Hannah the hiker

On day 65 I woke up around 7 and left the church by 9:30 to get a ride back to the trail. I also said goodbye to the other flip flop hiker that stayed at the church, “Rock Solid.” A guy that was just leaving the church offered me a ride within 2 minutes of me walking out which was cool. I started hiking around 9:40 and it wasn’t too hot out yet. I drank a lot of water knowing this section would be pretty dry. I filled up at a creek and took a small break about 4 miles in. After that there was a water cache on the side of the road, 3 miles away so I got some water there too. At this point it was getting really hot out so I sat under the shade and had a small lunch. I left after 30 minutes and carried enough water to get me to the water cache, “Cache 22” 9 miles away. But after 2 miles I was feeling so sluggish in the heat. It was 100 degrees out! So I found some shade and laid down. I set a timer for an hour and decided to take a nap and wait out the heat a little bit. After 30 minutes I woke up to some footsteps and met my third flip flop pct hiker. We talked for a while about where we started, when, the sierras, and how hot it was. I thought it was kind of funny talking with them. Within 5 minutes they were telling me how heavy their pack was and what each piece of gear weighed. They also got into the fear mongering about the sierras and such. I just let them know that I’m getting there when I get there and it’s not worth worrying about for me anymore. They apologized for bringing it up. I felt like maybe I was a little harsh but lately I think it’s more important for me to make some boundaries for people and be honest about how I feel about certain things.

I met another flip flop hiker in their group and saw the girl I met two days ago again. We all talked for a bit and then eventually they continued on. I didn’t leave my spot until 4 when I felt a bit more well rested. I hiked on and took one other small break before reaching the water cache. It cooled down a little bit during these last 7 miles so it was a little easier. The water cache had a wasps nest at it! They were flying all around the pipe. The two hikers I met earlier were standing there, not wanting to touch the handle. When I reached for it they said “you’re really just going for it?” Which I said yes to because I was so thirsty it didn’t matter, plus the worst that would happen would be that I got stung. 5 wasps ended up in my water bottle but I was able to save them. I also didn’t get stung! Three of us SOBOS camped at the water cache which was kind of fun. We shared some stories and talked about our plans for the next couple of days. I only walked 17.8 miles on this day but it was a tough one with the heat.

Day 66 was a great one. I was able to see Orion’s Belt when I woke up in the morning which was neat. I saw the moon shining all night too, it was so bright I thought it was a headlamp at times. I left camp by 6 and started a little bit of an uphill climb. I was able to see the sunrise and have a great view of the land below Hat Creek Rim. The sun was super red in the sky. I met some more cattle too. I carried 2.5 liters of water with me from Cache 22. I didn’t know if that would be enough to get me to Subway cave or if I would have to stop at Lost Creek. Lost creek was 8 miles away and was about a 400 foot descent to the creek in about a quarter of a mile. I saw the switchbacks when I got there and decided that I had enough water to get me to the next source 8 miles away. I’m stubborn sometimes, I really did not want to descend and ascend anything “extra” off the trail. If I had been in need though I would have.

I kept hiking and had so many amazing views. It was pretty sandy and rocky under my feet which made me slow down a little bit. There weren’t many trees blocking the views of nearby mountains. I could see the highway below for most of the day too. I made it to the trailhead for hat creek rim and met a woman going north who was slackpacking for the day. That means she carried just some food and water for the day, all of her other stuff for camping she left in the truck. The guy driving her offered me a Gatorade!

When he saw me he said “you look like you could use a cold drink” which I said yes too obviously. It was about 90 out so it was cooler than days before but still hot. I chugged the Gatorade and wished the lady good luck. I continued on because the subway cave was just 2 miles away! This cave was made from a lava tube made less than 20,000 years ago. It is 46 degrees Fahrenheit year round, a real treat on a hot day. I got there at 1 and put my headlamp on to walk through. It was nice and cold and so neat to look at. It was only about 1,000 feet long but a great side trip from the trail.

There were some jagged rocks on the ceilings from lava that had trickled down and the rock beneath my feet was jagged and rough as well. I could have hung out and had my lunch in there but the gas station a mile off trail was calling my name. I walked to old station and had my first lunch in a town (almost) on the trail. I bought a chicken sandwich and milkshake from the gas station. It was so tasty and rewarding. At this point I had walked 16 miles and it was only 2 pm. I hung out here with “Golden.” We talked with some people passing through about our trip so far and even met the guy who runs the water cache we camped at the night before. “Rock solid” showed up too which was neat. We all hung out, snacking and talking until about 3:30. Then “2 mile” and “Blue bonnet” showed up and we pretty much had a little SOBO social.

It was cool to sit in the shade and just talk. We decided to do 8 more miles to a creek and campsite and left at 4 to head there. These 8 miles were relatively easy with a little up and down. I had to stop and take care of my feet 3 mile before the camp. But then I was able to cover those 3 miles in an hour which felt thrilling. I got to camp at 7:10. I hiked 23.9 miles on this day and took 3 20 minute breaks and one long lunch break from 2 to 4. It felt so nice to have longer breaks, get to camp before dark, and still have such a full day of hiking. I was able to wash up in the creek and get rid of the enormous amount of dirt on my legs from just 2 days of hiking.

