Day 86: Lassen Peak on the Horizon

Cowboy camp on rocky summit above Paradise Valley - cowboy camp on rocks above Milton Creek
Mile 1166 - 1187
Total 21 miles










It is a beautiful morning up on a rocky summit in the northern part of the Sierra. Deer are grazing on the ridge as the eastern half of the sky turns from dark blue to pale blue and white.
On the PCT it is almost always better to camp up on hilltops than down in valleys. Up on hills the night are warmer, the bugs are fewer and the sun shows up earlier and also the "leave no trace" approach recommends camping at least 200 feet away from water to keep the streams clean.

I quickly pack up, and for motivation walk down into the next valley and up on the next ridge before making today's first stop for breakfast. Even in the summer there's a little bit of frost on the grass down in the valley.






Up in the ridge I pass some hikers who are still in deep sleep, and then enjoy a rich breakfast watching the rising sun. Thanks to my good friends from Utah who sent me lots of nuts, seeds and raisins, I don't have to worry how much I eat and I eat a full three cups of the delicious breakfast mix and drink hot black tea.








On the ridge there are still some snow drifts and a nice little spring ("snowbank spring") where I replenish my water supply. Water is still plentiful in this part of California in late July thanks to the above average snow pack of this year's winter season.








There are more ridges, mountain meadows and volcanic rocky outcrops. I say hi to a couple of backpackers and also a PCT section hiker who has completed the whole California section of the trail, having walked around 100 miles each summer in the last 16 years.








At the next water source someone has left an unintentional gift for bypassing PCT hikers: there's an almost new pair of socks, probably forgotten by a backpacker who was planning to wash the socks in the stream. I don't hesitate and in accordance with the "pack all trash out" rule, I take the socks with me.








From the top of the next ridge, I can see a sharp snow-covered peak on the far north-west horizon. The section hiker that I met earlier today confirms that the mountain is Lassen Peak, the southernmost active volcano of the Cascade Range!








The camera on my mobile phone is unable to capture the peak in high resolution. But it is there and the PCT route further north leads hikers right through the Lassen Volcanic National Park.








Past rugged rocks of volcanic lava flow origin, the trail goes uphill and downhill, but the uphills are gentle and overall there are more downhills. 








It is nice to meet a group of riders on horses. The whole PCT is open for foot and horse travellers alike. Because it was designed also for horses, it is never too steep and it overcomes uphills and downhills by gentle switchbacks, and most long distance hikers including me are very thankful for the switchbacks that make us steadily overcome even  the highest hills and the deepest valleys.






The forest in this area is not a complete wilderness. There are forest roads crossing the trail every couple of miles. Some of the trees are harvested for timber, but the harvesting is done selectively, always leaving some of the trees standing.








The trail goes above the Jackson Meadow reservoir. In the hillside there are more springs and little creeks. The sun is starting to hide behind the ridges and some hikers have already set up their tents for tonight.








I continue walking a little bit further through a narrow rocky valley and up on another ridge. On top of the ridge, there are flat rocky outcrops with an excellent view of the Sierra Buttes above the little town of Sierra City. Here I setup my cowboy camp for tonight, and tomorrow is Sunday and I'm headed down into town for a little break and to recharge my physical and spiritual batteries before I continue walking towards the Cascade Range.

Next update probably on 28th July from Bucks Lake OK or Belden Town ...
Příští aktualizace za pár dní, pravděpodobně 28. července :-)