AirBnB in Etna (1594.0 mi +82.0 -73.1)

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Next stop for packages is still Ashland, definitely on 8/2:

Hold for PCT hiker ETA 8/2

Matt Wismer

c/o General Delivery

Ashland, OR 97520

It's been a beautiful couple of days. Leaving Shasta was one more smoky day, and then finally I got to see blue skies! I even got rained on, but it was a very California rain storm.

I got a bit vortexed in Shasta, and only left town after 6 pm. My original intent was to hike another 10-15 miles, but when I saw Rudolf camping only 3 miles out, I stopped for the day. (That made a total of 5 miles on the day.) I hadn't seen Rudolf since Big Bear (mile 260), so we had a few months of hiking to catch up on. Apparently the Dixie Fire is continuing to get worse, and I am very happy to be north of it.

The other side of Shasta is also on fire, which gave me some smoke to deal with on Sunday. There was also a hard climb in the morning, but not Sierras hard. It's been fun hiking near Rudolf, since he has such a unique hiking style. He goes hard and takes breaks. I've been going probably 20% further than him most days, but he's been hiking almost 50% faster than me when he's hiking. Most PCTers settle somewhat close to the same pace, but he's almost running when he's moving. I've been passed going uphill more in the past few days than in the month prior.

I ended up on the phone more than was strictly optimal on Sunday, so I missed my opportunity to go kayaking on Porcupine Lake. I probably still could have still gone for a swim at 7:30, but I'm a little baby around cold water unless it's hot out. Or trusted the kayak to prevent me from falling in, but I'm not that dumb. It was a free kayak left on a backcountry lake.

The highlight of Monday was a clean pit toilet. I wish I was joking. Everyone was talking about it all day. Clear blue skies and a 33 mile day were nice, but the pit toilet was nicer. It's rare to find one that doesn't smell like, well, a toilet. I theoretically could have hitched into Etna from Highway 3 here, but it would have completely messed up my resupply plans.

I hiked with Train Wreck and Third Wind off and on through the afternoon, and it was nice to have some conversation partners to work through some stuff with. (Most of the time I've been hiking within a few miles of them, but walking by myself.) That night we got rained on as we set up camp. I had brief hope for California, but instead it was just a few light drizzles over the course of a half hour. Maybe next time.

Tuesday felt much harder than the elevation profile looked. I had to earn that 29 mile day. My phone consistently claimed to have service while not actually having service, which made for some frustrating phone calls. "Huh, what? Oh, now I can hear you. Wait, what was that?" Apologies to my Jimmy and Lauren for having to deal with that.

I did just under 6 miles by 8 am today, and got my resupply done fast after breakfast. The day has been spent lounging around our nice Airbnb, and on phone calls with family. Train Wreck has hyped up Lost and Found's cooking skills, so dinner should be something good pretty soon. Then we'll watch the 2016 Ghostbusters movie, and probably call it an early night.

- Happy Meal, 1052

Half-Asleep in Shasta (1498.3 mi +70.3 -73.1)

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Next stop for packages is still Ashland. 7/30 (Friday) is looking like a pipe dream, so 8/2 (Monday) is when I'll pick up there:

Hold for PCT hiker ETA 8/2

Matt Wismer

c/o General Delivery

Ashland, OR 97520

I did take that zero day in Burney. The rest was greatly appreciated. I got another Happy Meal for lunch, and this one came with a toy! Space Jam Yosemite Sam will now be hiking the rest of the way with me. I also got dinner with Jon, who caught up during the zero day.

My first day out of Burney started a bit late, with me on trail after breakfast just before 10 am. I hiked a few miles and then hung out at Burney Falls for about 2 hours. The falls were nice and cool, and just awesome to look at. I ran into Beekeeper there, and we ended up hanging out a bunch over the next few days.

The coolest part of Burney Falls is that the water doesn't just come down over the top. It also seeps through the rock and comes out in seemingly random other places partway down the falls. So it's not one waterfall - there are dozens. It's well worth the drive if you find yourself in the area, or want to plan a trip. There was also a small general store with soft serve ice cream.

