PCT: Sonoma Pass to Chester

Took the afternoon shuttle back to the trail and enjoyed the drivers entertaining and knowledgeable history lesson of the area. He pointed out remnants of early wagon trails that passed through this rugged and scenic area and a pile of rocks that story goes, is the grave of an early settler who perished on his journey. The ground was too frozen to give him a proper burial, so rocks were piled over his remains and adjacent Deadman Creek named in his honor.

The trail over Carson Pass was fantastic. Lots of wildflowers! The volunteers at the visitor center were great. They treated me to two huge slabs of homemade banana bread slathered in real butter, a chocolate chip bar, and 2 Dr Pepper sodas! Let me make it clear that I don’t normally eat like this off trail but can tell I have lost considerable weight on this hike and need those calories. They seemed quite impressed with my hike and age and interviewed me for a short blip for their Facebook page.

Couldn’t resist taking a peak at the Meiss cabin. Always intrigued by the history of such places. Must have been wonderful living in such a lovely spot!

Enjoyed a long lunch at Showers Lake. It was Saturday, so lots of weekenders swimming and camping.

Next up was South Lake Tahoe for resupply. I was able to yogi a ride from a guy who stopped to retrieve something from his trunk. Went to the hiker friendly Tahoe Valley RV Park that set aside several campsites free of charge for PCT hikers. It was a bit noisy, and bears were running around like stray dogs but great to see so many people enjoying the outdoors, although in a much different fashion than I and my fellow hikers.

So nice to run into my friend Dillon aka Lobster again. Always good conversation and I regret not getting the opportunity to hike together more. Sadly, he was heading home to Virginia though offered me use of his bear can, required for a section of the upcoming Desolation Wilderness per brand new Forest Service regulations. Saved me from having to buy one and I will mail it to him when through the next stretch.

I, and many other hikers spent some time doing the math on distance and time remaining to complete the trail. It started to become obvious to me that I was not going to finish the trail this season at my current 18-22 MPD pace and the need to reach Canada by the end of September. Plus, I had not even got to the 1/2 way point yet. Options included jumping ahead or going to the northern terminus and hiking south or hiking faster, not really an option for me. Indecision determined that I just keep hiking north for the time being. It’s a cliche, but so true for me, that the journey is more important than the destination and the journey must be enjoyable and just not about grinding out miles. I enjoy coffee in the morning, taking long breaks at beautiful views, exploring my evening campsite and as you may have noticed, town visits. So, it was liberating to come to the conclusion that the Canadian border was probably not in my sights this year and I was determined to just enjoy the rest of my hike! l did move over to an adjacent motel for a few nights and enjoyed dinner with Half Zip and Lone Wolf. Half Zip and I have been leap-frogging each other for some time. We took the bus over to an outfitter on the other side of town, her for new shoes and I, a new sun hoodie. We both had ice cream cravings and shocked the employees at the ice cream parlor by going back for another round. We were even considering a third. Enjoyed Thai rolled ice cream for the first time. Yum!

Half Zip arranged for us to get back to trail with Christine, a friend of her sister who drove from Sacramento to provide us trail magic.

Short hike through a burn scar to Echo Lake Chalet. Last chance for store treats before heading into Desolation Wilderness.

I camped at Tamarak Lake. Enjoyed a nice sunset, though from inside my tent. Mossies were unrelenting! Great hiking along Lake Aloha which is an area with many recent bear encounters causing the new bear can requirement.

Loose, rocky trail had me feeling sort of down in the dumps until Dicks Lake came into view and I cheered up. Stopped at a stealth site near Middle Velma Lake.

Some great hiking to Donner Pass over the next several days!

Passed on the free 40oz beer for PCT hikers at the Donner Pass Ski Lodge though indulged in some good eats including homemade pie with ice cream. Great to see Zest and Over the Hill (OTH) who I thought were way ahead of me. The 3 of us and Half Zip shared a room in the adjacent hostel. I joined Zest and OTH for a hitch into Truckee for breakfast and a quick resupply, unbelievably scoring us a ride from the first passing vehicle.

