Day 84 – 95 | Mile 1204.5 – 1600.8 | NorCal’s Smokey Embrace

July 27 to August 07, 2024

Day 84 | Mile 1204.5 – 1225.1

We caught some early morning trail magic after about an hour of hiking in the form of an ice-filled bucket with pop! Delicious.

The trail this morning was part of an ultra-marathon course. We had a ton of runners going by and so we paused to have a snack and cheer them on. This morning was the first time we started seeing writing on old PCT trail markers. Mostly inspirational or funny.

We ran into 10 Speed and he’d be joining our group for the next few days.

Since leaving Sierra City and hearing about new wildfires, we were getting familiar with constantly hiking in smoke. On July 24, three days earlier, the Park Fire in California was started by arson and rapidly grew to more than 300 000 acres in less than 72 hours. We were closely monitoring the growth of the fire via satellite messaging which provided fire statuses. Checking the fire status became a habit and I was checking multiple times a day to make sure there weren’t fires approaching or new ones starting. July 2024 was California’s hottest month ever recorded. Conditions were perfect for the rapid expansion of wildfires.

Day 85 | Mile 1225.1 – 1250.8

Our camp sites were scattered amongst fallen trees and it was tough to find relatively flat ground but there was water nearby which is always a plus in NorCal. Our little group was making the most of it!

Very hilly day but lots of fun. We were on a hot streak for trail magic! We came across a Canadian couple who had setup trail magic for their friend Squirrel they had met while hiking the Colorado Trail. We had camped with Squirrel and some others the first night out of Sierra City a couple of days ago. We missed the quesadillas but I landed some watermelon, three beers, bunch of candy, and lots of laughs.

One of the hikers from a couple nights ago, One Time, caught a hitch to town from the trail magic on an ATV!

We left with Baywatch now added to the clan and we all packed out a beer to have when we hit the 2000 km mark. Most of the day was hiking through an old burn zone with scorched, dead trees teetering along the trail.

Unfortunately, the others hiked right past the marker so we didn’t have our celebratory beers there. However, I did manage to get a selfie! We ended up drinking our very warm beers at a PCT sign that had “2000” on it. Good enough. Side note – the PCT is known as Pacific Crest Trail Number 2000 for administration purposes – the Appalachian Trail is TR. NO. 1000.

We reached camp at 9:30pm in the dark that night and had a really tough time finding somewhere to camp. We were in the bottom of a canyon on the bank of the Feather River. There were probably a dozen other hikers there that were occupying nearly all of the spots. We ended up pitching our tents with a smaller footprint to squeeze two of them beside each other then paired up so that we were four across the path. We would’ve cowboy camped but there was a ridiculous amount of spiders everywhere… no thanks. I had my most despicable meal that night – a slab of zipper pouch Spam sandwiched between two halves of dried ramen. In the moment, I tolerated it (maybe even said I enjoyed it) but I don’t think I ate spam after that…

Day 86 | Mile 1250.8 – 1264.6

Our morning started with a 4 000 ft. climb out of the river valley but our motivation and spirits were high as we were on the cusp of town. The trail was closed at the next road crossing due to the wildfires and smoke. We had agreed that we would go into the town of Quincy to assess our options. It was a hot climb. Near the top, we stopped at a spring to refill our water and we were joined by a deer.

Once we reached the road, it took us about 20 minutes to get a hitch into Quincy. The guy who picked us up was telling us about some of the previous wildfires in the area which was fascinating and terrifying because of how fast the fires traveled overnight resulting in multiple fatalities. Arriving in town, he dropped us off at a local pizza shop and we each ate a large pizza. We followed up the pizza with a stop at the local ice cream bar. The shop had a community fund to provide PCT hikers with free ice cream – what a treat in such a supportive town! We contacted a local trail angel named Pounder who let us, and about half a dozen other hikers, stay at his place. We tented in his front yard. He was extremely accommodating and only asked that you complete a chore around the house in exchange for staying.

Day 87 | Zero | Quincy

Due to the trail closure, we decided that we would skip ahead to Mt. Shasta which is around 237 miles of trail we’d be missing. It was tough to reconcile but we didn’t have any choice, the trail was closed and the smoke was getting worse. Most of the day was spent on this; deciding how far up trail to skip, how we were going to get there, etc.

Finally, when the plan was solidified, the five of us (Baywatch, 10 Speed, Giggles, Ri, and I) spent the evening bowling. We had a blast. The bowling alley didn’t have electronic scoring so we had to learn how to score spares and strikes on our papers properly. I thought I knew how scoring in bowling worked worked and quickly learned I was completely wrong haha. This was the last time we saw Baywatch as he had made his own arrangements to jump ahead on trail. Goodbye’s on trail are always tough.

Day 88 | Zero | Road Trip to Mt. Shasta

The ride Riley found us was with a trail angel named Eric. It was a wild ride and Eric was an unconventional driver… But he took us for free and the one-way trip took around 5.5 hours with the fire closures and reroutes. I am constantly overwhelmed with the lengths to which strangers will go to support others. People are good.

In Mt. Shasta, we stayed at this hostel/motel that had camping out back. The camp sites consisted of a row of gravel stalls with 8 ft. fencing between them; we felt like cattle but it was cheap. We took free bicycles from the hostel downtown for dinner and ate at this place called Yaks which had awesome burgers. I had a side of garlic parmesan fries and the garlic was so heavy and fresh that it burned and made my eyes water. That night, we watched the Olympics in the hostel – what a treat.

