Start: 0830 - Sierra City
End: 1900 - near Little Jamison Creek
Miles (today): 19.5 (18 PCT, 1.5 off)
Miles (cumulative): 1253.5 (1105.5 PCT, 91.5 alternate, 56.5 off)
Ahh, the power of a good breakfast! Eggs, toast, pancakes, potatoes, coffee...Excellent. Nick had the Hiker Special Triple Threat - three eggs, three pancakes, three sausages, three pieces of bacon, and potatoes (I should have ordered it, too - I'm pretty sure I could have polished it off).
Gazelle and Boy Drogo joined us for breakfast at the Red Moose, where we were served by the co-owner of the restaurant, Wendy, who just so happens to be the woman who gave us a ride into town yesterday. She was so nice and even remembered my name. :) We saw a lot of other hikers at the restaurant, too - probably because it was the only place in town serving food at 0730.
The Red Moose Cafe - good food!
Unfortunately for us, there wasn't a lot of traffic in this small town so early in the morning; This meant that after breakfast we were unable to get a hitch back to the trailhead and so had to walk the 1.5 miles back. It wasn't horrible but it WAS all uphill. Actually, most of the day was uphill - we had about 4500 feet of total elevation gain today (not including whatever it was to get back to the trail). I keep expecting the trail to get flatter yet so far that is not the case. I will say that it doesn't feel quite as difficult, which is nice... But still.
Around 1100, as I looked ahead and saw the trail going up, up, up Sierra Butte, I decided to eat the peach I bought at the store yesterday. It was a small peach that fit perfectly inside one of my puffy gloves, which were hanging on the outside of my pack (I couldn't think of a better place to carry the delicate fruit - it would have gotten smashed in my pack). As I went to grab the peach I realized with dismay that my puffy gloves (along with the peach) were no longer attached to my pack. Not the puffy gloves! Not the peach! The trail was pretty overgrown in parts so the bushes had probably pulled off the gloves (along with the peach). I debated going back to find them but really, REALLY didn't want to do all the uphills again. So I hiked on, thinking that maybe someone behind me (like Nick) would find them. Even though I rely on those puffy gloves to keep my hands warm, at the time I was more upset about the lost peach - I had really been looking forward to eating it!
I bumped into One Gear and Wing It at a stream and decided to eat lunch and chat with them a bit while I waited for Nick. Another hiker came by and I crossed my fingers that he found my gloves (and that peach)... But no. :(
When Nick approached I was almost afraid to ask if he found my gloves (because that would be admitting that I was careless and lost them) but I did. He gave me a hard stare and then said that yes, he found the gloves (but not the peach, dammit). He said they gave him quite the adventure- apparently one glove was on the trail but the other glove was down the side of the mountain a bit (how that happened is beyond me). Nick bravely and selflessly risked his life to ensure my hands stay as warm as possible (probably because he doesn't want to do all the evening chores by himself any more than he has to). :) I was happy to be reunited with my gloves but was also pretty bummed about losing the peach to the trail. Fresh fruit is so very precious out here!
After we finally summited Sierra Butte, I was pleasantly surprised to meet Linda, a lady doing trail magic. Linda volunteers with the PCTA and has hiked quite a bit of the PCT - she said she knew some refreshments would be welcomed after all the climbing out of Sierra City. She had water, soda, beer, homemade brownies, cliff bars, and hard boiled eggs. She was awesome! I sat and chatted with her for quite a while while I waited for Nick. Such an interesting woman!
Trail Angel Linda - she chose the pizza
Linda said that the trail would get easier from here on out - she said the uphills were so gradual that you wouldn't even notice them. Well, I suppose they are slightly more gradual than we're used to... But I still noticed I was walking uphill.
By 1830 my body was starting to protest the whole walking endeavor for the day (probably because of all the uphill and because of all the weight - resupply = heavy packs). Happily, I didn't have far to go to our planned campsite.
All in all it was a good day. Sleep. Need sleep (and new shoes - I've walked over 500 miles in this pair and my feet can tell).
Along the trail:
looking back at Sierra Butte - it's crazy to think that I hiked up there just a few hours before this pic was taken
