7/18/20; Mile: 1,206; elevation: 6,700ft.
It was an uneventful night, no trees falling on my tent. The evening was pleasant despite the sound of vehicles so close to my hidden site. Some mosquitoes were out again, but nothing really horrible and it never got cold, just pleasantly cool. Summertime in the Sierras, not a bad place to live.
I had eleven miles to make by noon to meet my resupply at Highway 49 near Sierra City. My friends Mark and Mia were bringing me my box at the highway crossing so I wouldn’t have to go in to town. The hiking is almost exclusively all in trees and mostly downhill. These are the days that just seem to fly by. A light pack, favorable trail conditions, excellent weather and friends waiting for me. Don’t be late!
By the time I reached Milton Creek, it started to get warm. But the fauna has also changed, looking more lush due to the lower elevation and abundance of water. Excepting the warmth, it was a nice respite from the drier pine barrens (which will become aplenty the further north I go). With about a mile to go, I hear familiar voices on the trail below me. Not only did Mark and Mia walk down-trail to meet me, they brought another couple that I’ve known for years as well, Don and Beth. In another world Mark, Don and I are known to ride motorcycles a bit. We’re gonna have to continue that. The second surprise is that Don brought beer! Now this is truly trail magic. Which is to say, unexpected gifts on trail (usually food and/or drink). To get picky, this meets the definition since it was on trail. Meeting hikers at trailheads or road crossings should be called something else. Or not, why should I care? It’s the thought that counts.
We hike back to their cars parked on the shoulder of Highway 49 and they proceed to have a picnic right their on the road. They give me a roast beef sandwich (Oh my!), and then I spot Don pulling a Coke out of his cooler. I may have been slightly rude or maybe just looked ravenous, but that cola was soon down my throat. Cold liquid sugar and caffeine. What a day! Oh, I also had a resupply box to load into my pack. And this is where the fun of the day transitions to weary. The trail from here is uphill for over 2,500 feet on south-facing exposed slopes. But the upside is the views….right?
I bid farewell to my friends and start up the trail. The first three miles are in the trees, but constantly climbing. There’s a wonderfully cool and clear spring where I take some time to rest and camel up. Once the trail leaves the trees, it’s a very exposed and kinda windy slope, mostly talus. At times the trail is very narrow, a slip here would be painful. To the south, thunder clouds are brewing again. I hope they don’t migrate towards me. I’m hiking around the southern face of the Sierra Buttes, a gnarly ridgeback of exposed rock thrusting up to the sky. This is reminiscent of the Sierras further south. After this section, views like this will become fewer and fewer.
When the trail reenters the trees after topping out, there’s Mark and Mia again! They had driven around and up the Sierra Buttes to meet me. They also brought me water, so I didn’t need to stop and filter any. We had a nice little hike back to the road crossing where they parked their car and we parted ways again. I still had a couple of miles to make to get to a decent campsite with water and it was getting late.
This section of trail is a recent re-route. Previously, the trail followed the ridge northbound, sharing space (and dust) with mountain bikes, dirt bikes and four-wheelers. To separate users, the trail was routed down the east side for a couple of miles before climbing back up again a couple of miles later. While I appreciate getting away from the noise and the dust, I don’t know many hikers that like to descend off of a perfectly good ridge walk to have to climb it again. Oh well. If it was easy, anybody would do it.
The problem with new trail is that tent sites aren’t as developed. After dropping off of the Sierra Buttes ridge, the first spots are at Tamarack Lakes. While very pretty, it just didn’t feel right for me for some reason. There were a couple of jeepers camping at the lakes and I just didn’t feel like sharing space and time. So I hiked on. Once the trail left the proximity of the lakes, trying to find a tent spot was painful. The terrain is very rocky and not flat. I finally find a spot in a place that looks like a dried up pond. Despite being dry, mosquitoes are still prevalent, but again not horrible. I’m able to get my tent setup before dark, and by the time my headlamp is lit, the temp has dropped enough to keep the mozzies at bay.
What a hell of a day. I was able to resupply, do a nasty afternoon climb and still get 22 miles under my belt. Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this.
Savior out.
That was such a great day – thanks for letting us be a part of it! 🙂
Great to have friends like that!