Week 6 Mileage: 236.4
Burn zones, straw grass and rotisserie chicken….
Okay, so just barely getting 200 miles in a week was starting to irritate me. Yeah sure, the snow had been slowing me down, but c’mon, I needed a break and I needed a big week. I was hoping I had taken enough food from Kennedy Meadows North to make it to Sierra City, a small town only a mile off trail. But the snow not only caused me to not make my miles, but to burn more calories and eat more food. I was going into Truckee after muscling my way over Squaw Valley Ski Resort and Sugar Bowl. I arrived at Donner Pass just after noon. (Yes, the pass is named after the cannibal family, that’s where it happened.) I hitched in, went straight to the Safe Way, grabbed a ready to eat rotisserie chicken, a sushi roll, 3 large donuts, a pint of B& J’s and a quart of milk. I sat in the shade on the sidewalk and mowed. Took a quick power nap, resupplied, grabbed new socks at the outfitter and was back on trail by 4.
The trail was snow-free until I crossed the interstate and then it started again. Rather than trying to follow the trail under the snow, I did a lot of ‘as the crow flies’ routes. Bee-lining it down to where the trail would cross a river. The next day at 6 pm I made it to Sierra city. I didn’t go in, just ate and talked with ” Half Step” a New Hampshire dude whose wife was meeting him up the trail. She arrived, gave me a Pepsi and 3 oranges, and I was off. 7.8 mile uphill, snow-free, then 3 miles downhill, snow-filled. I called it after a 40 mile day and pitched my tent.
I wasn’t going to make it to Belden before their store closed so I took a detour off the trail at Bucks Lake, had some food, charged my stuff, and headed out. The burn areas were starting to get bad from the 2021 fires. Blowdowns, loose rock and soot everywhere. Any tree or rock I’d touch would get my hands black. The trail had a lot of overgrowth heading down into Velden but I made it there by 8:30 am. There were 2 hikers hanging outside the bar, drinking Modelo’s, smoking cigarettes and nursing a hangover. “Camel” from France and “Bookeeper” from Ohio. I talked with them for a bit then headed out. I’m not a big fan of this section. Once I crossed the road, I had a 14-mile uphill, made worse by the fact that it was getting into the hot part of the day and because of the forest fires from ’21, no shade. Also, the straw grass kept sticking into my socks and I would have to stop periodically and pull them out. I finally made it to the top to find snowpack, which caused me to slip and fell 15 feet. From there, the trail was a twisting mess of slowdowns and burn. The next morning, I arrived at the PCT halfway point. 40.5 days, 1,324 miles. I didn’t stick around, I needed to get to Chester. Between the deet and sun block, all the dust and soot had caked onto me, and after 10 days I desperately needed a shower. After hitching in, I showered, put my laundry in and headed to the market. Grabbed lunch and resupplied, not just for the upcoming stretch but for Oregon as well. I headed over to the post office and got my package. 3 pairs of shoes, a new sun hoodie and an inflatable pillow. I sent 3 pairs of shoes up the trail and separate boxes of food to spots along the trail. This would save me time and money later on. After getting back on trail at 5 pm I was tired. I had high hopes of doing 12-15 miles out of Chester, but after 6.5, I pitched my tent and died.
I woke up refreshed and was able to make good miles to finish out the week. Not the 35 average I was hoping for but close. I’m gaining.
