Northern California - Part Two

Hi Folks! Welcome back for Part Two of my photos and reflections on the Northern California stretch of the PCT. I've been taking my time working on the blog, partially because I'm super busy, and partially because it is an emotional and confusing task to sift through the photos and memories and try to find words for experiences and feelings that feel very distinct but don't quite translate well into organised thought. Slowly but surely I'm working on it, but at this rate, I'll probably finish my blog well past my 1 year anniversary of my start date! :P Oh well, here is Northern California, Part 2!!!

When I left off, I had just made it to Belden, CA, and was relaxing and recharging (literally recharging my electronics) before it was time to head back out on trail, in the sweltering 35°C heat. At this point Mibs had decided to skip ahead to our next resupply in Chester, so I was officially hiking out all on my own!

After Belden the trail moves into Lassen National Forest, the mountains transitioning from the Sierra Nevada to the Cascade range, which continues out of California, all through Oregon, Washington, and into Canada. I was really enjoying making my own pace in this next section. It was only a few days to the next town, where I saw Mibs again, and I wasn’t really alone because I often ran into people I recognized or I camped by different trail friends, but I felt really confident and independent knowing that I was relying on only myself to keep moving and choose where and when I would stop.

Every now and then I would run into huge cows grazing in fields surrounded by forest on the side of a mountain... They were such a funny surprise every time! 

A view of a sweet camp spot that it was way too early to stop at (a frequent occurrence). 

In the second half of Nor Cal, a lot more signs started popping up that actually said 'Canada' on them. It was so exciting to see it and it made me feel just a tiny bit closer to home. 

Just before my next resupply I hit the PCT midpoint marker, officially having hiked half the trail – 1325 miles. It was SO joyful and exciting, but also a bit of a mental challenge. I was so proud to have hiked so far but also sobered by the fact that with all the time and effort I had put in, I still had to do the EXACT same distance all over again. I felt like I had already gone so far, and couldn't imagine that all that effort still only amounted to half the trail. Still, there was an extra bounce in my step after the halfway point, knowing that now the amount I had already hiked was getting larger and larger in comparison to what was left. Also, although I didn’t know it at the time, the second half of the hike went by MUCH faster than the first. 

The next resupply stop was Chester, a small but slightly more developed town where I managed to get included in the most amazing trail magic. The sweetest family hosted me and 9 other hikers at their house, letting us camp in their backyard, use their laundry machines and showers, feeding us delicious dinner and breakfast, making us margaritas, and also just being an all around fun and friendly family. (They also had an umbrella cockatoo, and those of you who know me well know that I was VERY excited about that). It’s hard to explain how amazing it feels during a hike to spend even a little bit of time inside a real house, sitting on a couch, using a real kitchen (or bathroom), and just soaking in that homey feeling. It was an amazing recharge, and it was also fun to spend time with some faces that were becoming familiar to me but who I hadn’t spent much time with yet. It was an awesome crew. 

Enjoying margaritas with some new friends

The amazing folks I got to hang out with in Chester
(minus the wonderful trail angel who was taking the picture)

I left Chester the following afternoon with the intention of hiking out 15 miles to the boundary of Lassen Volcanic National Park. I was so tired and unmotivated though, as I often was on days that I left town, so I only managed to push myself 10 miles, and then decided to stop and camp completely by myself for one of a handful of times on my hike. I loved every time I camped by myself, but this night I was a slight bit anxious because my site was close to a road which I expected to be empty (like nearly every dirt road near the trail always was) but it was actually surprisingly busy, which made me feel a bit exposed. I was also on edge because there was a wildfire nearby and it was my first time with smoke in the air (I would be getting VERY used to that later). 

View of a wildfire in the distance on my way out of Chester. I got nervous when the helicopters started buzzing by with huge water containers.

The next day I would be entering Lassen Volcanic National Park, which requires a bear canister to camp in. I didn't have one since dropping it after South Lake Tahoe, which meant I would need to hike through the whole park in one day, making it a 25 mile day (my record so far). Since I didn’t know how long that would take me, I got up at 4am and hit the trail.  It turned out to be one of my absolute favourite days on trail. Lassen is filled with active hydro-thermal features due to volcanic activity within the area, and since I have always been really into geology, I was thrilled. I did a short side trail to Terminal Geyser, which is a large steam vent, and I did an extra loop around Boiling Springs Lake, which is a small lake entirely fed by scalding hot sulphur springs, surrounded by colourful mineral deposits and bubbling mud pots. I absolutely loved those little bonus moments, even if they took extra time and mileage to see. I was so happy to be all by self experiencing these incredible reminders of the power and mystery of the earth. I was so filled with emotion to be able to witness these sights, feeling really connected to the earth and the trail. To top off the awesomeness of that day, I felt so good that I managed to hike 28 miles, totally hitting a record, and camped by a trail friend and had an awesome conversation with dinner. I went to bed that night feeling SO full, content, and proud of my progress. 

