More alpine lakes appeared and snow covered granite peaks popped up in the background. In this section, we slowly transitioned out of the Cascade Range and into the Sierras! From day to day, it felt like we could observe changes in the landscape around us. Some minor injuries have popped up, but everyone is generally healthy, a stark change from the first round of NorCal. I think at this point in the trail, myself and the people around me are a bit worn out. To elaborate, I’ll give you a similar good/bad summary from above. Unexpectedly, it stayed this way and our hike from Chester to Echo Lake was smooth sailing. Following the chaos of PCT Trail Days, heading into this quiet space was much appreciated. Crossing a marsh near Chester – the best way to be re-welcomed into NorCal after spending time in the magical lands of Oregon and Washington.ĭespite our nerves, things in this section of the trail felt more peaceful. Of course as we started to walk, we were greeted by a marsh crossing no more than half a mile into the trail. The five of us who had been here before were here again, standing in the rain. In mid-August, we stood on the same highway near Chester and walked the opposite way – south. People here were kind and helpful, which is something I’ll say more about later. Something about the communities we visited around this area of NorCal was special. Sunrise was early and sunset was late, affording us the time to spend long hours in conversation. Our tramily enjoyed time around eachother and as we got closer to Oregon, found more hikers to be around. To add to the views, as eerie as they were, the burn scars here possessed a certain beauty. Shasta – the first volcano we would see on trail – for what felt like weeks. The northernmost 360 miles of California had some of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever laid eyes on. Tabs looking majestic in the snowstorm about an hour before I dislocated my shoulder. Luckily, this day was followed by a very needed town day and birthday celebration in Seid Valley. Needless to say that by the end of the day, morale was low. Following this we walked through thick, wet brush for hours. This was traumatic for everyone involved, but we were grateful that the issue was resolved and I was functional. At one point, I dislocated my shoulder while self arresting and relocated it with the help of my friends. Upon unzipping our tents in the morning, we were greeted by a snowstorm and throughout the day, things continued to go downhill. The day before the summer solstice was exceptionally challenging. Two weeks after that, I picked up an illness that left me stopping to dig catholes at a minimum of 3 times a day and when it was all said and done, I had lost 13 pounds within a month’s time. This lead to a string of slow days and bailouts with zeros in an attempt to recover. Navigation through untouched areas lead to long days, leaving us exhausted and our phones, dead.Īt one point, everyone in the tramily had been sick with a nasty cold. Ice axes were used often and postholing became an Olympic sport. Snow travel in NorCal was intense at times. I’m going to give you the crazy side of things first to better highlight the good. There were no other safe options for crossing. The log was slippery and the kicked in steps above the log were starting to give. To spare you the details here’s a quick summary: Puffy in Lassen NP, tackling one of the most sketchy river crossings that we’ve seen on trail to-date. In the coming weeks, we would see the good and the bad that the trail had to offer. Comments on Far Out were few and far between and as we walked towards Lassen National Park, it truly felt as if we were exploring a new frontier. The snow was high and the weather, unpredictable. The last time we stood on the highway near Chester marked the beginning of the most chaotic section of the hike yet. However, this was the decision that best fit the No Trace Trails project and thus, our flip flop journey began.įollowing a 10 day break from the trail in late May, a chunk of my desert tramily decided to restart our journey in Chester. Rather than completing it in one go, we’d be experiencing the “NorCal Blues” once with the expectation of returning to the abyss later in the season. Given its famed reputation, it felt crazy to split the Northern California (NorCal) section of the PCT into two parts – one to be completed in the month of June and the other, in the latter half August.
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