Day 5 - Belden Town... during a Funk Festival.

My alarm went off at 5:30 this morning but I managed to ignore it till 6. Did I mention two southbound thru hikers pulled in at dusk last night?  They did and we chatted very briefly before they set up their tent and settled in to sleep. They are flip-floppers, having skipped the difficult Sierra conditions and have walked to Canada already. Just getting back on trail now, hoping to finish their hike at Kennedy Meadows south before they have to go back to work. Anyway, the reason I brought them up is because they got up and were out of camp in 15 minutes. I took 30 minutes which I thought was pretty good, but then I'm not trying to make 25-30 miles a day. I can't even imagine. 

Anyway, I started walking at 6:30 and made the best use of the cool morning temperatures. The trail was mostly downhill and some of it was that nasty rocky stuff I've been complaining of. Ankle twisters for sure. 

I crossed more creeks and saw some flowers I'm not familiar with. Anyone know what this one is?

At Indian Creek (they didn't specify which tribe) a large bridge spanned the creek, suitable for horse travel. In fact this section of the PCT is maintained by a group of volunteer horsey types. I can't call them horse "men."  

I got to the big river and saw the train blowing by. Very loud, something I get to experience tonight since it's not 100 feet from where I am hanging, up the hill. 

Eventually I came strolling into BeldenTown around 10am. I tried the restaurant for breakfast but they wouldn't seat me, since the kitchen was so behind on orders. I was sad since I'd only had my breakfast drink (with java) and was hungry. Fortunately they have food trucks here during festivals and I got, possibly, the worlds largest burrito. I couldn't even hold it to eat it so I had to spoon it. It was yummy!

I spent the bulk of the day charging electronics and looking on the internet. Grim times in this ole USA. Anyway I eventually had a couple of beers and a turkey burger at the bar, sitting next to an interesting young man named Cody. He works some, travels some and owns a 1971 VW bus. We bonded over that for sure. 

I eventually wandered off to try and find a place to hang my hammock, which was not easy. I did find a spot and am settled in, four feet from the river. 

My alarm will be going off at 5:30am as I have 2,600 feet to climb in 4 miles tomorrow. Best done in the early morning. There is no water for the first 6 miles so I'll have to carry a couple of liters in addition to 7 days of food. Let the whining begin🤣.

Day 4 - Williams Cabin Site - mile 1290

Last night, after listening to some more Harry Potter, I got my ear plugs out and ready to put in, should I need them. I woke up around 5am, earplugs still in my hand. I guess I slept well. 

I took my time getting ready and started hiking at 7:20. For the first half mile the trail climbed up to Frog Mountain. The trail was steep but the morning was fine and I got this kind of view. 

Once on top I was walking in a meadow with wild flowers and a mother/child duo. 

Sorry about the fuzziness but they don't stand still and the zoom on my phone isn't the best. Next up was Andesite Spring which was flowing well, if not at high volume. 

The flowers around springs are stunning. 
Here and there huge trees have come down. Sometimes across the trail, which necessitates crawling over, or sometimes they fall away from the trail. This giant tree had a huge root ball. I present a small selfie for your viewing pleasure. 

Some open terrain before the steep, very steep descent into Chips Creek drainage. 

Don't ever let anyone tell you that downhill hiking is easier than uphill. The trail after this became rocky, steep and very lush because there is so much water in this canyon. I had read somewhere that Chips Creek could be dangerous so I was a bit nervous about how difficult it could possibly be. The first crossing was ankle deep. Easy peasy. 

The second crossing was less easy but still only calf deep in one spot. Some people take off their shoes to cross creeks and rivers. Not me. I figure my shoe tread is safer than any other choice and frankly, it feels fantastic to get my feet cooled off. Ahhhhhh. 

More and more downhill and my legs were starting to hurt, nothing like an injury but just tired and achy. I could easily turn an ankle when I'm that tired so I was trying to factor that into my decision about where to end my day. 

Myrtle Flat? Nope. Then I met a couple of hikers toiling up the trail and they recommended this spot. Water nearby, blackberries in fruit and it was less than a mile from where I met them. I rolled in here at 1:30pm and scoped out a place to hang my hammock. 

Here is the dilemma I'm facing. Belden is only  5-6 miles away from my current spot. However, Belden is a resort that has music festivals every weekend during the summer. Today is Friday and this weekend the music starts at 5pm. The resort is full but my resupply box is there so I have to go in to get my stuff. (Plus the PCT goes right through the resort.) It's also hot as Hades down in that canyon. I had hoped to get a couple of miles from Belden today so I could get in there early tomorrow while it is cooler then try to climb out of the canyon before it gets too hot later in the day. Staying here tonight will make it harder to do that tomorrow, but truth be told, I've already put in 8.5 miles today and I have no wish to hike downhill for another 3 or 4 miles. My dogs are barking. So, in the interest of enjoyment and not hurrying, I believe I'm just gonna park it here for the rest of the day. Tomorrow will take care of itself. 