Day 67 was a stinky one, literally. For most of the day I was walking through Lassen Volcanic National Park and the smell of sulphuric was everywhere. I left camp by 6:15 and walked 4 miles until I reached the southern boundary of the park. It was so cool, as I climbed up I got better and better views of the mountains nearby. The trail was pretty sandy which made getting traction difficult. This was also the start of the burned area which I believe is from the Dixie fire last year. There were a couple warnings posted about traveling in burned sections and how it can be dangerous. Trees and branches falling down is my biggest concern and all day I could hear the trees cracking in the wind. Most of the trees around me were burnt and there was a lot of low vegetation. This meant that the trail had open views the whole way through the park. I took a couple breaks because I was feeling very tired. The trail was really flat and for some reason this makes me tired and bored, the same thing happened when I walked on the forest roads in Oregon. I just tried to power through til lunch time.

I got to Lower Twin Lake by 11:40 and decided I’d stop there for lunch since there were some nice tree trunks laid down to sit on. There was a sandy beach and the lake was nice to look at. I had some food and then laid down to take a quick nap. I didn’t end up falling asleep but it felt rejuvenating to just lay down with my eyes closed for a bit. I left the lake by 1 and continued on to do the last 12 ish miles for the day. I saw more burned trees which made me think that maybe I’m getting the full experience of the volcanic park.

I saw Boiling Springs which was a little creepy. It was this small lake, turquoise colored that was boiling and bubbling. There was some sort of steam coming off of the lake too. There was a sign posted about not going off the trail because the ground is pretty thin and can cave in easily. I kept my distance, it was too weird for me to get close anyway.

I kept going and made it to the side trail for the terminal geyser! It’s not an actual geyser but does create a lot of steam! It’s a geothermal steam vent. I’ve never seen anything like it before. There was a bunch of steam and bubbling noises at this spot. It smelled the worst here too. I could feel the warmth from the steam which was impressive. You couldn’t get too close to it because of the ground being frail and all so again I kept my distance.

The rocks nearby had sulphur all over them. It was so cool walking through these areas since it’s so different from anything I’ve ever seen before. Mountains and forests are great to walk through but this volcanic park is one of my favorite spots now, even if it smelled like rotten eggs all day.

I walked about another mile and made it to the northern boundary of the park. I had to go through the whole 19.3 miles in one day since you can only camp there with a bear canister (which I do not have). I got some water from a stream nearby and walked another 1.5 miles to a campsite that overlooks Domingo Lake. Which seemed fitting since it was a Sunday when I camped there. I had to set up my rain fly because it started sprinkling. I thought about not setting it up and just going to sleep but I didn’t want to have to get up in the middle of the night if it did start actually raining. A couple of mice visited me before I fell asleep, they were pretty interested in my macaroni and cheese dinner.

Day 68 was a great day. I left camp at 6:30 and had some tasty banana nut oatmeal for breakfast. I’ve only had the brown sugar and maple oatmeal for the past couple weeks so this was a nice change. I walked downhill quite a ways to a creek where I could filter some water. I washed up a little bit here. While I was filtering it started to rain as well so I put the rain cover on my pack and threw my rain jacket on. It was a little chilly out which surprised me because I was sweating my butt off just two days before. I like the colder weather though so I won’t complain.

I walked a couple miles farther and came to Stover Spring. There was water flowing into this pond right next to a dirt road. It wasn’t the cleanest or nicest looking water source but water is water. It was 11:30 when I got there so I sat down and had lunch. While I was making a peanut butter sandwich I heard something walking nearby. When I looked up I saw a doe with a fawn just across the pond! I stayed super still and quiet and watched them for a bit. The fawn noticed me and kept staring at me, it ran away a couple of times but always came back to the water and it’s mom. I kept making my food and wasn’t trying to be quiet and they still stayed by the water. The doe walked the perimeter of the pond grazing on the vegetation nearby, and came pretty close to me. We looked at eachother a couple of times but the doe never ran away. I thought it was cool to share my lunchtime with the deer.

I left around 1 to keep hiking. I always feel better after taking a long lunch break.

I walked through a lot of land belonging to logging companies. I saw logs stacked up and could hear chainsaws and trucks roaring as I passed by numerous dirt roads.

I passed the highway that takes you into Chester as well. I didn’t need to stop since I had enough food to get me to Belden.

I kept on hiking and started the last uphill climb for the day. It was about 2,400 feet in 7 miles. Not too steep but just a long uphill climb. I kept a steady pace and enjoyed the scenery. I could see the mountains that I walked by yesterday which was interesting. It rained a little bit off and on which meant I had to take my jacket off and on a couple times. It was too hot going up hill to wear it all day.

I could hear branches cracking and breaking pretty much all day. 90% of the trees I walked by were dead and burnt so they made a lot of noise in the wind.