Day 89 | Nearo | Mt. Shasta

We took our time in town and I did my first Darn Tough sock exchange (what a fantastic system and company). You can walk into a store with your old Darn Tough socks that have holes and the company will replace them on the spot for free. Highly recommend!

We saw a movie then did our resupply. After organizing ourselves in the parking lot of the grocery store, we said goodbye to 10 Speed who was going to take some time off trail to recover. He caught a ride up to Ashland, Oregon. We caught the bus back to the Castle Crags campground to spend the night. The bus dropped us at a very reasonably priced convenience store where we grabbed a couple of drinks and snacks for the night at the campground. At the campground, we could hear other hikers battling norovirus (stomach bug) which had decided to rear its head again.

Tomorrow we’d be back on track!

Day 90 | Mile 1502.3 – 1517.5 | Castle Crags Wilderness

First full day out of town after having a couple of days off. Lots of climbing with a 1/4 mile section being fully sun exposed with rocks strongly reflecting and radiating the heat right back at us. For being such a short section, it was brutal. We crossed the oddly named Burstarse Creek and stopped for lunch just after at Disappearing Creek. The creek was nearly dry aside from a small pool you could dip into. Riley, Giggles, and I climbed in to cool off after being baked alive in the sun. Blissful.

After lunch, we continued the climb up to camp. Just before stopping, there was a trickle for a water source that was surrounded by bell-shaped carnivorous plants. Apparently, they’re called cobra lilies.

The camp area was extremely tight for three tents. I pitched my tent with the fly on but the other two did not; we had some rain haha.

Day 91 | Mile 1517.5 – 1537.8

It rained on us for most of the morning and I’m sure the firefighters were happy. We came to a gravel road crossing around lunch time that had three or four cars parked around. We thought for sure there was going to be trail magic… there was not. On the bright side, there was water nearby down a very steep hill. Water source near the lunch break? Can’t ask for more.

The latter half of the day brought us back within view of Mt. Shasta. It is an absolute hulk on the horizon.

We ended our day at Deadfall Lakes. The lakes were fairly busy as there was a road access just a few miles away. The lakes were beautiful but we had an encounter with a rude camper staying at the lake.

We were pitching our tents 30-40 m away from the couple and making dinner. After staring at us five minutes, they told us to “pipe down” at 7:50pm and that they were getting an early start the next morning. The three of us were stunned given the reception at the PCT hiker campground a few nights earlier where we showed up at 10pm and no one batted an eye. The next morning, they did not leave camp until 8am… It left us feeling salty and could’ve been handled in a more mature manner.

All in all, good sleep and I’m fairly confident we had some deer visitors around the tents.

Day 92 | Mile 1537.8 – 1561.3

The trail through this section was a dream. Long flat stretches, easy and gradual ups, and long downs.

In the morning, we crossed a road that was the access to Deadfall Lakes. There we met Shasta Steve who is a local ranger and trail angel. He had his 18 year old cat Obi with him. Steve gave us apples and a chunk of quartz from Arizona. We all thought it was a different type of crystal when he pulled the quartz out of a tiny zip-loc baggy. Interesting guy and very kind.

We saw Lilo & Stitch who we hadn’t seen in a very long time at lunch and then again at an abandoned campground at the end of the day. Riley was starting to develop massive blisters on his lower leg that must have been an allergic reaction to a plant. I won’t share the photo but imagine three orange, nickel-sized blisters on your shin.

I had a very unfortunate bathroom experience where I ended up fully urinating on my shorts while taking care of business. Sometimes you make mistakes… Even after 92 days.

Day 93 | Mile 1561.3 – 1582.4

We entered the Trinity Alps Wilderness and had incredible views of Shasta all day.

We passed a group of girl scouts that when Riley passed, they saluted him and called him “King”. He felt pretty good. The weather was clear without any smoke and the views were grand.

We “yo-yo”-ed with KT and ended up camping near him on a high ridgeline. The climb up at the end of the day was challenging but would make our morning start easier. Short term pain for future gain.

Day 94 | Mile 1582.4 – 1600.8 | Etna

In the morning, we were rewarded with an epic sunrise. What a fantastic way to wake up.

The hiking was hot all day. More burned areas that offered very little relief. There was a long, steep, and exposed climb with numerous downed trees blocking the trail. This required us to scramble down the slope and back up. The scrambles were a little sketchy due to the loose sand.

Thankfully, there were a couple of accessible lakes near the trail for a quick dip. We stopped at one called Payne Lake to cool off. It was lovely. When we reached the road, we were nearly out of water and there wasn’t anywhere to hitch out of the sun. The trail ahead of us was closed due to a fire so we would have to strategize our path forward in town.

It took us a while to get a hitch down the mountain and into the town of Etna. We caught a ride with a guy who was starting up a small gold mine on his property. He asked me a bunch of questions about the gold mines I worked at. He dropped us off at Dotty’s diner where we had massive burgers and I had 48 oz. of milkshake… I did not feel well after.

The town of Etna has set up one of their parks in town for PCT hikers to use. They have showers, bathrooms, power, and camping available to hikers for free. It was great to clean up and tend to some personal hygiene.

Day 95 | Nearo | Etna

We spent the day in Etna doing a small resupply, some gear swaps, and eating real food. We paid for a ride with a trail angel to skip the 20 miles or so of trail that was closed for a fire. He dropped us off at a small campground where we drank some beers and played cards before hiking up to Campbell Lake. I parted ways with my sun hoody which I’d left Canada with. It had stretched a lot and had a stench that could not be removed.

It was a very steep hike up to the lake and took us a while to find anywhere flat enough to camp. We were exhausted.