By the way. The Sugar Pinecones are gigantic in this neck of the woods. For reference, my shoe is a women's size 10. I wouldn't want one of those pine ones landing on my head. 

Day 3 - Frog Spring - mile 1298.5

Last night I got into camp so early that I had hours to spare. For the first time ever I listened to a book on tape - the first Harry Potter book. Wow, what an experience! I read it when it first came out years ago but I've seen the movie many times. It was wonderful to have the films images to fill out the spoken words.  There is so much more detail in the book plus the voices are fun to hear as well. I listened for about 3 hours and had to force myself to turn it off. Looking forward to listening again tonight. 

Around 8:30 last night I decided to go ahead and set up the tarp. It was cloudy and windy and I didn't want to have to run around in the rain if it started later on. Unfortunately I was lazy and didn't set the end flaps cuz I'd never put rope on them, never having needed them in the past. Around 3am they started whipping around, hitting the underside of my hammock. I wasn't going to be able to sleep through that so I had to get up, find my extra rope, make leads and stake them out. Crummy timing but it was easy enough with the bright moon. At least it's a done deal and the tarp will be effective in any storm now. 

I woke up to my alarm at 6 am and lazed there for a bit. Till I remembered the heat and how I don't like walking when it's hot. I got to walking about 7:15 and the next 6.5 miles were a walk down memory lane. 

This was the section I had to hike when I was injured last year. I kept thinking to myself "How did I hike this with my hip not firmly in the socket?" Fortunately it was not a particularly difficult section and I walked up to Cold Spring at around 11am. 

A nice walk and I am glad to know I made it past that section. I don't think I realized just how worried I was something would happen to me again in that section. Silly I know but I'm relieved it is behind me. 

I spent 2 hours there, rinsing out some clothes and eating lunch. A foursome of 30-something thru hikers joined me, then a couple of 50ish guys joined us. They have been section hiking for years and had good stories to tell. It was nice to chat with them and since I've been where they are going I had some intel I could share. 

The next 2-3 hours were spent walking on new-to-me trail. I spent some time in a burn area where to new trees are coming on strong. 

And the flowers smelled as strong as they were pretty.

It is a tradition to put some kind of natural trail marker off the side of the trail when you reach 100 or 1,000 or ?  Today there was no trail space at 1,300 so someone put out a 1,299.9 sign. 

I didn't plan to go all the way to Frog Spring today but I couldn't find any suitable trees way up this high so I had to hike the last uphill, even though I didn't want to do it. That puts me at 11 miles for today. Not bad. 

Frog Spring is a two inch wide trickle but it is clear and tasty. I found some trees that worked though it's a bit funny. I have a small tree under my tarp tonight. 

One last obligatory photo of tonight's dinner. One of my very best favorite, Thai Chicken. It looks ugly but with peanut butter most things are good. 

I have excellent reception here but once I drop down into the Belden area I don't know if I'll be able to post to this blog. Not to worry. I'll catch up later on. 

Day 2 - Mile 1309, or there abouts.

I had a very hard time going to sleep last night so at 12:30 am I finally took a sleep aid. When 6:30 rolled around, and the sun peaked between the trees, I got up, an hour later than I usually get up but since this day was pretty short it didn't matter. 

I was truly amazed to find my legs feeling fine this morning. No soreness or lingering aches and pains. Last night I did massage my legs with pot cream, which apparently did the trick. Yea for medicinal plants!

The first three miles were nice and not too taxing. The first water option was at Carter

Creek, 7/10 of a mile down and back again. 

I don't think so... Second choice was Little Cub Spring which was 3/10 miles down a steep trail. I picked this spring because it is the less steep option closest to my next water source tomorrow at Cold Spring. 

Way down over that edge... steep and hot getting there and back but the water is grand. A few miles on and there was a choice for another spring but it was another steep down and back. I hope I've got enough water to get 6.5 miles before the next source. The good news is that after today the water situation will vastly improve and I won't have to carry so much water at any one time. 

The trail today changed from open meandering among volcanic rocks

to shaded tree cover. Amazingly there are still some wild flowers out there. 

The clouds returned early today but so far no rain. I have my tarp set up so I can quickly unfurl it if it starts to rain. 

Sometime this afternoon I passed the spot where I hurt myself last year. I kept looking but the area must have had some trail maintenance last year so I didn't see it. It's just as well though I did worry all afternoon something would happen. Nothing occurred but simply being sore and tired. I hope I recover tonight as well as I did last night. 

Girl Scout tacos!  Ground turkey with taco seasonings, freeze dried corn and cheddar cheese and Fritos! Yummmmmm. 

Day 2 - Mile 1309, or there abouts.

I had a very hard time going to sleep last night so at 12:30 am I finally took a sleep aid. When 6:30 rolled around, and the sun peaked between the trees, I got up, an hour later than I usually get up but since this day was pretty short it didn't matter. 

