Section M Sierra City to Belden—August 16-19, 2020
On August 16th, I soon began the switchbacks up to the Sierra Buttes and beyond with an ascent of over 2,800 ft. Sierra City is far below the PCT trail.
At the top of the Sierra Buttes area, I came across one of the few equestrians on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). She was just out for a day trip. During the day, the Sierra Buttes range dominated the views.
I stopped for the night near Tree Spring. I hiked 22 miles in 13 hours with ascents of 8,901 ft and descents of 6,586 ft.
On August 17th, it was a day of hiking up and down numerous gullies and switchbacks passing by Mt. Etna and along Bunker Hill Ridge.
I ended the day near Fowler Lake after hiking 23 miles in 12 hours.
On August 18th, I crossed over the largest equestrian-hiker bridge in the entire PCT which crosses the Middle Fork Feather River at the start of the day.
I had broad views as I passed Lookout Rock and ended the day near the Big Creek Road near Quincy. I hiked 22 miles in 12 hours.
On August 19th, I enjoyed this early morning sunrise as I began my hike to Belden some 24 miles away and a 12-hour hike.
There were two ascents to Bucks Lake Road followed by Clear Creek Springs and then it was a big descent of 5,000 ft. to Belden. There was a sign that the PCT north from here was closed because of a recent fire. I decided to hitchhike to Quincy for the night since Belden looked kind of creepy.
I quickly got a hitch from a pastor from Tuolumne who was also a professional recycler.
I stopped by the Plumas National Forest Service office just before it closed to see if I could hike up the Indian Creek trail that paralleled the fire-closed PCT. Rita, the ranger, told me I could hike it but warned me that it was an unmaintained trail and to expect lots of downfall trees and overgrown bushes.
I then checked into the motel where I showered, washed my stuff, and went out for dinner in my rain pants and jacket while my clothes dried. I had a huge steak, potatoes, and lots of beer.
Section N. Belden to Burney Falls—August 20-25, 2020
On August 20th, after a huge breakfast of an omelet, hash browns, bacon, coffee, and grapefruit juice, I quickly got a hitch on Highway 70 north from Quincy up to Highway 89 from a union negotiator with the sawmill owners. From there, I got another hitch from a couple—the guy was a game warden— to Belden.
When I started up the Indian Creek Trail it was a steep climb along Indian Creeks and the trail was clear. Unfortunately, once the trail left Indian Creek in a series of switchbacks, I ran into a tangle of downed trees so much so that the trail was obliterated. I navigated by walking along with the downed trees as I ascended and found trail markings by the previous cuts of downed trees.
I spent the night near one of the creeks that flowed into Indian Creek after hiking for over 12 hours and just 4 miles.
On August 21st, I continued up to the top of the hill where I rejoined the PCT. Here are the signs that marked the closed PCT. I also got my first view of Mt. Lassen. That was a rough 4 miles of bushwhacking the day before. From here I passed by some more burn areas on the way to Soldier Creek where I would spend the night. I hiked 41 miles in 19 hours with ascents of 4,583 ft and descents of 5,548 ft.
On August 22nd, I was looking forward to a short hike of 4 miles to the intersection of the PCT with Highways 36/89. I got a 17-mile hitch into Chester from a Forest Service Air Tactical manager who told me it had been a very busy fire season. I told him about how I had difficulty hiking the alternate trail that bypassed the recent Chip fire on the PCT.
When I got to town, I saw lots of Forest Service and Cal Fire trucks parked around town as a staging area for other fires in the area.
I again enjoyed stopping at these trail towns for the comfortable hotels and big meals before heading out on the PCT.
On August 23rd, I got a quick hitch back to the PCT trailhead from a Caltrans tree faller in his old Land Rover. He said his wife had seen me when I was in Quincy on the 19th and the day before in Chester.
After two hours of hiking, I met the legendary “Yogi”— who was southbound. She is a Triple Crown Holder—hiked the PCT, Appalachian, and Continental Divide Trails—and author of two PCT guide books—Yogi’s PCT Handbook Planning Guide, and PCT Data Book.
In the afternoon I entered the Lassen National Parks and hiked by a number of geysers, fumaroles, hot springs, and pools beginning with the Terminal Geyser.
After passing the Hot Springs Creek, the PCT passed by the historic Drakesbad Guest Ranch. Since the PCT guidebook mentioned that Drakesbad welcomes hikers for meals there, I decided to stop there for dinner.
Drakesbad established in 1880, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, and the property was purchased by the National Park Service and is now run as a concession dude ranch within the Lassen National Park.
When I checked with the receptionist, she said that I was the only PCT hiker on this day, and she invited me to use the hot springs pool before dinner. She also said that I would join other guests to eat in the regular dining room rather than out on the deck when several PCT thru-hikers showed up.
