July 29, 2011

Start: 1240.2
End: 1271.5

Today was the first day hiking day completely snow-free since June 11! What an amazing feeling it is to have real trail under your feet all day. In commemoration of the occasion we one-upped what we did yesterday by doing an ultra-marathon distance today. We completed 50k (31miles)! It's the longest distance I've in one day to date, and I look forward to setting a few more PRs before the end of the trail.

Lately the weather has been warm and we've been wanting to get in bigger miles, so we decided to get up earlier to beat the heat as well as get in more miles. We were on the trail just after 6am and enjoyed a warm morning descending a few thousand feet down to the Middle Fork Feather River and, according to the guidebook, the official end of the Sierras.

It was a fast morning with all the downhill, and we had gotten in 11 miles by 10am. The only problem with dropping elevation is that you usually end up having to climb back up at least as much as you just descended. After a break near the river we started the long, hot climb out of the valley.

It took quite a bit longer to get through the next 9 miles, and I sweat more on the climb than I have since the desert. And it's worse now because it's more humid so the sweat doesn't evaporate as quickly. In addition to the heat, we were dodging poison oak along the sides of the trail whole way up the climb.

Once up the climb we just had little rolling hills of a few hundred feet up and down to finish off the remaining miles. My feet were definitely ready to be done when we found a place to camp. Tomorrow we only have 18 miles to get into Belden! Should be an easy day!

July 28, 2011

Start: 1214
End: 1240.2

Do you ever wake up not intending to walk a marathon, and then do? Well that's what happened today... sort of.

It all started with modest aspirations of getting 25 miles a day for the next three days so we can make it to Belden, and to the trail angels there, the Braatens. We got started a little late at 7am and moseyed along the first part of the day, getting through the last of the big snow patches for the next 500 miles, and 10 miles by noon, off to a little bit of a slow start, not ideal for trying to get 25 for the day. Mentally it's nice to have half or more of your goal mileage done by lunch.

After lunch we continued on and started moving a little quicker, despite the elevation gain. We were able to get 21 miles by 5pm, at which time we stopped to eat a leisurely dinner, knowing there were only 4 more miles for the day. The last miles were easy and mostly downhill, so I threw out the idea that we continue on a little further to get in a marathon for the day. Not only would it mean a little less for tomorrow, but we were both feeling good and willing to keep going a little longer.

We got into camp right at 8pm, ready for a good nights rest before attempting the same again tomorrow! It's good practice for the day when I decide to run an ultra marathon (any distance longer than a marathon).

July 27, 2011

Start: 1197
End: 1214

I hung around the Red Moose this morning to get a solid, calorie-packed breakfast before heading back up the road to the trail around 9am.

On the way back up to the trail I ran into two other hikers from Portland that I haven't seen since before the hike started, Goodness and Zm! We chatted for a brief moment and then headed our separate ways.

The first part of the hike today was a long, gentle climb from 4600' to 7400'. Near the top, 12 Ounce and I stopped for lunch, enjoying the view across the valley as well as down to Sierra City where we had started the day. After lunch we had a little bit more climbing to do, so we continued up and around Sierra Buttes and into the lakes basin area.

We stopped for dinner around 6pm and enjoyed a Mountain House freeze dried dessert after dinner, courtesy of my mom. We did a few more miles after dinner and watched the sun set while walking along a ridge just before finding a place to camp. Another amazing day on the trail.

I should give a shout out to Fatty and Kyle tonight. I know you guys gave the romance novel "Brazen" to me as a joke, but 12 Ounce and I have been enjoying the poorly written book one chapter at a time the past few nights, so thank you. I'll be sure to give it back to you when I'm done so you can return it to your Bobbi Smith book collection.

July 26, 2011

Start: 1178
End: 1197

Today was the early start we had been looking for the past few days. We were up at 5:30am and on our way at 6:30. It was a very cruisy day which involved a few rolling hills early on before turning into a long descent down to Hwy 49, 1.5 miles east of Sierra City.

After the first few miles we dropped below the snowline and enjoyed the longest stretch of snow-free trail since Kennedy Meadows around mile 700. As we dropped elevation we seemingly walked into another world and it really felt like we transitioned into Northern California and out of the Sierras. The forest got thicker and there were ferns and other understory reminiscent of the NW.

Since the miles were easier we made our 19 for the day by 3:40pm and into town around 4pm in time to pick up our packages, buy some ice cream, and check out the Red Moose Restaurant/Inn. Amazing! Margaret and Bill bought the Red Moose last year and inadvertently started feeding, and then hosting, hikers. This year many hikers have been looking forward to the ribs they make here and the overall hospitality they provide. This year they enlisted the help of a 2010 SOBO thruhiker, Coach K, to help out during the busy hiker time. They have showers, laundry, food, a place to hang out inside, and camping in the backyard. It is a welcome surprise to me!

Thanks to my sister's family for the delicious goodies in the care package and my mom for more dried goods to add to meals (as well as the maps)!

If anyone else wants to send packages, the zipcode for Seiad Valley is incorrect! The correct zipcode is 96086. Also, I'm about two weeks behind my original schedule, but still on the way!

Back on the trail tomorrow!

Misspellings brought to you by iPhone

July 25, 2011

Start: 1159
End: 1178

Woke up today feeling refreshed and ready to hike! Today we had a series of rolling hills, going up a few hundred feet before descending again.

After going over Castle Pass we made our way down to Peter Grubb hut. The hut is on Forest Service land, managed by the Sierra Club, and very cool. It's rented out during the winter for those wanting to brave the four mile trail in the snow. We stopped to have a snack there before moving on.

As usual, we came across more snow today. We only got off track a few times while going through the snow in the trees, one of which being because we followed some errant footprints. Being on the snow today, not able to see the trail, made me think of Matt and Julie who hiked the PCT in '07 and just finished the AT this summer. 2007 was a dry year and they were able to make their way along the trail using the data book as their main (only?) source of navigation. That would simply not be possible this year. If you can see the trail than the data book would work just fine, but when the trail is covered in snow more often than not, maps are definitely necessary, and GPS is a nice thing to have on hand.

On another of the descents, we dropped into Paradise Valley. It was nice enough, but calling it paradise may have been a bit optimistic due to the snow and mosquitos. I'm sure it will be perfectly nice in September.

Another thought I had today was regarding enjoyment while hiking. I have come to the conclusion that there are two things that determine how much you will enjoy the hike: food and sleep. If you take in the correct number of calories, and nutrients, for your workload so that you are never very hungry, you will feel energetic and ready to hike! Same goes for sleep; if you get enough given your workload, you will wake up in the morning ready to go!

We got to camp earlier, and for some reason on top of the forested, snow-free saddle the mosquitos were particularly bad, so refuge was taken in the tent and a moquito melee ensued. Once they were smeared across the walls of the tent, sleep came quickly.

Misspellings brought to you by iPhone

July 24, 2011

Start: 1138
End: 1159

We began the day climbing up a hill and then ran into some snow. Just into the snow we ran into two ultra running women coming down from a morning run. They immediately asked if we came from Mexico, to which we said yes. It was the first of three times we had similar comments.

After hiking past the runners we were following some footprints without thinking too much about it and eventually came to a ridge. The footprints ended. We checked the maps and looked at the terrain, and found that we were on the wrong ridge! Squaw and Granite Chief Mountain were just to the right, across the valley from where we were standing, so we backtracked and descended the snow and across to the other side where we eventually found the trail and made our way up to the top of Granite Chief and down below a chair lift.

After a bit more hiking we made our way up another ridge and past Tinker Knob. We followed the ridge for a while and enjoyed the views on either side. Towards the end of the ridge walk we passed another ski resort, Sugarbowl.

After passing Sugarbowl we started making our way down to Hwy 40 (Donner Pass). We stopped to eat dinner before continuing on to Hwy 80 to complete Section K, 3 miles up the trail.

Upon nearing Hwy 80, we didn't have the same misfortune as the Donner party, but did find our way to the wrong trailhead 3/4 miles from where we were supposed to cross the highway.

After that mishap, it was getting dark, so we made our way back down the trail and across the highway before finding the first suitable place to camp, still in earshot of 80.

I was exhausted and frustrated with myself for going the wrong way earlier and fell asleep as soon as possible. Luckily tomorrow is a new day.

Misspellings brought to you by iPhone

July 23, 2011

Start: 1113
End: 1138

Today was a good day. We got started about the same time as yesterday, and as we were packing up we met Flash, Crasher, Let It Be, and Driftwood Dog.

The morning's hike was pretty easy and we walked through trees up until we got to Barker Pass where we stopped to eat lunch. Beyond Barker Pass we started getting some good views. The days hike took us up then down, and then up again to a ridge where we crossed over into the Granite Chief Wilderness. The majority of the ridge walk was amazing! There were all kinds of wild flowers, and we were walking the last part of the ridge as the sun set behind a ridge across the valley we ended up descending. Along the way we hiked by Alpine Meadows Ski resort and saw Squaw Valley resort on the next ridge over.