News of a lightning caused wildfire at the NorCal-Oregon border became the topic of conversation and overnight the McKinney Fire quickly exploded and closed the trail from Etna CA to Ashland OR. Stories of hiker rescues and smoky conditions were all over social media, and hikers were trying to figure out the best option for proceeding forward. Last year’s Lionshead Fire closure in OR made much of Oregon difficult to continuously hike. Some skipped ahead to Washington, others decided to hike the Oregon Coast Trail instead. I had hoped to complete California this year but now that was off the table, I revised my goal to at least getting to the half-way point.

We all played hiker tag over the next few days as we made our way to my favorite stop on this hike, Sierra City.

Sierra City is not really a city at all but a charming village. Zest, OTH, and I decided to stay at River Haven, a fabulous home on the river with private swimming hole. Susan rented out beautifully furnished bedrooms, but I chose to sleep outside on the porch with its background river sounds. Susan and her friend, Stuart were wonderful! I enjoyed chatting and learning about their lives and they were very interested in our stories too. Cool people! Would love to come back here in the future.

We received several recommendations to eat dinner at the nearby rustic Sierra Pines Resort so decided to give it a try. By far the best meal on the trail! We dined outside around a pond stocked with rainbow trout and both OTH and I decided on the specialty of the house for our main course. Entertaining to see the kitchen staff come out and net our dinner and take it back to the chef for preparation. Can’t get much fresher than that! So delicious!

There was a bit of a climb when returning to the trail though wasn’t too bad until reaching several miles of rocky exposed trail. No shade and it was a very hot day. Could see Sierra City below and Sierra Butte above. Started to enter burn areas from 2020’s North Complex Fire.

Some scenic river crossings as I headed toward Quincy for resupply. Enjoyed camping at Lookout Rock despite a pesky deer making a racket all night. Turned on my headlamp and stuck my head out of my tent just to make sure it wasn’t a bear….2 red eyes stared back at me. Oh Deer!

Quick overnight stop in Quincy for resupply and more eating. Thanks to Quincy Trail Angel, John for the ride back to the trail. Soon entered the 2021 Dixie Fire burn scar. It was difficult to see burnt trees as far as the eye could see and to think that this forest will unlikely recover for years to come, if ever. Sometimes a morbid beauty in the burnt skeletons. Important to select a camp spot carefully, checking for widow makers above. A lot of hikers skipped this section, but as TA Drive-Thru pointed out, this is the reality of this section of trail and as long as it is open and can be safely hiked, should be hiked.

I and my gear ended up so dirty hiking through the soot. I camped at the Williams Cabin site with all kinds of rusty artifacts laying around and strangely enough a seemingly new metal bucket which I used to wash my feet and legs.

Beauty despite such horrible destruction!

Pretty emotional moment to reach the significant PCT midpoint. Mixed emotions in that I’m frustrated to have hiked so far and yet am only 1/2 way there, but also proud to have hiked every mile from Campo through the desert, the High Sierras and into the Cascade Range! I feel strong and if I had better timing think I could have finished. Successfully thru hiking the PCT is like threading a needle, part skill and perseverance and part luck. Tough to stop hiking but I’ve got the other half to look forward to in the future!

Hiked 6 more miles to the Hwy 36 road crossing to Chester. My legendary hitching skills failed me, and I had to call and ask Trail Angel, Drive-Thru to pick me up. I considered hiking another 170 miles to Dunsmuir with its Amtrak station, but the connections weren’t as smooth as exiting at Chester. Spent a couple nights in Chester then traveled by 2 different buses to Reno Nevada where I hopped on the train to Denver. My dear friend, Songbird had told me how scenic the California Zephyr train ride was, and I could get a direct flight home from Denver rather than the grand tour of airports and layovers a flight from further west required. A slow and scenic train journey sounded like a perfect way to end this epic adventure and prepare for re-entry! It was very scenic though the train was 8 hours late and deposited me in downtown Denver at 3am. My last campsite ended being inside Denver International Airport and though I had comfortable camping gear, was brutal!

Often asked which trail I liked best. Every trail has its own signature and challenges. I enjoy every trail I hike. The PCT is definitely one of the most scenic trails I have ever hiked, and I look forward to the second half!

Not sure where I saw this but so true…. living minimally with the rhythms and forces of nature results in good health, healing, personal growth and puts life in perspective!!! Life is a fantastic adventure for sure! Enjoy your life and Happy Trails!

1331.3 Total Miles Hiked!!