PCT: Sierra City-Highway 49 to Mile 1202.4

PCT Trail Mile 1195.4 to 1202.4

We slept almost 11 hours and awoke refreshed and ready to go back on the trail. But first the car shuttle to Beldon Town. 

It was a beautiful two hour drive and we were surprised to find out that Beldon is a quirky, old school resort and not an actual town.  We parked the truck in the huge equestrian trailhead and then had a delicious lunch back at the resort.  We decided to swim in the Feather River before returning to Sierra City.  Wow.  The Feather River wins the prize for being the perfect swimming temperature.  

In Sierra City we walk around and have an ice cream and later a Gatorade.  This is supper.  Around 5:30 we deem it cool enough to climb the mountain to Sierra Buttes.  Thunder rolls and teases us as we climb, but not a drop of water.  Sweat runs down our backs and not a branch moves. It is humid and sultry and our packs are heavy with five days of food.  

We meet Nomadic  Bear camping at the only option on the mountain. He seems like a nice guy.  He’s finishing up a section he skipped on his thru hike last year.  He warns us the trail ahead is washed out in places, narrow and rocky with a three thousand foot fall.  We hike on into the sunset with our head torches handy and our hearts light by the joy of being right here, right now.  

 The trail makes yesterday’s ‘goat’ trail look like a highway.  The washed out areas are only now a bit wider than my foot.  Thankfully they are only a step or two and we just walk across trying to not look down.  Vertigo comes a bit when I look down so I look up at the stunning sunset clouds behind the buttes.  It gets dark and we turn on our torches to light the path.  I remember that on the hiker app someone mentioned a mountain lion here.  I hear something in the bushes above me and my mind explores possibilities and I enjoy the rush of just a little fear.  We laugh and joke around and I eat a Lara bar as I’m beginning to run out of fuel on this steep hike  and we still have a lot of climbing until the first flat spot to sleep.  

We make the flat spot at nine and get our tent up quickly and hang our sweat drenched clothes on the stunted, scraggly branched trees there.  With not a breath of wind it is unlikely they will dry. It’s eerily calm.  We climbed 3450 feet in elevation and about seven miles. 

Head lights come toward us from the dirt road we are camped by.  Hikers.  Then we hear trucks coming up the mountain.  A train horn blows from one of the trucks.  The first truck passes us and it has five  guys standing in the back, like militia.  Horns are a blowing and people a whopping and hollering.  The fourth truck has Old Glory on a lighted flag pole about six feet tall.  The lights change colors, blue then green, blue then green. The last truck only has one tail light and it lags a bit from the others. It is quite the parade.    They drive up the road a bit to the lookout tower and we can hear them having a good ‘ole time.    

The hikers hike on by on the road. Talk about a long walk in the dark.  We can’t see any backpacks in the light of their lights,  but we do see them carrying water bottles. 

We sit quietly in the dark during all of this.   I’m giggling.  It was all quite the spectacle and very unexpected. This whole evening hike has been quite the rush and we like it.  We gather our still wet clothes, so critters don’t chew on them, and climb into our tent.  Sleep doesn’t come easily as I’m too pumped up.  

About an hour later the parade goes back down the mountain.   I hear girls’ laughter this time as the trucks bump down the road.  It’s a summer night in a small mountain town and kids just want to have fun.