Since we were up on the ridge we needed to get in a few more to get down off the ridge so we could find a flat place to camp. Since it was getting dark we got in a little night hiking to get down, scrambling through snow and rocky hillsides until we found the trail again and a good place to camp by the river. We were both ready to camp when we found a dry spot and fell asleep quickly.

Misspellings brought to you by iPhone

July 22, 2011

Start: 1094
End: 1113

Today we hit the trail again! We slept near where we had been dropped off and continued on our trek in the morning. Despite our well intentioned plans, we didn't get on the trail until 7:30am.

It took me a while to get my hiking legs back after taking a few days off. We passed Echo Lakes early in the day, ran into many day and weekend hikers, and continued on up in to Desolation Wilderness. The lakes were all beautiful, unfortunately the mosquitos must have thought so too, because we saw a fair amount of them.

The excitement of the day started when 12 Ounce and I split after having lunch at Heather Lake. We each had new books on tape to listen to, so we plugged in our earbuds and started walking up and over Dicks Pass with the intention of meeting on the other side at Dicks Lake.

I waited around Dick Lake for a while, backtracked a bit, and figured that she had probably kept on going, following other footprints she thought were mine.

We were able to reconnect down the trail later around 8pm, much to my relief. I was really hoping I hadn't ditched 12 Ounce on accident!

Misspellings brought to you by iPhone

July 18-21, 2011

Spent the last few days off trail in Los Altos doing some relaxing and major planning for the rest of California. I bought 28 days worth of food, repackaged it, and sent it on to the next few resupply locations. It was quite an undertaking and took a couple days to finally get all put together.

Also saw a couple friends, Fatty and Kyle. It was good to see some familiar faces, even if mine didn't look all that familiar.

Misspellings brought to you by iPhone

July 17, 2011

It was a leisurely morning at the Silver Lake cabin, eating breakfast and changing back into our hiking attire.  Around 7:30am, David drove us back to the trail and we were on our way to Echo Pass.

Monument to Snowshoe Thompson at Carson Pass

With only about 15 miles to go to get to Echo Pass it was a very leisurely day.  Not very far into the hiking for the day we joined up with the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), which circumnavigates the lake.  The circumference of the lake is about 72 miles, while the trail is 165.  Being a Sunday, we ran into quite a lot of hikers out for weekend trips to various lakes, or doing part of the TRT.  It's always fun to talk to weekenders and hear about their travels.  It seems that usually they are coming from a lake not too far away, and plan to hike in a day the amount we have already hiked by lunch.  It's also interesting to get their assessment of trail conditions.  We talked to a couple groups of people who warned us about the upcoming snow on the trail past Showers Lake, who inquired whether or not we had a GPS because navigation was difficult.  To be fair, there did end up being a fair amount of snow, but with well worn footprints and past experience finding the trail, there was little trouble with navigation.

First view of Lake Tahoe in the distance

Sign at the junction with the Tahoe Rim Trail

Meiss Cabin near the TRT junction

We took a nice a long lunch to relax, not in a hurry to get into Tahoe until dinner time, and I was able to get a hold of a friend, Katie Kuchenbecker, who offered a ride to/from the trail and a place to stay.  After the siesta, we continued the remaining 6 miles to the trailhead at Echo Summit (Hwy 50), which was almost all downhill.  With just over 3 miles left, we ran into a couple who had started from Carson Pass just after us.  They were a bit lost and asked us if we knew where we were going, to which we said yes, and then they asked if they could follow us down.   12 Ounce led the way and after descending some steep, snowy switchbacks and getting down to flatter ground.  We followed a creek for a while, then found the trail again, and took off ahead of the other hikers once they were back on the trail as well.

Good thing there was a trail sign to tell us the trail was straight through this section, especially since there were no intersecting trails

Once at the trailhead, we were just starting to hitch, when a car pulled into the trailhead, then turned around and was about to leave.  12 Ounce jumped on the opportunity and we were able to get a ride down to Meyers with two guys in their 20's.  Once in Meyers, I checked the address Katie had given me, and lo and behold, her house was less than half a mile from where we were dropped off!  We decided to walk rather than call for a ride so that it would be more of a surprise when we showed up.

We hung out at Katie's for a bit, then went to dinner at Orchid Thai, followed by the Snow-Flake drive-in for a malt.  Back at Katie's we talked a while longer before heading to bed, since it was past our hiker bedtime and Katie had work in the morning.