Terminal Geyser

Enjoying the steam vent, which was brightly illuminated by the sun that had just risen as I was arriving.

Boiling Springs Lake

View of Lassen Peak, perfectly visible thanks to an old burn area. 

The next day was another awesome one for me. I got up at 4:30am and hit the trail again, which allowed me to visit another cool volcanic formation, Subway Cave, in the early morning. It’s a lava tube created by a flow of molten rock travelling beneath its own cooled and hardened exterior, forming a strangely smooth cave full of unique volcanic features. Because I got there at 7am, I was able to go in completely alone, no hikers or tourists in sight. It was amazing and terrifying! Once you get into the cave it becomes completely pitch black (a headlamp was needed) and cold enough to see your breath. I LOVED it. I spent the whole time walking through with a huge smile on my face while also gripping my phone and trekking pole for dear life, thinking they would somehow save me if something jumped out at me :P. 

One entrance to the cave

Tube-shaped tunnel

Little signs throughout described different features. This one describes the lava-drip rock that patterned the ceiling of the cave (pictured below). 

After Subway Cave I headed back out into the heat and ascended onto Hat Creek Rim, a notoriously long, dry stretch of trail that traverses along the top of a fault where the earth’s crust has been shifted vertically, creating a long, 900+ foot rock wall alongside Hat Creek Valley. The trail is dry, barren, and unique, with stunning views of the valley and it’s volcanic history, as well as Lassen Peak where we just came from, and Mount Shasta where we were headed. I lucked out on Hat Creek Rim because a gentle breeze blew the entire time I hiked on it, keeping me surprisingly comfortable given the exposed landscape and lack of water sources. 

Photo of a major eruption in Hat Creek Valley from a sign at a lookout point.

On the top of Hat Creek Rim. Thanks to a giant wildfire several years back, it is now very dry and exposed.

To make it even better, both times I was just starting to get hot, overtired, and sore, I came across incredible trail magic to give me some rest and encouragement. First a cooler filled with ice cold drinks, fruits, and snacks, and then my second meeting with the legendary Coppertone, a trail angel who spends his summers travelling alongside the trail in his RV providing snacks and root beer floats to hikers at various access points on the trail throughout the whole hiking season.

My good friend, Macro, enjoying some unexpected trail magic in the form of coolers full of half frozen drinks and snacks!

Macro hiking along Hat Creek Rim. As you can see, at times the trail went really close to the edge, so you could really take in the views.

My day ended after having hiked 27 miles, camped on the edge of the Rim with one of the most stunning sunsets I’d seen yet on trail. 

I actually watched those hang gliders jump off the rim super close to me and soar into the sky - it was UNREAL. One of the coolest and most terrifying things I've ever seen. 

One of the few trees on the Rim - getting closer to sundown.

Some hikers settling in to watch the sunset at my camp spot. There were limited spots to camp on the rim without destroying the fragile new growth, so it was a crowded site. 

One of the most beautiful sunsets of the whole hike. (I'm pretty sure I say that for every sunset picture... I can't help it, the PCT makes for some AMAZING views!)

Around this time I got into a habit of camping with or near my buddy, Macro. I met Macro during my first week on trail and then saw him off an on after that, with a long gap over a couple months through the desert and Sierras. I had run into him for the first time in a while in Sierra City and after that he was often in my hiking bubble. After I stayed at the trail angel with him in Chester, we started camping with each other a lot, and occasionally hiking together for a few miles at a time and having amazing conversations about ALL kinds of things, sometimes serious and sometimes downright silly. 

Before I knew it I had another hiking partner, and although I wasn’t sure how long we could keep it up, since Macro is a faster hiker than me, we ended up fitting together well and I hiked with him all the way until the end of the trail! 

Macro victorious after battling a misplaced sign out of the ground and fixing it to point the right way. 

To be clear, having a hiking partner doesn’t necessarily mean that you hike together, it’s usually someone that you coordinate your mileage with so that you camp together at night, do your resupplies together, and occasionally take snack or lunch breaks together. The majority of the time I would be hiking completely by myself, other than the occasional 5-10 mile stretch where I might match my speed with someone so we could chat for a bit. 

I loved having Macro as a hiking partner, he is a super kind, thoughtful, and funny guy who I quickly vibed with, and with whom I could still have my independence to hike the way I wanted to. If I needed to do a shorter day, I could tell him I wanted to camp earlier, and he might decide to stop with me, or keep going, knowing we would catch up later. We had openness and flexibility, but generally chose to keep up with each other because we enjoyed each other’s company. 

It meant a lot to know that at the end of each day, I would have a good friend to socialise with, to process the events and reflections of the day, to laugh with, and to share the experience with. As a fairly introverted extrovert, the balance of spending a lot of time hiking alone but still getting social time each day was very beneficial for me. It was also a good challenge for to get more comfortable with myself, as I spent 12-14 hours a day alone in the woods. 

The time I spent on trail with my two hiking partners, Mibs and Macro, reaffirmed some things I know about myself. In a group of people, it’s easy for me to slip into unhelpful thoughts, wanting to fit in and have everybody like me, which results in my feeling often unsure about my relationships, unable to bond, and generally kind of lonely. I am a person who thrives in smaller groups and closer relationships with individuals. After splitting up from the people I hiked through the Sierras with, I often felt really sad about the separation, but ultimately I am grateful things worked out the way they did, because the meaningful connections I was able to form with Mibs and Macro in exchange suited me well, lowered my anxiety, and really making my hike a much better experience overall. The friendships I made with those two will be lifelong and I wouldn't trade the time I had with them for anything!

Macro and I also managed to fit our pacing together really well because although I was a slower hiker than him, Macro is the only person I met on trail who was even slower than me at camp-related activities :P. I would generally wake up before him, or at the same time but get ready faster than him, so I would head out while he was still drinking his coffee, eating breakfast, or starting to pack up. That gave me some time to get a head start and hike at my own pace. Depending on how good a day I was having, Macro would eventually catch up to me while I was taking a snack or lunch break, or sometimes not until my afternoon snack, if I was really on a roll. He used to say he could always tell I was having an especially good day when he had to stop for lunch and still hadn’t caught up to me :P! 

Wild California Pitcher Plants (or Cobra Lilies) - carnivorous plants that grow near cold water seeps in Northern Cali!

A little rattlesnake chilling by a stream - One of only 3 rattlers I saw on the whole hike, and the only one I managed to get a picture of. I expected to encounter way more throughout California, but nooooope!

For a full month I woke up every morning at 4:30am (insanely unusual for me) which meant I usually left well before Macro. As I got closer to the end, my mileage decreased and the days got shorter and cooler, so I started sleeping in a lot more and then Macro usually caught up to me way sooner. I was one of very few people I talked to on trail that was getting up that early at that time, but it was something I felt I needed to do in order to increase my mileage and still make it to camp before too late. In order to consistently keep up with 25-30 mile days, which I started doing in the second half of Nor Cal and into Oregon, I needed to be hiking by 5:15am and stop around 7pm (obviously with a lunch break and at least 2 snack breaks). My pace just simply wasn’t as fast as most of the other people I was around, but I did manage to always stick around fairly speedy people because of my slow and steady pattern. All through the afternoon and evening people would be passing me, but I often saw them all still asleep in their tents as I passed them in the morning! 

I also found a deep appreciation for those quiet, solitary mornings. I left in the dark, which was a fun time to see some different wildlife (mainly spiders - their eyes glitter, it was actually super cool - and also millipedes). I loved watching the light slowly filter in, and I got to see a ton of beautiful sunrises, while listening to the birds singing. They were such peaceful mornings, and it also really helped to get some good miles in before the heat got too intense. 

Sunrise :)

It's magical to watch the sun lift above the horizon and instantly change the mountains from grey/blue to brilliant gold. This particular morning was the most spectacular gold-lit sunrise I experienced. I was in complete awe as I walked through this colourful meadow. 

Last views of the gold soaked hillside before heading back into the trees. Honestly this image will be emblazoned in my memory forever, it was so beautiful, peaceful, and spectacular... 

One of my favourites of those quiet mornings was just after my next resupply at Burney Mountain Guest Ranch (an AMAZING resupply spot for any future hikers, btw). I spent that night surrounded by tall dark trees, not far from a cold, roaring river. I woke up super early and got myself to a small side trail to Burney Falls, a spectacular 129-foot waterfall at the centre of a state park. The falls are super cool because you can actually see the erosion that has shaped them, and the process in which the ground water feeds the falls - when you cross the river a couple miles before the falls it is entirely dry, but just above the falls the underground reservoir hits hard rock and is forced above ground where it very quickly cascades over the rock into the falls. It is a beautiful and powerful sight - a sacred and spiritual place to the people who are Native to the area. I arrived at the falls at 7am, once again meaning I was there all alone, with not a tourist in sight. I had hiked a very tired 3.5 miles to the falls in order to have my morning coffee there, so I pulled out my camp stove and enjoyed a warm cup of coffee amidst the gentle mist from the falls and the chatter of a large colony of black swifts, who have a huge nesting ground in the mossy rocks behind the falls. It was utter bliss. 

Morning coffee (mixed with carnation instant breakfast) all alone at Burney Falls

Some other awesome parts of Nor Cal, in no particular order:

- Deer. SO many deer. Deer who really like to lick the ground where you’ve peed and chew on any unattended sweaty clothing items. I used to think deer were so regal and proud, and now I still think that, but I also just think they SUCH goofballs! They do funny things, and get all up in your business, and make so much noise at night, but you just can’t be mad at them because they are SO. DAMN. CUTE! I love them.

Some young bucks chilling out in the dry grasses just outside Burney Mountain Guest Ranch

"You comin?"

A deer family getting comfy in someone's yard in Etna, CA. 

- My Longest Day. It had been a habit for me to do about 10 miles after lunch, so I would usually do about 15-18 in the morning, and then that would get my mileage into the high 20s. One day I was just on a roll... it started with 10 miles of downhill, then I had a really nice time hiking and enjoying the beautiful views around me, then I had 5 miles of awesome chatting with a super cool dude named Mountain Goat, and before I knew it it was lunchtime and I had already done 20 miles!!! I knew at some point I might want to try for a 30-mile day, but I honestly wasn’t sure it would ever happen, especially not in California; but suddenly, I only needed to do 10 more miles and I would have a 30-miler under my belt! So... I DID IT! I happily completed another 10 miles, even taking some time to swim in an incredible swimming hole created by a shallow river moving through some narrow steep rocks. And then, at the spot where I planned to camp I felt a bit high up and exposed and there was thunder rumbling, so then I did another 2 miles! Making a 32 MILE DAY! I was unbelievably proud of myself, I couldn’t believe I did that, nor that I actually felt okay! That ended up being my longest day on trail, and I am very happy with that. 

Gorgeous swimming hole - it was over my head in the little area between the rocks!

Views closer to the end of my longest day - it was pretty, but I was feeling a little nervous about the thunderheads piling up in front of me.

Gorgeous shot of Mt. Shasta. taken pre-thunderstorm by my friend Mountain Goat. 

The brilliant, fiery sunset I could only just see through the trees from my campsite at the end of my 32-mile day. I saw some lightning and heard some rumbling, but my campsite was lower and sheltered and so I felt safe and content. 

- Shasta, California. This was my next resupply after Burney, and the last town I saw Mibs before she headed back to Switzerland. That absolute gem got an Air BnB organized for us, so when we got to town, Macro and I rounded up some random hiker trash we had just met, and we all piled into the air bnb for the night. We all pitched in for groceries and Macro made us a delicious family dinner, and got us a large bottle of rum. Many people do a lot of partying on trail, but that really wasn’t my thing at this point. I didn’t have a lot of interest in alcohol when my body was so tired and overworked. That night, however, I decided I wanted to let loose a bit and have some fun. A few ciders, rum, and a small dance party later, someone had the idea to make twister out of a groundsheet and a sharpie, and drunk hiker twister commenced. SUCH a fun night, and I think worth the hangover the next day. Macro and I still managed to get 3 whole miles done the next evening, so I call that a win. 

Dinner courtesy of Macro at the Air BnB. Friends included: Mountain Goat, Mibs, Dr. Pineapple, Outback, Rabbit, Bang, and Macro. 

Hiker Twister!!

Don't worry, we had all showered by this point. 

The victorious winners!

- Smoke. Wildfire season started as I was hiking in Nor Cal, which meant the smoke started to get fairly intense around Shasta, and unfortunately didn’t really clear up until well into Oregon. The one good thing I can say about the smoke is that it made for some very pretty sunsets. Other than that.... it caused scratchy eyes, some shortness of breath, an annoying (and at times alarming) campfire smell, an ongoing feeling of impending doom, and almost completely obscured views. After Shasta we walked through several beautiful wilderness areas: Castle Craggs, Trinity Alps, Russian, and Marble Mountain. It was disappointing to have heard so much about how beautiful those areas were but not be able to really see much of them beyond the next hill. More about the smoke in my post on Oregon, causeeeee... it kept on going. 

