Cowboy camp in saddle above Clark Creek - campsite at North Fork Feather River
Mile 1316 - 1338
Total 22 miles
Today's walk starts with a climb from a mountain saddle to the top of a rocky ridge named "Butt Mountain". There I greet the rising sun and cook black tea and oats for breakfast. The volcano of Mount Lassen rises up mightily on the horizon.
The trail follows the top of the ridge with piles of volcanic rocks and sharp rocky outcrops. In some places it is almost completely overgrown by thick manzanita bushes.
Shortly after the trail enters shady forest again there is a marker. On the marker it is written: "Mexico 1325 miles, Canada 1325 miles". At the time when the marker was created and surveyed, this was the halfway point of the Mexico - Canada Pacific Crest Trail section. The exact midpoint of the PCT journey is slightly different every year and for every hiker: There are detours around fire closures, walking around big fallen trees on one hand, and short cutting over snow fields on the other hand. On my walk so far there have been three fire detours and one endangered species detour. Three out of these four detours were longer than the closed PCT section. Therefore even if my feet somehow carry me all the way to Canada, I'm probably already quite far north past the midpoint. And also it is not clear if the distance was measured on the Earth's ellipsoid surface, or on the actual terrain surface with its uphills and downhills; the total elevation gain of the PCT is hundreds of thousands of feet which adds up to a couple of extra miles :-)
At the midpoint monument I meet and greet another hiker named Gargamel from Germany. We exchange stories about our adventures and sign the trail register. One hiker wrote "Flying to Canada..." I have written "Take it slow, no rush". Then Gargamel helps me reduce my backpack weight because he lost a charger somewhere in town and I took an extra charger from the hiker box in Sierra City a few days ago.
After a break at the midpoint comes a gentle downhill through old forest with occasional views of the Lassen volcano.
Bees and hikers are filling up water at the Soldier Creek spring.
Then the PCT exits National Forest land and enters a privately owned forest area:
Then the trail crosses a meadow with a seasonal stream and a highway. The highway goes to the town of Chester 7 miles away, and some hikers choose to hitchhike to the town to buy more supplies and take a break. I have lots of supplies in backpack and so I choose to stay on the trail.
At the road crossing there is a showcase of forest management practices by the timber company. The company harvests wood not by clear-cutting, but by selectively taking out some of the trees every 10-15 years. The less dense forest is more resistant to fire.
The flat forested area lies on volcanic rock. There is a short steep uphill, followed by another flat area. The rocks are lightweight and have hundreds of holes in them.
Just as I start running out of water, another strongly flowing spring appears. The spring feeds a small pond full of tadpoles.
At the spring a group of hikers that I met on the uphill from Belden catch up with me; including Bud, Fret, Strider and Tesla; they are planning to camp at the Feather river a few miles ahead. In the next few miles the PCT ascends a flat ridge with sparse pine trees and thick manzanita bushes and more views of mount Lassen.
Then we descend into the valley of the North Fork Feather river. It is the same river as the river flowing past the beautiful garden and hospitable home of the Braatens in Little Haven where I stayed three days ago. The river takes a much longer route than the PCT to get there and flows through a large reservoir (lake Almanor) on its course. I join the other few hikers at the campsite for tonight. Usually I camp alone in hidden spots on hills away from water, but it is nice to have a bath and to chat in friendly people's company for a change. Tomorrow the trail will lead us inside the Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Mile 1316 - 1338
Total 22 miles
Today's walk starts with a climb from a mountain saddle to the top of a rocky ridge named "Butt Mountain". There I greet the rising sun and cook black tea and oats for breakfast. The volcano of Mount Lassen rises up mightily on the horizon.
The trail follows the top of the ridge with piles of volcanic rocks and sharp rocky outcrops. In some places it is almost completely overgrown by thick manzanita bushes.
Shortly after the trail enters shady forest again there is a marker. On the marker it is written: "Mexico 1325 miles, Canada 1325 miles". At the time when the marker was created and surveyed, this was the halfway point of the Mexico - Canada Pacific Crest Trail section. The exact midpoint of the PCT journey is slightly different every year and for every hiker: There are detours around fire closures, walking around big fallen trees on one hand, and short cutting over snow fields on the other hand. On my walk so far there have been three fire detours and one endangered species detour. Three out of these four detours were longer than the closed PCT section. Therefore even if my feet somehow carry me all the way to Canada, I'm probably already quite far north past the midpoint. And also it is not clear if the distance was measured on the Earth's ellipsoid surface, or on the actual terrain surface with its uphills and downhills; the total elevation gain of the PCT is hundreds of thousands of feet which adds up to a couple of extra miles :-)
At the midpoint monument I meet and greet another hiker named Gargamel from Germany. We exchange stories about our adventures and sign the trail register. One hiker wrote "Flying to Canada..." I have written "Take it slow, no rush". Then Gargamel helps me reduce my backpack weight because he lost a charger somewhere in town and I took an extra charger from the hiker box in Sierra City a few days ago.
After a break at the midpoint comes a gentle downhill through old forest with occasional views of the Lassen volcano.
Bees and hikers are filling up water at the Soldier Creek spring.
Then the PCT exits National Forest land and enters a privately owned forest area:
Then the trail crosses a meadow with a seasonal stream and a highway. The highway goes to the town of Chester 7 miles away, and some hikers choose to hitchhike to the town to buy more supplies and take a break. I have lots of supplies in backpack and so I choose to stay on the trail.
At the road crossing there is a showcase of forest management practices by the timber company. The company harvests wood not by clear-cutting, but by selectively taking out some of the trees every 10-15 years. The less dense forest is more resistant to fire.
The flat forested area lies on volcanic rock. There is a short steep uphill, followed by another flat area. The rocks are lightweight and have hundreds of holes in them.
Just as I start running out of water, another strongly flowing spring appears. The spring feeds a small pond full of tadpoles.
At the spring a group of hikers that I met on the uphill from Belden catch up with me; including Bud, Fret, Strider and Tesla; they are planning to camp at the Feather river a few miles ahead. In the next few miles the PCT ascends a flat ridge with sparse pine trees and thick manzanita bushes and more views of mount Lassen.
Then we descend into the valley of the North Fork Feather river. It is the same river as the river flowing past the beautiful garden and hospitable home of the Braatens in Little Haven where I stayed three days ago. The river takes a much longer route than the PCT to get there and flows through a large reservoir (lake Almanor) on its course. I join the other few hikers at the campsite for tonight. Usually I camp alone in hidden spots on hills away from water, but it is nice to have a bath and to chat in friendly people's company for a change. Tomorrow the trail will lead us inside the Lassen Volcanic National Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment