Down and Up

Today, I have been retired 4 years. It is hard to believe it has been that long. We have made the most of these early retirement years. A 90 day trip to Europe in 2012 right after we retired was a very memorable trip. 2013 was not a good year with Carol dealing with breast cancer and then my father passing in August while we were back east visiting. We rebounded in 2014 with a revitalized passion to enjoy life by hiking the Pacific Crest trail from the Mexican Border to South Tahoe. 2015 involved us not sleeping in our own bed for 7 months. We attended my daughters graduation for her associate degree, visited places and friends on a slow drive to the east coast. Attended our eldest sons wedding in New Jersey and followed it up with another wonderful 90 day European adventure. Returning we helped our parents in New York and New Jersey, attended a wedding in Florida, and made our way back home in the beginning of December. We had no plan for 2016 until our friend Pendulum, planted a seed about hiking more of the PCT. So here we are doing just that. We both feel blessed that we have had these opportunities and are healthy enough and committed enough to share these adventures together. Now back to our hike.

Our campsite last night was great. It was cool, soft sandy ground, no bugs around, and I even saw a shooting star. We got up with the beautiful sunrise at 0510 and managed to eat, take down camp, and be ready to go at 0620. In less than a half mile we are at the beginning of our long steep descent. We will lose around 3400 feet in elevation over the next 4 miles. We are hiking in low shrubs and as we lose elevation, we reach forest which keeps us in the shade. This is good because as we descend, we can feel the temperature start to rise. We spook a grouse that was hiding right by the trail and he flies off from our feet into the trees below. Maybe it was us that were spooked as he took off. We continue down until we finally reach the edge of Belden. We cross railroad tracks and hit the paved road to town.

Welcome…Kind Of

We are welcomed with a sign saying that the town has been rented out for a festival but we are welcome to spend our money in their store and bar as long as we do not attend the festival. As we walk along the road, there are hundreds of people camped everywhere. The festival does not start until tomorrow but the festivities seem to be starting earlier. We reach the town which is really just a small resort, store, and bar. It is 0850 in the morning and people are already drinking in the bar. We are glad we are not staying here as we are sure we would not get any sleep. We do make use of the rest rooms and buy an overpriced bottle of PowerAde. We walk through the rest of Belden, cross the North Fork of the Feather River on a bridge and cross Highway 70 to the trail head on the other side. We stop at a picnic table to drink our PowerAde and have a snack to fuel us up for the climb ahead. We also check out the Eby Stamp Mill which was used to crush gold ore.

By the time we start hiking again, it is 0940. We start out with a small climb that is in the sun and even at this mid morning hour, the heat is strong. As the climb mellows out, we enter some forest and shade.

Indian Creek

This continues to Indian Creek, where we stop to get some water. It is a very nice cool sanctuary but we know that the longer we linger, the hotter it is getting. With this thought in mind, we head on out again. The first mile is fairly flat and forested. That is where the real climbing starts. It is also where the shade ends as we enter a burn area with no trees. As the sun beats down on us, my sweat glands go into overdrive. There is some occasional shade from the taller shrubs along the trail and every time we find it, a short standing stop is had. We barely make it a mile from the start of the climb, when I have to stop in a small amount of shade along the side of the trail. Just sitting and letting my body cool down a little  helps tremendously. I am sure the temperature is pushing 90 and it is only getting hotter.

Exposed Burn Area

We can see that as the trail rounds a bend it, it climbs fairly steeply. Our next goal is to make it another .5 miles to where hopefully a small seasonal creek is running. We are carrying enough water but it is no longer cold and if we can stop and just filter and drink from the creek, it will help with our hydration and mental attitude. It is tough going but we make it and joyfully the creek is running.  There is even a sliver of shade nearby and we make use of it as we camel up with the cold water.

Our next stop will hopefully be Rattlesnake Spring, 1.3 miles further. The trail here is totally exposed with no shade or relief rom the torturous sun. It is amazing how much the heat can sap your energy and strength. With the heat now coming off the rocks and earth, I am guessing that it feels like 100 degrees. We hope that when we reach the next spring that we will be back in the forest as we can see some trees in the distance. It is only about a mile before we hit some sporadic trees and shade and shortly after that we enter the Lassen National Forest and it lives up to the forest name at this point. It is easily 20 degrees cooler in the shade. When we reach Rattlesnake Spring, Pit Stop breaks her protocol, and does not want to stop.

Rattle Snake Spring

We have enough water to get to the next creek and the place where we originally planned to camp. It is about a mile and she just wants to keep moving. Even in the woods, she always gets what she wants from her man, so we keep moving. It is still hot but with the shade, it is now bearable. We get to the old Williams Cabin site with no cabin remains anywhere. However, there is a great campsite and the nearby creek is flowing clear and cold. It is 1:45 and we decide to hang out for a while and decide later if we will go any further.

We put our feet in the creek, have lunch, and set up the tent to rest in. The spot is too nice as we get in a little nap, hydrate some more and decide that we are pretty beat from the heat and should just stay put. Other than getting to town, it is the earliest that we have stopped hiking. It will give our bodies recuperating time and hopefully help my new blister to heal. Yes the heat got to my feet in a not so nice way. Dinner tonight is a Mountain House Chili Mac which is one of our favorites. That helps the spirits and we get an early start to bed knowing that tomorrow is more big climbing. The stats for today are 11.25 miles hiked at a pace of 2.3MPH. After starting at our high point of the day at 5400 feet this morning and descending to 2200 feet in Belden, we are now camped at 3640 feet. We have to go up to 7000 feet tomorrow.