Hannah the hiker

Day 75 was a good day. I woke up and had breakfast with some other SOBOS. We talked about the weather and our plans going forward. We all walk to the post office together to get our resupply boxes. I had to re-supply boxes here both had food and one of them had warm clothes and my tent in it. My shoes were in the general store though and the store wasn’t going to be open until Tuesday at 1 PM so I was trying to figure out if I needed to stay another day in Sierra City. The owner of the Sierra City hotel messaged the store owner and found someone with a spare key to let me in to get my box. I was very thankful that people helped me get my shoes so I could get back on trail. The owner of the Sierra City hotel gave me a small tour of the hotel and told me about the mining history of the town. The hotel was built 140 years ago and was one of the first places built to accommodate miners during the gold rush. Cheryl strayed also stayed at the hotel while she was doing her Pacific crest Trail hike. That was super exciting for me and he told me that when he gets the hotel up and running he’s going to invite her for a big hiker party next summer. I charge my phone up and got ready to go back on the trail. The owner gave me a ride to the trail and we talked a bunch about our experiences in the outdoors and how much we enjoy adventuring.

When I got back on the trail at 3 PM the sun was shining and it looked like maybe it wasn’t going to rain again for the rest of the day. So I took my layers off and started the uphill climb out of Sierra city. Sure enough it started sprinkling about an hour in and I had to put my pack cover on my backpack and put my rain jacket back on. For about an hour I kept taking my jacket off and my rain pants off and putting them back on because I was overheating or getting too cold because of the rain.

I plan to walk at least 10 miles coming out of town and camp. However around 6 o’clock it started raining harder and got a lot colder. So I just found a spot underneath some trees to set up my tent. As soon as I was setting up everything it started raining even harder so a lot of my tent was wet before I even got inside of it. Everything was set by 6:30 which is probably the earliest I’ve gotten to camp in a long time. I don’t mind hiking in the rain but when it’s this cold out I don’t think it’s the safest idea to keep walking.

Day 76 was another cold and rainy day. I left camp by 7:30, pretty late but that’s when the rain finally stopped. I had a little bit of up and down throughout the day bouncing between 7,500 and 8,000 feet in elevation. I was so excited to be up that high since I’ve never hiked at that elevation! However my excitement was dampened, literally, by how soaked I was. My rain pants and rain jacket held up but I was still chilled to the bone because of the wind and my shirt was not moisture wicking. I thought the sun was making an appearance around 12:30 so I quickly stopped and put my tent out to dry. I had a quick lunch too since my hands were getting so cold I didn’t want them outside my mittens to long. My tent barely dried before it started raining again so I packed up and kept walking. I was so grateful that I had to go uphill for a bit since it warmed me up. I listened to some of my cozy autumn playlists too since it’s really feeling like fall. I was also able to see the storm rolling in up that high. I was walking toward grey storm clouds which felt quite poetic. I really enjoy walking in the rain since it is really calming so this day went by easily for me and I found that 25 miles flew by. The sun actually came out at sunset and it was really beautiful seeing it shine through the clouds hanging low over the mountains. I walked to the Peter Grubb hut which I thought would be open to hikers. Turns out it wasn’t, it was all locked up. There was a double decker outhouse though. For a moment I thought of camping inside the little room, but the smell turned me away. Instead I did the next best thing which was setting up my tent underneath the staircase. I figured that would keep my tent a bit more dry, and it somewhat did. So now I can say I’ve slept under an outhouse!

All of my stuff was damp so it was chilly as I was trying to fall asleep. I managed though and slept pretty good.

Day 76 I had another late start. I decided to hike to the highway and get a ride to Truckee to get out of the impending thunderstorm and to buy some warmer clothes. I waited at the rest stop for two hours without any offers for a rude. Someone thought I was homeless too. That’s a first, I didn’t think all my pricey gear gave off the look of being homeless. Luckily a trail angel came and picked me up and gave me a tour of Truckee before dropping me off at the mountain gear store.