That night I did a dry camp, which hasn't happened to me in a while. A 3L water carry - the horror! (If I start needing to do 4L and 5L carries again I'm gonna actually be mad.) The views of Mt. Shasta from my campsite were awesome, and I was optimistic there would be more and better views as I got closer. Silly me. (The pictures from here all have Smiles' tent in them, because I was too lazy to stand up.)

Then Thursday morning I stayed up between 5000' and 6000', before descending a bit at the end of the day. The ridge was mostly wooded, so the views didn't line up with the magic I got as I woke up. That night I camped with Beekeeper, Balloons, and Matador at a pretty unremarkable spot.

On Friday the descent continued. McCloud River had a perfectly timed pit toilet, but I couldn't convince myself to go swimming in the murky water at 9 am. Instead I took lunch by small stream, and then washed off my legs (one at a time - the photo of being halfway done gives a good sense of how much dirt we're talking about) once I got to Squaw Valley Creek, which had some swimming holes, but none near where I got water.

Friday was very smoky. Presumably from the Dixie Fire to the south, but also maybe from any of the other fires raging through NorCal and Oregon right now. There were some really good places for views of Shasta, but at that point visibility was under a mile, not nearly enough to see it. The afternoon sun looked a really cool red (that didn't turn out right in the photos), and you could look directly at it after about 4 pm, which was odd. I didn't even have to do the partial-eclipse-squint, I just looked normally.

On Friday night I pushed a little further than usual (34.4 - tie for longest day) to get into position to take an early morning (7:09) bus into Shasta. I wasn't able to set an alarm, because my phone was just about dead after talking with my brothers the previous afternoon. I didn't sleep particularly well, since I kept waking up and checking the time on my Kindle, until I eventually got up at 5:15, getting to the bus stop around 6:45.

But, uh, the bus runs M-F. While confirming that my phone ran out of battery. So I was looking for a ride near a rarely-used onramp, and met Swiss Miss and Hobo, a Swiss couple. (Swiss Miss also does drink hot chocolate every night, since I know you were wondering.) I got first-hand experience with how distinct Swiss German is from High German. (They occasionally talked to each other in German, and I could barely pick out individual sounds, let alone understand what they were saying. I did understand when Hobo say "80 kilometers", by that was about it.) We eventually got a ride into town from someone who just dropped off a hiker (since why else would you use the Soda Creek Rd exit of I-5), and we ate breakfast together before I went to do my resupply.

I am officially in the bubble now. There are crazy numbers of hikers on trail right now. There was a trail log that I hit early this morning. I was the first hiker to sign it today, at 6:15, but about 35 hikers signed in on each of the past two days. While moving you still feel like you're alone, but during hiking hours (an hour after sunrise to an hour before sunset), you'll see people if you sit down for more than 15 minutes. It's weird meeting so many new people all of the time.

- Happy Meal, 1051

Might be taking a Zero in Burney Today (1411.3 mi +67.3 -73.1)

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Next stop for packages is gonna be Ashland, with my estimated arrival on 7/30 (which is a Friday, so 8/2, that Monday, is probably more realistic):

Hold for PCT hiker ETA 7/30

Matt Wismer

c/o General Delivery

Ashland, OR 97520

It ended up being a "free" 44.1 trail miles to get north of the fire, and then I've been hiking fast from there to Burney. Now I've got two fire closures to come back and hike. There have been some cool off-trail sights recently, and it is beginning to get hot and dry again. Most of my water carries are around 10 miles still, but I had a 13.3 mile carry yesterday that worries me a bit. Hopefully it doesn't get worse between here and Oregon.

After calling some family members on Saturday morning, I had some weird bear canister-related constraints on where I could camp. Lassen National Park requires bear-proof containers for overnight food storage, which meant that my options when leaving Chester were either under 15 miles, to not enter the park, over 34 miles, to get past the park, or 19 miles, to stay at the campsite with bear lockers. I went with the 19, and ran into Bonobo and Third Wind, along with meeting Train Wreck. And a bunch of others, since the fire has caused a thru-hiker bubble by taking people who were hiking aross multiple days and putting them all in the same spot.

