Current stop: Chester, CA
Two related words have been on everyone’s lips the past ten days: heat and fires. Since leaving South Lake Tahoe, Northern California has been experiencing an unseasonable heatwave (temperatures are on average 13°C warmer than usual and hover around 35-40°C) and the first major fire (Shelly Fire - approximately 250 miles ahead) has broken out. The fire situation is changing day-by-day so no definite plan of attack has been made so far.
After leaving South Lake Tahoe on Day 72, we arrived at the trail head at Echo Lake. There were a lot of day and section hikers given the proximity to July 4th. After several miles we arrived at Lake Aloha, an alpine lake that was actually warm and turned into the best lake swim to date.
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| Echo Lake |
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| Lake Aloha (photos don’t do it justice - I know I always say that!) |
This section also involved entering into the Desolation Wilderness area which was spectacular and seemed like a ‘Sierra-lite’ - the beauty of the Sierra but much less tiring.
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| Desolation Wilderness |
Hiking through Desolation Wilderness continued throughout Day 73. Highlights included the ridge line with its views down into Lake Tahoe (and feeling happy to be avoiding the craziness of July 4 that was happening down below where the holidaymakers’ arrival swells the town’s population fivefold) and the hiking through the multiple not-currently-active ski fields.
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| Lake Tahoe in the background |
Lowlights included hearing about the Shelly Fire that had broken out further up trail in NorCal. While fires are commonplace on trail and are certainly to be expected, hearing that there is a significant one not too far ahead occupies a significant amount of headspace when hiking 10+ hours a day with nothing but your thoughts.
One of the benefits of NorCal is the fact that the trail passes through (or very close to) a number of towns or resupply points meaning that the week or longer food carries we endured through the Sierra are a thing of the past. Day 74 passed by the Donner Ski Resort where free beers awaited PCT hikers on arrival. A trail angel (Karen, originally from New Zealand) graciously offered us lifts to the nearby post office to collect packages).
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| One of the free beers at Donner Ski Ranch |
Day 74 also marked the beginning of the heatwave. From about midday the mercury soared above 35° and has rarely dipped below that as at writing this post. To partially compensate for the heat, we could also ditch our bear cans at this point - automatically making packs more than a kilogram lighter.
Although the mosquitoes had largely gone by Day 75, another foe - biting flies - began to appear. It seems that the mosquitoes and the biting flies had made a pact to not operate in each other’s turf but mutually agreed to ensure that either of the biting insects were present wherever we hiked. Thankfully the sunset views from camp made up for the insect unpleasantness. Day 75 also involved crossing Donner Pass, named after the ill-fated Donner Party who attempted to cross the pass in 1846 too late in the season and resorted (amongst other things) to cannibalism. Charming. Thankfully there has been sufficient food on trail so far that cannibalism rarely crosses our minds.
On Day 76, after some amazing ridgeline hiking, we reached Sierra City (population: 225) for a quick (albeit very expensive) resupply. The temperature exceeded 40°C that afternoon so it was decided to wait out the heat until later in the day. The trail ascended a mountain that I had spotted earlier in the day and didn’t realise at the time that I would have to climb. On the climb up, another fire that had broken out where we were hiking two days prior was visible. The sunset views (and dip) at Tamarack Lakes made up for the sweltering climb.
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| Sunset views |
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| City may be a bit of a stretch |
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| Almost at the top! |
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| Fire where we had been hiking two days prior |
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| Tamarack Lakes |
The group that I have been hiking with for almost the past thousand miles has splintered a bit in this past section with people adjusting speed and distance for both the heat and resupply location decisions. Day 77 was my first day in quite some time both hiking and camping alone.
On Day 78 the ‘burn zone’ began. The PCT traverses a significant portion of the remains of the almost million acre Dixie Fire that occurred in 2021 and is the second-worst wildfire in California history. Miles upon miles of burnt out forests is difficult to walk through (both physically and mentally) and I definitely was the dirtiest I have been on trail to date during this section.
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| Despite the heat, some snow still persists on trail |
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| Feeling just a bit dirty |
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| Slightly crisp |
After a 16 mile downhill hike, I reached the Middle Fork Feather River. The majority of the rest of the group had caught up by this stage and we enjoyed almost four hours swimming together at the river and waiting out the heat of the day - my highlight from NorCal for sure.
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| River perfection |
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| It wasn’t deep enough to jump off the bridge |
After the river, the rest of the day involved 11 more miles hiking uphill to reach camp for the night. The dirt that was washed away in the river earlier that afternoon was quickly replaced with even more - alas, fleeting cleanliness. I will be clean again in New Zealand.
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| Cowboy camping at the summit |
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| Sunrise hikes (five minutes later a bear appeared on trail 🐻) |
Day 79 involved an eight mile hike to the highway where Sprouts and I hitched to Quincy for a resupply, shower, and laundry. Quincy was extremely welcoming with free ice creams at the Toy Store and a trail angel who offered us showers, laundry, and perhaps most important, air conditioning for several hours. We also caught up with fellow hikers who had taken several days off to recover from injuries and offered us a lift back to the trailhead.
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| Free ice cream in Quincy |
The burn zone continued throughout Days 80 and 81. The days are repetitive and the scenery is largely unchanging. It’s unsurprising that many people choose to skip these sections. Listening to Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’ audiobook seemed particularly apt for this section. The sounds of dead trees (widowmakers) falling around interrupted the otherwise silent terrain.
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| More burn zone |
The two highlights from this past section both occurred on Day 81. Firstly, we stumbled upon the most amazing Trail Magic to date. A group has been organising Trail Magic at Humboldt Summit for the past 15 years and spread was truly amazing - fresh fruit, sandwiches, home baking, beer, wine - the list goes on!
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| Sprouts and I are a little bit happy with trail magic |
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| Start of the Cascade Ranges |
Secondly, at about 8:45pm, Sprouts and I reached the midway point of the PCT. 1,325 miles (2,132km) down - the same to go again. After a celebratory mini bottle of champagne (provided by the trail angels earlier in the day), we set up camp (cowboy camping) and called it a night.
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| Equal parts happy and sad to be halfway through |
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| Sunset views |
Day 82 involved a short eight mile hike to the highway and a hitch into Chester. Our hitch was eager to tell us about his substance abuse issues and time spent in prison - the joys of hitching! The rest of the crew is due in tomorrow so after a bit of a reunion, it’ll be back to the trail in the afternoon.
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| Hiker Hostel in Chester |
New shoes are waiting for me in Burney (they are desperately needed and currently feature ‘speed holes’ throughout) and when there (in about three days) hopefully there is more clarity about the fire situation (which is currently only 1% contained) and a decision can be made about the next steps forward.
