PCT: Days 90-95

Day 90 – Back on Trail and Climbing

Start: I-5 Soda Creek – 1502.3
End: top of climb – 1517.6
Miles: 15.3
Ascent: 5165 ft | Descent: 1378 ft

Start time: 8:56 am
End time: 6:35 pm
Current elevation: 5887 ft

It felt good to be back on trail. After 7 days of sitting in a car and driving up the Pacific coast and then down Interstate 5, we were definitely ready to get back on trail.

Since we rented a car in Redding, we had to return it there. We also needed to get back to the PCT at the spot where we got off trail last week … and that meant an Amtrak train. Unfortunately the only time the train runs from Redding to Dunsmuir is at 3 am and arrives at 4:45 am. That’s the middle of the night!

We woke up at 2 am and at 2:30 am walked to the train station. The station was nearly deserted but the train was packed. We didn’t realize this train was so popular. Ellen was able to take a 45 min nap on the train. Jeff unfortunately was unable to sleep.

Before we knew it we were back in Dunsmuir. All In was also in Dunsmuir and we had made plans to hike together again. Our trail angel was giving all of us a ride back to the trail head but that wasn’t until 8:30 am. So, we had 3 1/2 hours to kill.

Our trail Angel Noelle drove us to Castle Crag State Park. There was a short trail closure from the highway to the state park. The alternate started in the park so we had a 1.9 mile hike to get back to the PCT. The trail was nice with only some minor blow downs.

We made pretty good progress despite not hiking for a week. After lunch we had a few miles to go until the big climb of the day. Stopping at the last creek before the climb we all camelled up (meaning we drank lots of water).

Then it was time for the 5 mile climb to Gully Spring. The climb was hard. It had gotten hot and some of the trail was out of the trees and exposed to the hot sun. Near the crest we found a patch of snow in a shaded and north facing area. It was no problem finding the trail and after a few minutes we were back on snow free trail.

We loaded up on water at Gully spring and then it was 0.2 miles to our campsite. It was a tight squeeze with two tents but we made it work. We set up camp, walked back to Gully Spring to wash off the dirt from the day and it was after 8:30 pm before we went to sleep. It was a good day! Tomorrow we believe we’ll be back in the snow.

Day 91 – “Swimming”

Start: top of climb – 1517.6
End: Porcupine lake – 1532.4
Miles: 14.8
Ascent: 2593 ft| Descent: 1279 ft

Start time: 6:26 am
End time: 3:35 pm
Current elevation: 7232 ft.

We got a fairly early start today. We were anticipating snowy conditions and wanted to take advantage of the cooler early morning temperatures and crusty snow.

We started to see more snow on the trail after only an hour on trail. When the trail went into the woods or on a north facing slope, the snow was thick. However, once the trail was south facing the trail was clear of snow.

We saw some south bound hikers (SOBOs) today. Each time we asked what the trail conditions were like from where they just came from. The general consensus was the the trail is about 70-80% snow free. Yay!

There were only a couple sections where the trail was sloped steeply enough with high exposure to warrant wearing crampons. Otherwise, the snow was just a nuisance. This was a pleasant surprise since we expected a lot more snow.

After a quick lunch we had only 6 miles to our intended campsite. We were running low on water until All In found a spring right next to the trail. The water was just oozing out of the saturated mountainside.

During one of our pack-off breaks we decided that instead of pushing on we should listen to our bodies and stop a little early and rest. All of us had been sluggish and feeling it in our legs and feet.

At 3 pm we made the short uphill climb, 0.2 miles off trail to Porcupine Lake, a beautiful lake half surrounded by snow covered mountains. The lake was still partially covered in ice.

Since it was really early and the sun wouldn’t set for another 5-6 hours we all decided we needed to swim. It was actually more of a “jump in and get out quick”. The water was so cold!

After our “swim” we made dinner and we were all in our tents before 6 pm. However, the sun was still up and had at least 2 hours before it got behind the mountain and it shown right through our tent.

Day 92 – A Close Call
Start: Porcupine lake – 1532.4
End: Sisson-Callahan trail jct – 1550.8
Miles: 18.4
Ascent: 1727 ft | Descent: 2160 ft

Start time: 6:34 am
End time: 4:50 pm
Current elevation: 6900 ft

We woke up to a gorgeous and glassy smooth Porcupine Lake. As we were hiking back to the PCT, several other hikers were coming in to see Porcupine Lake. We encouraged them to go for a swim. Later in the day we found out that they indeed did jumped in the lake. It would have been 7am for them, brrrrr!

After a few minutes we rounded the corner and saw Toad Lake. We basically traversed the mountain surrounding Toad Lake and it was beautiful. The snowy traverse with some steep exposure was typical of what we had been doing this trip and we had become used to it.

