Day 90: Boa

Campsite in saddle above Middle Fork Feather River - cowboy camp in manzanita bushes above Bucks Summit
Mile 1248 - 1261 on PCT + 7 miles on the Bucks Lake Alternate route + mile 1266 -1268 on PCT
Total 22 miles

Waking up at dawn at a forest campsite full of mosquitoes, I resume my uphill climb to get to the north side of the deep valley of the Middle Fork Feather River.
The climb is made easier by a large number of streams and springs, so it is not necessary to carry lot of water and the backpack remains light.

My intention is to keep walking uphill until the sun shows up. After about five miles, I see the sun showing up behind one of the steep hills and take a well deserved break for breakfast.

The climbing becomes less steep. There is another nice spring with fresh water, and when I'm almost at the top, I meet the first human being today: a trail runner who has run here from Bucks Lake. She says I should definitely make a stop there because there's good food and great swimming beach.

After 4500 feet of elevation gain the trail becomes level and through forest it comes to a paved road. It's a 3 mile walk along the road to Lakeshore Resort with a restaurant and a small store on the shore of the Bucks Lake reservoir.

The restaurant offers delicious homemade pizza with spinach, mushrooms, and vegetables of your choice. The restaurant also has electricity and so I can recharge my mobile phone a little bit. And in the store I buy a tomato and onion, instant rice and trail mixes to increase my food supplies. Then I go to the beach, and take a long break, swimming, sunbathing, watching the geese, chatting with other swimmers, and catching up on writing my trail blog.

The official PCT trail maps suggest walking on a paved road to get back to the trail. But actually there is a little footpath called "Bucks Creek Loop" that goes through forest and wetlands and joins the PCT at the same place as the road. It is about one mile longer, but it's much more pleasant than the suggested road walk.

Shortly after joining the PCT I see a trail register. It is interesting how fast some of the hikers are. For example the hiker "Rocket" that I last saw 10 days ago at Tahoe is already four days ahead of me. On the other hand, my friend Mountain Goat that I last saw in Mammoth is only two days ahead. On average there are between 20 and 30 hikers signing in the register each day, that is one half of the daily hiker number that started from Mexico border three months ago.

I also spot a funny looking snake. The snake is lying still on the trail looking almost like dead. At first look it is unclear which part is the head and which part is tail. The snake is alive, and it's the rubber boa - a non-venomous snake that kills it's prey by constricting it. After I watch the bow for about a minute, it moves, turns around and then it continues resting on the trail.

Higher uphill the PCT enters the Bucks Lake Wilderness.
The horizon is still hazy; the runner I met around noon today told me there is a fire burning near the Pacific coast of California; and it is getting dark. Shortly after I start looking around for a camping spot, I find one. Hidden from trail in thick manzanita bushes, there is a patch of exposed rocks just the right size for my sleeping pad. I crawl inside my sleeping bag, watch the headlamp of a night hiker passing by, and watch shooting stars above me and finally fall asleep under the arch of the Milky Way.