I was truly amazed to find my legs feeling fine this morning. No soreness or lingering aches and pains. Last night I did massage my legs with pot cream, which apparently did the trick. Yea for medicinal plants!

The first three miles were nice and not too taxing. The first water option was at Carter

Creek, 7/10 of a mile down and back again. 

I don't think so... Second choice was Little Cub Spring which was 3/10 miles down a steep trail. I picked this spring because it is closest to my next water source tomorrow at Cold Spring. 

Way down over that edge... steep and hot getting there and back but the water is grand. A few miles on and there was a choice for another spring but it was another steep down and back. I hope I've got enough water to get 6.5 miles before the next source. The good news is that after today the water situation will vastly improve and I won't have to carry so much water at any one time. 

The trail today changed from open meandering among volcanic rocks

to shaded tree cover. Amazingly there are still some wild flowers out there. 

The clouds returned early today but so far no rain. I have my tarp set up so I can quickly unfurl it if it starts to rain. 

Sometime this afternoon I passed the spot where I hurt myself last year. I kept looking but the area must have had some trail maintenance last year so I didn't see it. It's just as well though I did worry all afternoon something would happen. Nothing occurred but simply being sore and tired. I hope I recover tonight as well as I did last night. 

Girl Scout tacos!  Ground turkey with taco seasonings, freeze dried corn and cheddar cheese and Fritos! Yummmmmm. 

Day 1 - mile 1318.5 - Near Butt Mt

The day started with breakfast at the hotel and it was just so-so. I realized how I measure the quality of a hotel breakfast by how they cook the eggs and the ones here were little round disks, about three inches across. They didn't look very tasty so I passed. But, it was good enough to get me going.

Angela dropped me off about 7:45 and after the obligatory photo, the last time I'll be clean for a while, I was off. Thank you Angela! You saved the day.

The trail climbed a bit then dropped into a meadow where a "seasonal" stream could be found. This year it was a running creek, right down the middle of the path. Nothing for it but to just slosh along till I got through. 

After about three miles I stopped at Soldier Creek to water up. This means I left there with 4 liters of water since I would be stopping for the night before the next water source. Many times in the next seven miles I wished I hadn't committed to limiting my milages to 10 miles a day for the first section. Not because I wanted to do more but carrying 9+pounds of water for 7 miles is harder than carrying <5 for 10 miles. Which is where the next water source is. But no matter. I got here just fine though I am feeling the effects of carrying so much weight on day one. Hopefully rest will cure what ails me. 

I stopped to rest a bit and take an image of the "official" PCT mid point, for those walking the whole trail that is. 

At that point I started to notice the clouds building and it looked like there could be afternoon rain. A welcome event for me as it keeps things cool. About a mile from my stopping place it started to sprinkle so when I arrived at the listed campsite area I went looking for some likely trees. I did manage to get my hammock and tarp up in time to keep things mostly dry. Luckily it never poured. My umbrella kept my stuff dry while I scurried about getting things set up. 

I've seen 5 or 6 deer circling around this spot...apparently they are used to just walking through this area. They don't seem scared, just cautious. 

Dinner tonight was Cowgirl Pasta, a dinner of my own design. Even without a stove it rehydrated just fine. 

It's only 5pm but I'm laying down in my hammock to rest. I did manage to stop a couple of times and do some stretching and a bit of Gyrokinisis. For those of you who don't know, Gyrokinisis is a kind of yoga that is done sitting down. This style of exercise has saved my back so I'm definitely a fan. 

Tomorrow is another 10 mile day, with another heavy water carry. I may also pass the spot where I injured myself last year and I'm looking forward to getting past that area. Injury free of course. I guess I'm a bit nervous 😬

Phase two

Oh man have I had nothing but trouble with this brand new, super high tech locater beacon I'm trying to use. I have successfully learned to use the Mapshare function but I can not get my text messages to send. No matter what I try I'm not successful. So, no text messages till I am able to get the tech folks on the phone. Which probably won't be till I get to Sierra City. Hope I don't need to use that function before then. 

Angela and I left Groveland around 8:30 this morning and took our own sweet time getting here to Chester. We took the long way on Highway 70, through the Feather River canyon which was rugged and beautiful. The water was very enticing but hard to get down to. We stopped once at a rest stop and getting out of the car was a shock. It must have been nearly 100 degrees at about 3pm. We drove by Belden Town Resort where I should be by next Saturday. Hopefully it won't be so hot by the time I get there. 

Got to Chester about 4:30 and checked into a Best Western. I ran off the the grocery store to pick up some last minute goodies then Angela and I walked to the Kopper Kettle for dinner. The food was good enough but there was too much of it. Couldn't finish. 

Walking home we chanced upon a Chester specialty shop...

Back at the BW at sunset. 

An early breakfast and off to the trail I go. Angela will be continuing on the see friends in Oregon and Washington. Too bad I can't just split myself in two so I wouldn't miss anything in life.