I took a good shower before getting in the hot springs. It was so relaxing. I talked to some of the guests and it seemed like for many of them it was an annual pilgrimage over several family generations.
I joined a table of 4 for dinner from Minnesota and had come here at about the same time for the past 10 years. They were really interested in my PCT hiking experiences.
It turned out that all of the beautiful waitresses were Russians on worker visas. They would stay at Drakesbad during the entire summer and then at the end were allowed to visit other places for 2 weeks before returning home.
Prime rib was served and my Russian waitress put two large slabs on my plate—she was experienced with the hunger of PCTers. She told me for her two-week vacation before returning home was to go to San Francisco and Disneyland.
After dinner, I hiked about a half-mile to the Warner Valley Campground for the night. I had hiked 19 miles.
On August 24th, I crossed the Grassy Swale Meadow with its boardwalk over the smushy part of the PCT.
After passing Lower Twin Lakes, I took an alternative 4 1/2 mile trail down through the Cluster Lakes area and rejoined the PCT at Badger Flat.
More of the PCT crossed fields of lava rocks.
I continued to hike after dark to reduce the time I would be hiking along this Hat Rim portion of the PCT during the following day.
I stopped and cowboy camped by the old lookout and radio tower after I had covered a very hot and dry 41 miles in 19 hours with ascents of 2,946 ft and descents of 3,776 ft. It was a bug-free night so I didn’t bother with the tent and enjoyed the sky-filled stars before falling asleep.
On August 25th, I was amazed to see I was on top of this big Hat Rim ridge with the Hat Creek Valley below when I woke up. I had hiked up here in the dark so I did not see it the previous day. I saw Mt. Shasta in the distance.
I was pleased to find this Trail Magic water cache left by a Trail Angel so I did not have to drop down to the Old Station Picnic Ground for water.
After refilling my two liters with water, I continued along this dry and dusty lined with lava flows.
After a very hot hike in the open Hat Rim ridge, the PCT finally drops off the ridges and I followed it to Highway 89 where I hitched a ride into Burney Falls where I found a motel and lots of food for the night.
On August 26th, I hitched back out to the PCT and began hiking to the Burney Falls State Park. I first hiked through a burn area before getting to the falls which oozed water throughout the entire cliff area—amazing. After enjoying the falls and the nearby ice cream shop, I continued on.
Section O. Burney Falls to Dunsmuir—August 26-28, 2020
It was another dry, hot day with temperatures over 90 degrees, and fortunately, most of the trail did not have any major climbs or descents during the day.
I passed by Rock Creek and Rock Creek Falls along with several dirt roads that continued to cross the PCT where I continued to hear off-road vehicles enjoying these dirt roads.
I ended the day near Bartle Gap with its small spring. I hiked 29 miles in 15 hours.
On August 27th, I began the day with a big climb of 2,300 ft to Moosehead Creek headwaters in just 5 miles. From here I had a good view of Mt. Shasta which was near my destination of Dunsmuir just over 50 trail miles away.
After circumnavigating the Butcherknife Creek Valley, I ended my day at the Doodlebug Gulch where I found some water and a stealth campsite. I hiked 23 miles in 12 hours.
On August 28th, I was completing the California portion of the PCT. During the day, I frequently saw Mt. Shasta as I continued to get closer to it.
After crossing the McCloud River Bridge, I passed by Ash Camp and the popular Adh-Di-Na Campground.
It was a day of big climbs and descents of 3,600 ft and then down by 2,500 ft followed by ups ad downs of 1,500- 2,500 ft.
As I got down to under 3,500 ft. elevation, I began walking through what looked like a war zone of logging filled with bulldozer-wide paths and dusty roads. It was a pretty disappointing ending to my PCT hike in California.
When I reached the I-5 freeway, I ended up getting a hitch from a California Highway Patrol who told me it was illegal to hitchhike here. After checking his computer for any outstanding warrants, he gave me a 3-mile ride up to Dunsmuir.
I had hiked 33 miles in 17 hours with ascents of 5,331 ft and descents of 7,280 ft.
I bought an AMTRAK ticket for $40 from Dunsmuir, CA to Eugene, OR that was scheduled to arrive at 5 AM and get me to Eugene at 12:30 PM.
I checked into the Cedar Lodge for the night and enjoyed a hot shower, washed my clothes, and enjoyed a big meal before getting to bed early for the early departure.
I was stopping at Eugene, OR to complete my Pacific Crest Trail adventure from the McKenzie Pass to Bridge of the Gods portion I had earlier missed of a wildfire closure back in 2006.
On August 29th, I was surprised that the Coast Starlight was on time going north Eugene compared to when I traveled from Seattle to Dunsmuir back in 2005.
The next entry will describe my last portion of hiking the PCT from McKenzie Pass to the Bridge of the Gods, OR.
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