Next. we had about 4.5 miles until the next gem of alpine lakes, Upper and Lower Dead Fall Lakes. We again had to traverse an exposed section of snow covered trail to get to the lakes. We put on our crampons again and had no problems. Upper Dead Fall Lake was stunning! We lingered for a bit, filtered some water and continued on.

As we were hiking, it seemed the snow would be fine from the trail. We put away our crampons and Ellen removed the whippet pick from her trekking pole. That was a mistake. We soon got to a patch of snow of about 20 yards wide and with steep exposure. The snow was now mush. As Ellen made her way across, she slipped and fell on her side. She didn’t slide away but was stuck in a very precarious position.

She was on her side. Her body heat was melting the snow underneath her which made it more slippery. Jeff had already crossed safely but saw what had happened. He quickly put on his crampons and brought Ellen his trekking pole with whippet pick attached. That allowed Ellen to anchor into the snowy slope to keep her from sliding down the hill.

He then stabilized Ellen even more by firmly planting a trekking pole below her feet. Carefully reaching behind her, he pulled out Ellen’s crampons and put them on her feet. Ellen was still having difficulty standing up with her pack on, so Jeff removed her backpack and carefully dragged it to dry ground. After about 15 minutes we both made it safely to snow free trail.

After the incident, the trail was snow free for several miles and then only one more small section of snow. About an hour later we made it to a road junction with parking lot plus an outhouse! We stopped for an early lunch.

Lesson learned: Keep the whippet pick on the trekking pole until you know for sure that the snow is gone. We had safely traversed steep snow fields so many times by now, but it was always with crampons and a whippet pick on our poles. This was scary incident that kept us on our toes for the rest of the day.

After lunch we had 3.1 miles until All In reached his personal 1000 mile point. We took photos and congratulated him on walking 1000 miles on the PCT. Then we had 6.8 miles more until camp.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. The scenery was beautiful and so was the trail. When we got to a section of trail with snow and some exposure we put on our crampons.

We made it to camp after a short climb. We had a great view of the valley below us and we could see the trail across the valley was snow free!

Day 93 – Town Day!

Start: Sisson-Callahan trail jct – 1550.8
End: Hwy3 / Callahan – 1561.4
Miles: 10.6
Ascent: 1217 ft| Descent: 2493 ft

Start time: 6:38 am
End time: 11:26 am
Current elevation in Etna: 2960 ft

Even though we had a very short day we got up early and got going at our usual time. It was a beautiful morning along the trail.

The trail was uneventful and mainly snow free. There were some great views as we looked back. Also, Mt. Shasta kept making appearances as we rounded corners and looked back. It looks like the snow was melting fast on the mountain.

We all had town food on our mind. We made it to the Hwy by 11:26 am after hiking 10.6 miles.

When we got to the Hwy, All In was waiting for us and generously gave up a ride into Etna to another pair of hikers, Orange and No Sweat. We waited for a few minutes when a car drove by and the couple in the car waived at us, but did not stop. A few minutes later that same car came back and they asked if we were PCT hikers. Ellen went up and talked with them and they offered the three of us a ride into Etna.

Bill and Kay were on their way to Portland, Oregon to visit their daughter and grandkids. They live in a town nearby called Weaverville, which we drove through on our coast road trip. They were really nice and dropped us off in Etna.

Once in Etna we got lunch at the brewery, went to the outfitter, got some groceries and tokens w/towels for the showers at the city park. Once at the park we found a spot to set up camp, took showers and relaxed.

Later on we walked back to the downtown area for dinner. We were surprised the restaurant was so busy for such a small town and we had to wait a bit. Food was delicious. But we weren’t done, we had seen earlier in the day that the bakery sold hand scooped ice cream. After dinner we got ice cream and then walked back to the park for the night.

Day 94 – A Tough Decision

Start: Hwy3 / Callahan – 1561.4
End: close to Boulder Lake jct – 1569.8
Miles: 8.4
Ascent: 2251 ft | Descent: 657 ft

Start time: 9:26 am
End time: 4:59 pm
Current elevation: 6258 ft
Total distance: 8,4 + 2.7 = 11.1 miles

We got up a little later than usual as we wanted to go to the bakery in town for breakfast. They didn’t open until 8 am. While waiting for the bakery to open, we were also trying unsuccessfully to find a ride back to the trail.

We walked back to Hwy 3 and Main Street and within 10 minutes Kevin pulled over. He had hiked the PCT back in 1984 and currently is a gold miner in the area. After we got out we assumed that Kevin would continue down the highway. However, eight other hikers had just come off the trail and so he turned around and drove them all into Etna. What a true trail angel! He would not accept any money from us.

Finally back on trail, we had two climbs today. Halfway up the second climb we realize that is was already 1pm and past lunch time. We stopped and ate lunch while All In had his lunch 0.2 miles ahead of us.

We had about 1.1 miles until the trail junction to Boulder Lake. The trail had started to get more snow covered and then we saw what was ahead. Once at the junction we put on our crampons and whippet. We studied the maps, both paper and in the FarOut app to judge steepness of the terrain.

