which was much needed and then headed over to Ernie’s where some people in my group were getting breakfast. I enjoyed some coffee and a breakfast burrito before heading over to the gear store to buy some more shoes, as my current ones were falling apart (no tread, big holes in the sides, etc.). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything my shoe in my size, so I would have to continue hiking in my decrepit pair. I tried and failed to order some to send ahead so I was really hoping that the Truckee gear store (which would be at my next resupply stop) would still have some in my size when I arrived!

Then I hitched with Boomer and Arson and we were lucky enough to get a ride back to trail (and some free Starbucks!) pretty quickly. After dilly-dallying in the Echo Lake parking lot for far too long we all set off on trail. I ran into a thru-hiker from the previous year who was doing some trail magic and happily accepted some oranges and a beer. I met up with my group again at Lake Aloha (a top ten PCT lake for sure) and it started to thunderstorm! We decided to call it a day though we hadn’t hiked too many miles and set up our tents. The rain stopped after an hour or two and the sunset was especially beautiful after. We met two college students who were out for a weekend trip also camping near the lake and did our best convincing them that they should hike the PCT.

Day 65 | 7/14/24 | 1099.5-1124.4

Today was a good day! I hiked with Bad Apple in the morning and we made quick work of Dicks Pass. It was very noticeable today that we were out of the high altitude of the high Sierra, or maybe my trail legs were really setting in, but elevation seemed easy. The rest of the day, the trail was very chill and my group ended up all hiking together for several miles.

Despite hiking 25 miles we set up camp early and enjoyed a chill evening. Several people had packed out nail polish and we all painted our nails. I don’t actually often paint my nails in normal life, but it’s nice on trail to cover up the permanent dirt under my nails!

Day 66 | 7/15/24 | 1124.4-1150

We slept in and hit some amazing trail magic at a dirt road crossing from a previous thru-hiker and his family. They had grills set up and made us pancakes, eggs, and had lots of soda and snacks as well! It was nice to have a big meal at the start of the day. After hanging out for a while and talking with the family, we all set off again. After some uphill we started hiking along this incredibly beautiful ridge, and I stopped for lunch in a little rock outcropping with Brand-Aid, Tortilla, and Arson. Arson and I hiked together the rest of the afternoon, and we ended up cowboy camping on this amazing spot on the ridge with Tortilla and Big Chill. This was honestly one of my favorite camp spots on trail — there were incredible views in all directions and it was such a cool spot to cowboy!

The view from our camp spot!

Day 67 | 7/16/24 | 1150-1161.9

We made some quick miles in the morning to get to the road crossing and managed to get a hitch after a while from a guy who hiked in 2022. I sent some things home (my bear can, my midlayer, and some other miscellaneous small things) and it felt great to lighten my pack! My group headed over to a coffee shop for some excellent coffee and a pastry and then I went to the gear store where I was able to find some new shoes, finally! I did a light resupply at Safeway and chilled in the shopping area while I ate some ice cream and a salad. Arson and I stopped at a thrift store and I found a tank top to use as a town shirt. We hitched back to the road and made our way to the Donner Ski Ranch, where some people in our group got the famous free 40oz beer. We hiked just a few miles after the ranch and I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner of bagels and cream cheese.

Quote of the day: “Drinks is good carbs”

my old shoes!

Day 68 | 7/17/24 | 1161.9-1196.5

I ended up hiking 35 miles today! I did not set out with that goal in the morning, but I really got into the groove and felt like doing a big day. As it was starting to get dark, I realized that I could make it into Sierra City (not so much a city as a very small town), where Refill and Rooster were waiting for the rest of us to catch up. I decided to push the last few miles and I ended up semi-jogging the last bit on a dirt road and on the road into town. Some nice people out for an evening walk gave me a bag of leftover rice and veggies, which I slurped down on my jog on the road into town. Refill, Rooster, and I cowboy camped in a public pavilion space that was known to be okay for thru-hikers to stay at, though I was woken up by sprinklers raining on me in the middle of the night (not the first time this will happen….). Despite the long day I felt pretty good, and it was good to know that my body could handle big days like today!

 Hurrying down the road into town as it got dark

Day 69 | 7/18/24 | 1196.5-1206.5

The rest of the group showed up in the morning and we enjoyed a nice breakfast before taking cold showers in the public showers and hanging out and chatting all morning! I picked up my resupply package and did some organizing — it was a lot of food and I ended up sharing some of it amongst my group. Most of the group left midday to start hiking again but I waited around town with Tortilla, Arson, and Big Chill til later in the evening. We managed to make it to the lake where others in our group had set up camp for the evening.

Day 70 | 7/19/24 | 1206.5-1231

Today was a bit of an off day– I was feeling tired and my feet ended up being very sore from my new shoes. We hiked through a campground in the morning and I enjoyed a breakfast soda from a kind soul who had left out sodas for thru-hikers. It was hot today but there was a very cold and refreshing piped spring partway through the day that lifted my spirits. I was hoping to make more miles and catch up with Rooster and Refill but it was nice sticking with the rest of the group and I ended up camping with everyone a few miles before a road crossing where a barbecue was planned to happen the next day (according to some local folks we talked to in Sierra City).