Getting to Warner Valley Camp had me pass by Terminal Geyser, which is the above photo. Apparently it's technically a steam vent and not a geyser, but I was nonetheless pleased.

Third Wind and Train Wreck went for the 24 hour challenge when leaving Warner Valley Camp on Sunday, and they successfully hiked over 50 miles in those 24 hours. Bonobo and I hiked a measely 34.4 miles (my furthest day so far), and wished them luck as it got dark.

Around 27 miles on Sunday there was a convenient gas station to get some extra calories at. And the Subway Caves, where I dropped my pack before entering, and so didn't have my phone to take pictures. Lava tubes are pretty cool, in case you were unsure.

I was definitely feeling the 34 miles when I started on Monday, but wanted to get into Burney anyway. Third Wind and Train Wreck split a room with me, and we all got takeout Chinese and went to bed by 7 pm. 10/10 great night, would recommend.

I'm now waiting for laundry to finish and wondering if I should get on trail around dinnertime and Nero out (probably 5-10 miles), or if I should take my first full Zero since staying with Chris and his parents in LA. Some tough decisions.

Happy Meal, 1334

My World's On Fire. How 'Bout Yours? (1087.0 mi +6.0 -29)

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Halfway! Ahead of pace! More wildfires! Huzzah!

I left Sierra City into a long, hot 3000' climb, starting right at 4 pm. It honestly wasn't as hard as it sounds. I ended up behind Third Wind and Maverick and ahead of Jon, and haven't seen any of them since. I also saw my 4th rattlesnake that day, and got rattled at for the 3rd time. Still not a good ratio. Got a good tentsite near a lake at the end of the day, but didn't do any swimming. (Swims are reserved for the heat of the day for me.)

Then I did a longish day through some cool old burn areas that were also being logged. The orangish brown of dead pine needles combined with the black of burned bark was very Halloween. The talk of the day was the upcoming wildfire, though there was no official communication from the PCTA (as far as I saw) at that point.

Early the next day I decided to try out a 32 mile day, and the PCTA recommended not hiking north of Belden. Which meant a 32 mile day and then a 19 mile day into Belden to resupply. I had barely enough food for it, but was struggling hard when I rolled into lunch (18.5 miles in) and met Cheese Slice, AM Drive, and Magnet. They saw my sorry state and gave me a Honey Bun and some Pop Tarts, which put me from "barely enough food" to "hiking is fun". I ended up not camping with them because I Zen'd passed the campsite we all intended to camp at.

They beat me out of camp this morning, so I was weirdly alone for the first 12 miles. I saw the smoke from the fire when I got on a ridge, and also got cell service. I learned that the PCTA closed the section of trail I was on, while I was on it. The smoke also looked extremely worrying, not that I'm an expert in how wildfire smoke looks. At that point I had 6.5 miles down to Belden or 12.5 back out of the closure. (And there was a typo that confused me about the southern edge of the closure.) Naturally I decided to descend into the valley at double-time. And by double-time I mean I was running most of it. I made 6.5 miles in about 80 minutes, passing some of the friends I made the day before.

Now I need to figure out how to get past the fire closure. (More free miles! Now that I don't need them anymore...) I'm currently thinking a stay in Quincy with hiker friends, then the bus up to Chester and a hitch to trail. But the plan is still flexible.

- Happy Meal, 1033

Sierra City Siesta (1187.0 mi -10.0 -29)

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Steadily gaining on pace, which is fun to see. I should be on pace by the halfway point if I keep hiking like this!

These past few days had a lot of good quotes. Leaving South Lake Tahoe, I got a ride from a guy who hiked the AT back in 1999, and "had a lot of trail karma to pay back". He was talking about hiking, and mentioned "that place you go in your head where the miles melt away", which definitely resonated with me at this point. Sometimes it feels like every mile is a struggle, and sometimes it feels like 10 miles just passed in the blink of an eye.

Went for a nice swim in Aloha Lake a few miles out of SLT with Third Wind, but then pressed on to camp, since there were a lot of weekenders. Maverick (who I met after this, but he camped there) confirmed that this was the right move a few minutes ago. There were a couple of poorly behaved off-leash dogs that kept him up all night.