I made it to my campsite at 6:20. This was also the halfway point of the entire trail! I got to the little cement monument and let out some tears of joy. I have been so excited to reach this point for the past couple days I almost couldn’t believe I was there. I was feeling very proud of myself, just like how I felt when I finished the 46 high peaks. I took a bunch of pictures and signed the trail log. I signed my new trail name that I gave myself, Hank. I also wrote “joy is not made to be a crumb.” I like putting little quotes like that in trail registers. I sat there for a while too thinking about the trail thus far. It’s exceeded my expectations. I’ve really been able to understand myself and the world around me. I’ve been able to be close to wildlife and have some interesting interactions. I’ve been independent enough to navigate the trail, hitchhiking, and detours. I’ve met loads of neat people with great stories. And I’ve walked from Canada to this point. I’m only halfway done and I have enough stories to last a lifetime. I’m excited to see what else lays in store.

I set up my rain fly just below the trail next to some somewhat alive trees. It started raining again so I shoved everything under the fly and started making my dinner. About an hour later the three hikers I hung out with at Old Station showed up! We talked a bit and took some group photos. They continued on and I said goodbye. I only did 21.7 miles on this day but I didn’t really care since it was raining and I wanted to savor the feeling of being at the halfway point.

I left camp by 6:40 on day 69. Despite getting more sleep I was still not excited to get up in the morning. It was pretty cool in the morning and I wore my beanie to stay warm. It was nice to see the morning sun shining on the mountains. I went uphill for about 1.5 miles and for most of the day was walking along ridge lines. It was really pretty and I had amazing views all day.i also saw another bear walking on the trail! I almost didn’t notice it at first. It was just munching along and didn’t hear me. I made some noise so it knew I was there and it took off down a hill. I saw it again half a mile later, and it ran off again.

I took a couple of small breaks throughout the morning, I was pretty hungry so I snacked a bunch. I walked til about 11:30 when I got to a spring. The spring was suppose to be .3 miles off trail but felt a lot longer than that. It was 300 feet of descent to this small spring. I went down and collected water to filter. When I got back to my backpack it was 11:45 so I decided I might as well have lunch there. I scrolled through some comments on the FarOut app about Belden. Someone said the store is changing their hours, this caused a whole bunch of panic for me. I called the store and no one answered. My mom called and they answered her but told her that they don’t have any packages under my name. I was suppose to pick up my resupply and a new pair of shoes there. I called the store again and they told me they don’t have anything for me and to check my tracking numbers. Turns out neither one of the boxes have been delivered. Im thinking it might be because of recent wildfires but I’m not sure. Either way it stressed me out. I tried to not worry about it which didn’t work that great. So, to kind of calm myself down and feel better I just listened to some John Prine and Adele. That always works.

I walked 8 more miles after lunch to the next water. This was called cold springs and is definitely named appropriately. It was super cold and felt great on my face. I filtered some water and continued on to do 5 more miles for the day. I met a guy named Todd just after the water. He was just walking around the woods and told me he was with a crew that was surveying fire damage in the area. I hadn’t met anybody on his crew and apparently he hadn’t seen them in a while. He asked a lot of questions about my hike and all that. I just kept things short since it’s always weird to find someone randomly in the woods without a backpack or anything else. He offered me some dried apples to which I politely declined. All he had with him was a water bottle so I wasn’t sure where he was keeping the apples and all. I said goodbye and kept walking. Interactions like that are so weird to me. I’m pretty sure I heard him either singing loudly or yelling for his crew after I left.

I got to my campsite at this spring around 7. I did 23.7 miles on this day. I set up camp and read my book for a while. It feels good setting up before it gets dark out.

On day 69 I headed to Belden. I had about 12.5 miles of downhill to the small resort town. It was pretty steep and sandy in some sections which was a little frustrating. It’s difficult to go quickly when it’s so steep. I just kept a steady pace and listened to some podcasts. I crossed a stream close to the town where the bridge had been burnt which was interesting to see. I got to town by 12:30. It reminded me so much of an old western town. Everything was in one building, restaurant, hotel, and store. The wind was opening and closing the door to the restaurant and there were no lights on. I almost thought the place was closed. Luckily they weren’t. Neither one of my boxes were here to pick up either which was upsetting. I was able to get one resupply box that was delivered to the wrong store, the lady who owned it was nice enough to drive it to me.

I had some fries, chicken tenders, and 2 Shirley temples while I was in Belden waiting for my electronics to charge. While I was eating I met a couple who were pretty curious about my hike. They asked a bunch of questions about what I do for food, camping, and if I’m really walking alone. They also said that if their daughter was hiking it they would be such proud parents. They were nice people.

I left Belden around 5 and walked 5 miles uphill to the first water source. I don’t love hiking at night so I kept the mileage short. I got to the water source around 8, had to make my own sloped campsite because to my surprise there were no tent sites up there! I did 17.9 miles on this day. it’s also getting a lot colder out now, most mornings it’s around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The next town I get to will be Sierra City in about 4 days. Hopefully my new shoes are there!