PCT: Donner Summit To just past Basin Peak Spring

PCT trail mile 1156 to 1162.4

Woke up late to bird song at our little hideaway in the woods.  During the night a car came by, I suppose looking for a clandestine camp spot, like we were.   Driving down the forest road we passed by two other clandestine campers.  Forest service land is the hobo way to camp and we like it. 

Truckee is a cute town along the Truckee River and we stop at an almost empty coffee shop that had outside dining.   We each have a huge omelette  and two cups of coffee.  The waitress is kind and encourages us to linger.  

Then on to get our truck parked by Summit Haus on Highway 40 and old Donner Summit.  Only problem is the road is closed!  After a map search we realize we can possibly drive Highway 80 to Soda Springs and then back to the truck.   Done.  It works and we are on our way to the trailhead near Sierra City.  It takes about an hour to get there and then we clean out our packs, get some clean socks and shirts and our already made food bags for this section.  

We are really glad we made up our food ahead of time as it has made resupply simple.  I was a little worried about leaving food in the car in bear country, so everything was packed in smelly proof bags and then double bagged with a huge turkey oven bag and all the food was put in a rubber made type box and hidden away under the hatch cover in our Subaru.  So far, it’s worked.

We leave the car at the trailhead and drive back to Donner as we want to walk this section northbound.  After a huge hamburger we hit the trail around four and enjoy a leisurely and quiet walk up the mountain.  It’s pretty country.     There is granite and the strange igneous type rocks we’ve seen since Sonora Pass.   Huge meadows and wildflowers and a soft, dusty trail. We both feel  the tension of the car move ebb away very quickly.   This section seems to have a lot less hikers than our last section and we like that too.  We pass the Peter Grub hut, that is not a hut at all, but a really cool cabin that folks can use.  In the winter you need to reserve it for twenty bucks a night, but right now it seems to be fair game.  We  hike on a bit further and find a spot with a sunset view.  

Now we sit drinking wine and watching the sun set.   Doesn’t get much better than this.  Although we are both a little stiff from our ‘winged’ walk yesterday!