The next day Third Wind and I decided to do a 30, so we could meet up with Jon again. (There was a small general store right by trail that he resupplied at instead of going into SLT, so he ended up a few miles ahead of us.) It was a good day for a big day, since the miles were pretty easy, and there weren't many breathtaking views until where we camped. We watched sunset and sunrise there, along with Slip n' Slide and Goat. It was awesome, and so was the stargazing. I stayed up way too late stargazing, then woke up in the middle of the night and stargazed some more after the Milky Way was fully visible. (It wasn't ideal conditions, as you could see the city glow from Reno off in the distance, but it was still marvelous.) Maverick camped a few miles earlier, and woke up very early to hike to our spot for sunrise.

Did I mention that I caved to the thru-hiker hivemind and got Altra Lone Peaks in SLT? So far they've been alright. I'd prefer something more minimalist, but zero-drop + wide toe box makes for a pretty good shoe, even if there is a little too much padding. I mention this because the next day, Third Wind was with me and Jon at a poorly marked trail intersection, and said "I see more Altra footprints going left, so that must be the PCT." She was right.

We hiked from the amazing sunrise to the Donner Ski Ranch, which was hosting a dirt bike race, and giving away free 40s to thru-hikers. I spent a ton of money on food while drinking my 40 (and then waiting a bit for everything to settle). It was a hot afternoon, so the rest was doubly appreciated. Some other hikers mentioned going back to a siesta schedule.

I stayed that night in Peter Grubb Hut, which was wonderful. Multiple indoor tables and a wood stove which was totally unnecessary in summer. And a 2-story privy!

Yesterday had a nice swim in a reservoir with an early dinner at East Meadow Campground, with Roller, Jon, and Third Wind. Roller stayed there, I pressed 3 miles on, and the other two went a bit further.

Now it's Maverick, Third Wind, Jon, and I in Sierra City all by 10 am. We're planning to stay in town until the heat of the day breaks, and do a shorter day today. (It will still probably be about 21, since I'm technically at 1195.4 right now.)

- Happy Meal, 1028 flying insects killed

Kennedy Meadows, North (1092.3 mi -20.7 -29)

I'm actually in South Lake Tahoe (gaining on the schedule but behind my ETA because math is hard), but I had to reuse the title. And I got some wonderful packages! Thanks to Heather for the snicker doodles and Mom for the new socks (which arrived just as my old ones got holes - moms are psychic) and some nice backpacker meals to pack out, including delicious freeze-dried ice cream.

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No new care package drop yet. It likely won't be for a couple of weeks, maybe even until I'm in Oregon.

This is a good picture, because I just turned off the PCT without realizing it, and would be walking next to the stunning Thousand Island Lakes for another 10 or 15 minutes before realizing that I wasn't climbing up to Donahue Pass the way I was supposed to be...

Last post left me in Mammoth, and my hitches in and out were definitely the most noteworthy. Into Mammoth I hitched with Arun, a 3-time JMTer who was doubtful he'd be able to go again anytime soon, given his 2.5 year old son. We talked a bit about housing in LA. (I didn't bring it up, I swear! It's been a frequent topic of conversation as we get into the areas that have been poisoned by the spillover from the SF and LA crises.) Anyway, he literally used the phrase "Not In My Backyard" when I referred to multifamily housing, but then assured me that the real NIMBYs were in the Bay Area, so it was fine. I was going through an internal emotional rollercoaster for sure. Then we got picked up by a couple who left their car interface in French and worked for JPL in Pasadena, which made for a cool change of topic.

The way out was just as noticeable, because I left my orange dry bag behind when I got picked up. It had everything electronic in it, except my phone in my pocket, as well as all my ID. John was more than happy to turn all the way around after I freaked out in the passenger seat, than we talked religion, politics, and generational change for a while in a way that was very enjoyable. Definitely my best conversation during a hitch, and it gave me some good things to think about on trail.