The first snow section was surprisingly flat and we had no issues. Then we got to a snowy section that had steep exposure and a long runout below. We had decided earlier in the day that if the exposure and consequence was high we would turn around.

All In was just ahead of us and had no issues. However, after our scare a few days ago, Ellen’s confidence on steep slopes was gone. She was still spooked. We talked for a few minutes and agreed to turn around.

It was very emotional as neither of us wanted to turn around. If we hadn’t had the scary incident a couple of days ago, we would have marched right across that traverse without any problems. But we had vowed to make good decisions and be safe. All In came back to us and we gave him some of our food so he could continue on and stay out a few extra days. Hopefully we’ll meet up with him soon again.

We turned around and made our way back down the trail. It was a quiet hike as both of us were reflecting on our decision. We knew we made the right call, but it was still hard. We’ll be back when the trail is snow free and finish this section.

As we backtracked we saw a young couple with trail names Orange and No Sweat. They were asking why we were going back and we told them our reasons. They knew about Ellen’s slip from a few days ago. We didn’t want to scare them, but we had observed that No Sweat was also unsteady on the steep snow. After about 2.7 miles and set up camp near a bunch of snow melt streams. About an hour later, Orange and No sweat came down the trail. After seeing for themselves they had also turned around.

We had dinner and reflected more on our decision and talked about what to do next. This was a very emotional day. But it was still good to be on trail.

Day 95 – The Generosity of Strangers
Start: close to Boulder Lake jct – 1569.8
End: hwy3 / Scott mtn summit – 1561.4
Miles: 5.7

Start time: 8:03 am
End time: 10:14 am

We only had 5.7 miles to do today so we slept in. We were greeted by a deer who could care less about us. It was like he was saying: “This is my area and your disturbing me at breakfast.”

After we had our breakfast we packed up and headed out. It was weird walking the same trail we just did 20 hours before but going the opposite direction. We were moving fairly quickly since most of the trail was downhill. Before we knew it we were back at the highway just 24 hours after being dropped off by Kevin the gold miner.

We had decided to skip ahead to Seiad Valley. Next task was somehow to get to Seiad Valley, some 2 hours north via the roads. The highway was pretty quiet on this Sunday morning and so waited for about 30 minutes until a car pulled over. Seth and Mel were on their way to Yreka (halfway to our destination) to see an auto show. The auto show sounded great and so we hopped in! We thanked Seth and Mel for the ride and went in search for some food.

The auto show was so pretty cool. They had classic cars, hot rods, kit cars, etc. We went in search of food and found a hotdog stand. Not just any hotdogs, but 1/4 pound dogs! We each had 2. While Jeff went looking at more cars, Ellen tried to figure out how to get to Seiad Valley, and she took a nap.

By 2pm the auto show was over and most people had left when we realized we better get going and try to find a ride. We wanted to get to the intersection of Hwy 263 and Hwy 96, some 15 miles further north. Hwy 96 goes directly to Seiad Valley and we expected an easy hitch from there.

We tried Uber but no luck. Then as we’re standing at the side of the road, a small pickup truck pulls over and on the other side of the road another car pulls over. Marcus in the pickup asks if we need a ride and when we said yes, he suggested that his wife drive us north.

We hopped in Sammie’s car and she explained that Marcus will alway stop for a hitch hiker, no matter what. Sammie took us all the way to Hwy 263 and Hwy 96. She dropped us off and refused any money for gas. What wonderful people! We forgot to take their picture.

Now it’s time to get to Seiad Valley. As Jeff is going through is back pack looking for a marker to make a sign, a white pickup pulled over. Our next trail Angel, Eric lives in Happy Camp some 20 miles past Seiad Valley. Perfect. Eric was visiting a friend in Ashland and was on his way home. He gave us a white knuckle ride for an hour on the winding twisty road that parallels the Klamath River. We make it safely to Wildwood RV park.

We had read some great things about the RV park on the FarOut app and they were all true. After losing their home to the McKinney fire recently, Lehel and Cherie were offered a place to stay by the RV park owner Mickey. This fire burned many homes in this area and other residents there had also lost their homes.

In return, Lehel and Cherie have been improving the RV park and in particular are making it more hiker friendly. They were very welcoming and generous. Lehel showed up after we were setting up with some ice cold lemonade. He then told us that Bill is their resident grill/smoker master. Bill either grills or smokes some meat every night to feed the hikers that come in or the other local RV park residents.

We were the only hikers at the park this night. We had smoked brisket, potato salad, baked beans, garlic bread and locally grown cherries. All this for a donation. We chatted a while with Mickey, Sue and Bill until it was time for bed.

What a day of generosity by total strangers. From car rides to cold lemonade to a full meal. These people renew our faith in humanity. Right now both of us feel very blessed and in awe of this crazy and exiting life we’re living right now.

Here is the next video!