Days 111&112 Miles 1251.5-1288.6

Day 111

Start: 1251.5 End: 1273.1 Total: 21.6

We had an earlier start than normal, up at 5:30, out by 6:30. Yet everyone who shared that campsite had already left by the time we got up. I guess no one really wants to hike in the extreme heat that has been the normal lately.

We had an initial 700 feet climb over a mile, followed by flat terrain and downhill for another 2 miles. We had confirmed those were raspberries and were keeping our eye out for more (actually turns out they are THIMBLE berries, but still edible and delicious). We didn’t see any and soon passed another bridge and river marking the start of our 7 mile, 3000 foot climb.

 It was still early yet the day was heating up and I was caked in sweat the entire way. Mantis and I took our time and about halfway up took a quick break in the middle of the trail. I was listening to Lord of the Rings and just taking it one step at a time. After our short break we started walking again and I heard Mantis shout out behind me. I looked behind me and he was dropping his pack in excitement. He had spotted a whole hillside of raspberries. I dropped my pack and we started to hunt for the ripe ones and feast!

We walked a bit further before getting some water then having a final 2 miles remaining to the top. When we got up there we got some more water then continued on to find a shady spot for lunch. There were still some burn marks coming up and not much shade near the top.

We took an hour lunch break then had a really nice 5.5 miles of rolling hills through the forest. We got some more water then another 2 miles to a road crossing then 2 more miles uphill. 

At the road crossing we took another break and I was starting to feel tired. I was really hoping for trail magic and starting to really crave ice cream. There was no one there but about 5 minutes into our break, right after I spoke out loud my desire for ice cream and chips an older man in a fun party shirt came up to us and asked us if we wanted a beer or ice cream. We shot up in excitement and eagerly followed him to his van. 

His name was Sprinter and he thru hiker in 1979, with a big frame backpack and a map and compass. Sprinter gave us cookies, muffins, bananas, apples, apple sauce, a beer and an ice cream sandwich. He showed us some of his photos from back then and it was so cool to see and think about what the trail was like back then. He said there were about 100 people who did it his year but he didn’t see that many. 

We were chatting with Sprinter when this woman came in hot in her red car. She parked close to Sprinter, blasting her music, left all four doors of her car open and asked for a chair. Sprinter was shocked but pulled out a chair for her and she came in drinking a modelo and with a pack of Senecas, lighting one up after the other. She left her car running and the music blaring and said it would cost us $10,000 to turn it off. 

Her name was Debrah. She said she gets paid $10,000 a day for doing this. She was rattling off a bunch of things about fires and flying helicopters and said if we went to Belden (where we were heading) we would die, the whole area has been evacuated and her and her fire chief are working on putting it out. Other than being a fire fighter, she said she was a doctor, knew Jim carry, spoke 7 languages and is a 70 year old virgin (despite her 3 kids). However, she said staring at Sprinter, that could change when she meets a handsome man with blue eyes. She starting heavily hitting on Sprinter and giving us some trivia questions admist her constant rambling that was difficult to follow. I answered one correctly and she said I got a prize and motioned for me to follow her to her trunk. I was nervous for what I might find but she ordered me to grab all the clothes and pick out a dress. We were planning to go to a music festival so I did grab one to carry. 

It was an entertaining experience but after a while we said our goodbyes and hiked on. We hiked a couple more miles that evening and found a nice spot with a view to call home for the night. We had dinner on a rock overlooking the valley before going to bed.

Day 112

Start: 1273 End: 1288.6 Total: 15.6

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise before going back to bed for a little bit. Around 6 I started getting up and we were walking an hour later. I had been in the habit of making my breakfast and coffee in my tent to avoid all the mosquitos outside. 

We had a bit of an uphill at the beginning until steady rolling hills. At the top we were rewarded with distant views of Mt. Lassen (I think) and the Three Lakes. The first part was forested then we walked through another big burn zone that had left all the trees charred. 

We stopped at a stream, 5 miles from the bottom. I had a quick lunch and filtered some water then I headed down the mountain before Nick. It was so hot already and there was no shade. The entire mountainside had burnt down and was left completely exposed.

It was a 4000 foot drop in 6 miles and was extremely steep switchbacks all the way down. I went pretty quickly, practically running part of the way as that was easier. I was running down when I had to stop in my tracks, there was a whole mountainside of thimble berries. I stopped and picked a handful before continuing on my journey down.

Every turn I would see the cool river below and I steadily got closer and closer to it. My friend Emile was meeting us at the bottom to say hi on his way up to bend. I finally got the bottom and was greeted by him and his gifts of fruit and gatoraid. He was working remotely so had set up a nice little office by the river. We chatted a bit on his lunch break and once mantis got down we all took a dip in the river. We parted ways as Mantis and I were trying to get to Quincy and Emile had a bit of work left to do.

We walked through the small town of Belden Ca (population 10) before making it out the road.

There wasn’t much traffic and no shade but I was confidant that we would get a hitch easily. I told mantis that the first car we would see would get us. A few minutes later a white van being closely followed by a few cars comes speeding around the corner. Going way too fast to be able to stop, so I thought. Sure enough though they skirted over to the side of the road so quickly and offered to give us a ride. They were going to Quincy, for the High Sierra Music Festival. We had heard of that the week before and were also trying to attend.

Their names were Trevor and Adam and they were absolute legends. They gave us a cold beer, stopped at the store a mile down the road where I had shipped my shoes and took us all the way to Quincy. They got us really excited for the festival as they have been attending for 10+ years.

They dropped us off in Quincy and we had found a trail angel to host us for the night. His name was Pounder and he hiked the pct in 1991. We took us to the toy shop where they give free ice cream to pct hikers. We then went back to his house and showered and did laundry before going back to the store to get burger supplies for grilling out. We had cheeseburgers, corn, beans and chips and for desert he baked some cookies and we put some more ice cream with them. We then played some dominos before going to bed.