On the day out of Mammoth I did some side trails at John's recommendation, and ran into him hiking the other way twice, including shouting a final goodbye as he was eating lunch next to a roaring river that the PCT took a footbridge over. If you're ever in Mammoth, Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls come highly recommended, and are both pretty short hikes.

I only made 10 trail miles that day by 5 pm, because I ran into a group who stopped the day short to play D&D, many of them for the first time. I jumped into the conversation and then the game, playing a cleric to keep all of the new characters alive. Phone apps for 5th edition are pretty sweet, and we were camping on a rock with good cell service. I was the only one to almost die (to a trap after the main fight had ended, of course), as it should go. They mentioned continuing, though I ended up getting ahead of the group the next day.

The next day I went 27 miles to get into Tuolomne Meadows, a little general store I got a little resupply at. (Not including wandering around Thousand Island Lakes, off trail, for a mile or two.) I normally crave ice cream on trail, but their freezer was broken, so I drank two quarts of milk instead. Then I went to the Tuolomne Meadows Backpackers Campground, where I found a confusing phrase: "Walk-in Backpackers Campground 15 Minute Parking". Apparently many car campers use the Backpackers Campground because it's cheaper, so you can drive into the campground to drop off your stuff, and then put your car elsewhere overnight. (By elsewhere I of course mean street parking just outside the campground.) It made for a weird vibe, and I re-met Third Wind (previously Amanda seen between Walker Pass and Kennedy Meadows, South), and met Jon, who was hiking with her. We all left somewhat late the next morning, but managed 25 miles anyway.

I also forgot to charge my phone at Tuolomne, which, combined with aggressive battery usage while playing D&D, gave me just enough to get into Kennedy Meadows, North. So I didn't call anyone over the holiday weekend...

The next day, 4th of July, I was feeling my first 30 mile day since the Sierras. I woke up early and went out hard, and after 5.5 hours had made just over 10 miles. Which is, uh, not fast. The trail had other plans for me that day, getting "only" 23 miles in after what felt like my hardest day all week. Thanks, Yosemite.

The next day I did 25 by 4 pm to get into Kennedy Meadows, North, so it was just the one day that had to be ridiculously hard. Naturally the shuttle left at 3:30, so I got to see it load and hang out for a few minutes, while descending to Sonora Pass. Then it drove away while I was still descending. Getting a ride (from a Matt, none the less) was very easy, and happened when I passed him on trail, before getting to the pass.

In Kennedy Meadows, North (aka Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station), Third Wind and Jon already booked a teepee for the three of us when I arrived. (They both were on the shuttle.) I received my bear canister from home, giving me two separate bear cans. Then, since bear cans are no longer needed north of Sonora Pass, I shipped one home and returned the other. The non-bear-can goods (a better poncho, resupply, and encouraging note) were very much appreciated, better late than never. Then I closed down the bar at 11 pm and woke up hungover the next day, after having slept away most of the morning. (I got up at 7:15, and the first shuttle out left at 10:00.)

Leaving Kennedy Meadows, North, I also ran into Bonobo, who has done a bunch of cycling around the world. Some good conversation made the day go fast, and now we had a group of 4. (Third Wind is named for her motivation coming late in the day, opposite to me, so often we wouldn't all necessarily camp together, but we tended to see each other at least once a day.)

And then we actually did a 30 mile day! Well, everyone but Jon, who laid up a few miles short. Went from mile marker 1040.0 to 1070.0, passing Kale going SOBO for a section. (Who I didn't know but others did.) This area had a ton of beautiful lakes, and was great to hike through. Wednesday was definitely the day I got closest to swimming in a lake, and did dip my feet a few times.

Finally, we made it to South Lake Tahoe. Third Wind contacted a trail angel for the 4 of us to stay with, but then Bonobo missed a message and Jon decided to stay on trail, so it's now me and Third Wind who just stayed the night with Kathy and Jon. They've been hosting hikers for a few years now, with the two of us as numbers 136 and 137. We are a wonderful taco salad and I was just given coffee while writing this post. It's been a great stay so far, but I'll be back on trail for at least a few miles today.

I still need to go into town for a resupply and a new pair of shoes, but those sound like problems for after breakfast.