Beautiful views... kind of. 

Castle Craggs, standing out through the smoky haze.

Couldn't tell you what it looked like out there, but I'm sure it was very nice. 

On one morning just before Seiad Valley, the trail beautifully ascended above the smoke. As a result we could see a thick, seemingly impenetrable wall of smoke surrounding the mountains below us. We eventually had to descend into the valley, and therefore the smoke. We spent several hours hiking through a charred burn area filled with smoke and also, conveniently, a ton of poison oak. It was an eerie and somber evening, but it also marked our last night before our final California resupply in Seiad Valley. So close to Oregon!

- Berries! The berries also kept going all through Oregon and there were SO MANY in Washington but NorCal had some of the best blackberries I’ve ever had in my life. I have never seen so many bushes, so full of berries. And they tasted SO GOOD. It was not unusual from this point on for people to have stained hands and lips from all the delicious treats all over the side of the trail. 

Finally, after two more resupplies in the sweet, little town of Etna, and the VERY little “town” of Seiad Valley (read: 5 houses and one general store/restaurant/post office) we hiked out into our last stretch of California. 

The sunrise during the 6-mile road walk into Seiad Valley. Those miles took me twice as long as necessary due to the blackberry bushes on either side of the road.

Seiad Valley is one of the very few towns that the trail actually goes right through - The trail actually becomes the main road through town for a couple miles. The main stop for hikers is the Seiad cafe where everyone enjoys food, milkshakes, mail, and resupply before starting the long climb out of the valley. 

We slept the first night out of Seiad Valley halfway up the steep ascent out of town, in a tiny spot on a narrow strip of trail with a steep decline on either side, surrounded solely by charred, black tree stumps, the distant views almost entirely obscured by smoke. The next day, my last full day in California, went by uneventfully - a lot of climbing, but fairly comfortable, cool weather and even a little sprinkle of rain, and the company of quite a few wild grouse! I spent my last night in California chatting with some new friends, and sharing in our excitement about reaching the border the next morning. 

One of my final sunsets in California. It was super smokey, but one nice thing about the smoke is that it makes beautiful colours during sunrise and sunset. 

And so, after 4 months and 1692 miles I finally made it to the end of California! It felt sooooo goooooood. In the weeks leading up to the border, I was starting to really feel blue, homesick, and more than a little exhausted. Four months of non-stop movement, being away from my family (especially my partner), limited nutrition, and the never-ending State of California was really weighing me down. I found myself very often thinking to myself that maybe I could get to the CA-OR border and then call the trip a success and head home. Throughout the hike I often dreamed about getting off trail and back to the comforts of life at home, but in the weeks leading up to Oregon, the thoughts were the most serious they ever were. I thought Ashland, OR would be a great place to call it quits, and I figured I would still have the bragging rights of having hiked all of Cali, but I could finally go home and see my family, sleep in a bed every night, enjoy sitting on the couch, and just spend multiple days in a row NOT moving. I was deeply tired - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually exhausted. Somehow though, I kept moving forward. Despite my daydreaming about what I would do if I got home early, something kept propelling me forward anyway. My plans never got more solid than daydreaming, and every time I got to town and actually could  have stopped, I just did my resupply and got back on trail, knowing that I just couldn't quit now. When the trail felt too hard for me to keep going, I reminded myself that I would feel so much regret if I could have kept going and quit because I didn't want to be tired and uncomfortable anymore. I knew that as soon as I got home and had a few days to rest, I would immediately wish I was back on trail. Even with the discomfort, sadness, and exhaustion, there was no doubt in my mind that I was where I needed to be and that I was getting something important from the experience. 

And so, on the day I crossed the border into Oregon, although I was feeling pretty down, I was also incredibly proud of having trekked the entire length of a really long state and pretty excited about the knowledge that I had two states and about 1000 miles to go. 

FINALLY MADE IT!!

Next up I would be exploring a brand new state, one which I had always wanted to visit. I couldn't wait to see how the landscape would change as I continued travelling North, and I wondered what new people I would meet and adventures I would experience. I also felt a very real twinge of realization... maybe I would actually complete this WHOLE trail! Stay tuned for my Oregon stories and pictures in my next post... :)

Bye for now!!