Here I spent more money than I wanted to buying some warmer layers. I guess it’s like the saying goes, “buy once, cry once.” I know this sweater and base layer will last me so it’s a good investment. I sent some stuff home at the post office and then went to the best diner Ive ever been to. Jax on the tracks, great milkshakes and typical diner food. I never had to ask for more coffee, my kind of place. I hadn’t planned on stopping in Truckee since my next resupply box is in South Lake Tahoe. But I’m glad I got out of the cold and rain and enjoyed the town. I stayed at the Redlight hostel which was such a neat place. It was a speakeasy hostel that also served ice cream and had a sauna! I shared a dorm room with two other women. The bunk beds were very cozy and were essentially their own little cubbies since each had its own above head shelving, outlets, and light. I felt so cozy in there and so much better since it was the perfect cure to being out in the rain the past couple days. I was able to use the sauna too which felt relaxing. I met another southbound pct hiker here which was cool. They have done a flip flop southbound hike but are now finally headed south. We talked about our reasons for being on the trail and the stuff we carry. I was glad to meet another hiker who classifies their gear and pack as “excessive.” They also walk the same mileage as me, I haven’t met any hikers that are going my pace!

I had a root beer float after the sauna and headed to bed.

In the morning I got up early and tried to quietly pack my backpack while everyone was asleep. I went to the cornerstone bakery and got a coffee, coffee cake, and an everything croissant stuffed with cream cheese. I’m so lucky I hike everyday because I could not eat this much food outside of the thru hike. I ate it while I waited for the trail angel who gave me a ride the day before to come and pick me up and bring me back to the trail. I got dropped off back at the rest area by 8:30. I said goodbye to Patrick (the trail angel) and we all took a selfie. In the limited time I got to know him he seemed like a great person. He was very helpful in getting me to where I needed to go and going out of his way to do so. I felt pretty fortunate to have someone give me a ride to and from the trail.

I hiked about 4 miles with Anti (the other southbounder I met) until we got to the road that takes you to the Donner Ski ranch. He offered to buy me lunch since I got him a ride to the trail. The ski ranch gives PCT Hikers a free 40 oz beer when you show them your permit. I don’t like or drink beer so I redeemed my free one and gave it to Anti. The bartender stamped my permit too which was cool, it’s almost like a passport.

I had a grilled cheese, French fries, and a slice of homemade strawberry rhubarb pie. All so good, and so filling. The sun was finally shining so after eating I headed back for the trail. It was mostly uphill straight from the ranch which was a force after eating so much food. But the weather was nice and I felt good so I didn’t mind. The trail was very exposed and I had spectacular views of the mountains and valleys around me. I hiked up to 8,700 feet which is the highest I’ve ever hiked (so far). I really enjoyed this part of the trail because I could see for miles and I could see the ski lifts nearby which was cool. I hiked about 19.4 miles on this day and set up camp around 8. It was great still getting in a good amount of miles on a day when I took a bunch of breaks and got a late start. I wanted to hike more but I needed to time when I got to the bounds dry of the Desolation Wilderness. If you camp in this 20 ish mile section you need a bear canister and I don’t have mine yet. So I had to only do 20 on this day so I wouldn’t have to do an insane amount of miles to get through the boundary in a day. Another southbound flip flop hiker camped at the same tentsite as me which was cool. I haven’t camped with anyone else in I don’t even know how long!

On day 78 I slept in and left camp at 7:30. I only had 19 miles to do on this day before the desolation wilderness boundary. I took my time and really enjoyed the views by taking several breaks. I had a bit of a climb in the morning up to 8,300 feet in elevation. At this point I could see all of the ski lifts for the surrounding area which was cool. The trail up at this elevation was mostly ridge type walking so I had some more great views for several miles. I walked under some massive rocks that seemed to spring up out of nowhere. The sun was shining and the sky was clear and blue which made for perfect weather. I wore my warm clothes in the morning since it was about 35 degrees Fahrenheit when I woke up, but by 10 am I could change into shorts and just my long sleeve. I have never been up at 8,000 plus feet before so I wasn’t sure how I would feel at that elevation. I didn’t notice any huge changes in how I felt besides my chest seemed to feel a bit tight and that could have been because I was working hard going uphill. Im wondering if I will notice any other changes the further I get into the Sierras.

I stopped at 12:30 and had my lunch. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I haven’t had one of those in a while. I had homemade jam my dad sent me in my last resupply box. Carrying a glass jar of jam is a bit heavy for backpacking but I think it’s worth it’s weight in gold. It was so tasty and made my day to have something from home to eat. I hung out for about an hour before continuing on. Throughout the day I kind of leap frogged with King Arthur the hiker I met the night before. It was kind of nice talking with someone intermittently during the day.

There was a trailhead that I passed by a couple miles before camp which had a bathroom. What a luxury! I took a quick break there since I had cell service too.

I kept on walking and listened to some John Prine before getting to Richardson Lake. This was one of the last campsites before the Desolation wilderness boundary. I got there at 5:50, very early. I couldn’t keep hiking though because I didn’t have a bear canister to camp in the boundary. It was kind of nice to be forced to camp early though because I was pretty tired. The lake was quiet and calm and there was only one other person there. I set up my tent and just rested until I made some dinner which was just knorrs chicken flavored rice. The hiking on this day was cruisey. There was only a little uphill in the morning and then some up and down for the rest of the day. I went to sleep by 8:30.

Day 79 was another great day. I had a nice breakfast courtesy of some MRE boxes, Irish cream cappuccino and granola with dried blueberries! I left camp by 7 and I walked about a mile before getting to the Desolation Wilderness boundary. This wilderness was amazing and is now one of my favorite parts of the trail. There were huge mountains all around me barely covered in vegetation. I walked around several alpine lakes which were beautiful. They were insanely blue and looked so pristine. Some of the lakes had Little Rock islands that looked like fun to swim to. I also hiked to the highest elevation I’ve been at so far, 9,365 feet! This was a climb to Dicks Pass and I had lunch as soon as I was up there because I had an amazing view of the entire wilderness area. I was feeling really great. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana nut ranger bar while I enjoyed the view.

Being up that high with such a great view makes me so excited for the rest of the Sierra Nevadas. I packed up and left by 2 and continued on to finish 10 more miles for the day. Again I walked by some amazing lakes and just kept saying wow to myself because it was so beautiful. The lakes looked so inviting for a swim but it definitely wasn’t hot enough out for me to take a dip. I was also cursing myself at this point for not bringing a bear can. There were so many beautiful campsites, especially near Lake Aloha. This was my favorite lake of the bunch. There were several rock islands and huge slabs of rock to camp on. I had my dinner here since I wanted to hang out for a bit.

There were a lot of people camping and it was fun to watch the water and hear people nearby, a nice change from being one all the time. I hiked on though and walked out of the wilderness boundary. I set up camp after this point and stayed up pretty late reviewing my maps for the upcoming sierras. I was getting so excited about the next part of trail. It feels crazy to think that I will be in the high sierras so soon after thinking about it for months. I went to sleep around 9:30!

I woke up at 5:30 and left camp by 6:30 headed for Echo Lake on day 80. This was another great part of trail! I walked along the lake for 3 miles and saw a bunch of cute cottages that sat right on the lake. If I ever lived on the west coast I wouldn’t mind living there tucked right in the mountains of desolation wilderness on the lake. I got to the little village and continued another mile to Highway 50. Here I saw a list of trail angel phone numbers for rides into South Lake Tahoe, but nobody was able to give me a ride. I didn’t want to hitchike at first since it’s such a busy highway. But I stuck my thumb out and put on a big smile looking for a ride. About 5 minutes passed before an ambulance turned around for me.

They megaphoned as they turned around and said “we’re here for you.” I thought that was funny. They let me sit in the back which I got a real kick out of, it’s the first time I’ve ever ridden in an ambulance! I talked with the driver during the ride and they were surprised I’ve walked all the way there from Canada. They dropped me off at a cafe and wished me luck. At this cafe I met Whisky! I hiked with Whisky during the first week of the trail and haven’t seen her since so it was so great to catch up! We are probably going to be hiking together in the Sierras which makes me happy to know I won’t be so alone. I am a bit worried about how high elevations will affect me so I’m glad to know there will be a friend nearby. She headed back to the trail after we ate and I headed to the free pct hiker campground. I set my tent up, washed up, and then headed out to buy some maps and more fuel for my camp stove. South Lake Tahoe is pretty big and I had to take a bus to get to a gear shop.

It seems like a big touristy place but pretty hiker friendly so far. I’m taking the rest of the day off and picking up my resupply box at the post office in the morning. It feels nice to recharge and get ready for this next section of trail in the Sierras! I’m at mile 1562 now! It feels like the trail is flying by. I’m hoping I can keep up my average of 20-25 miles a day in the Sierras and still enjoy them. But if I find that the altitude is really affecting me then I might have to slow down a little bit, I guess we will see.