PCT Day 68, 19 July 2022 (Tuesday)
"Kicking Some Butte"
Start Location: |
Sierra City |
Destination: |
Wilderness Campsite Near Little Jamison Creek |
|
PCT Miles Day 68: |
20.6 |
Cum PCT Miles: |
1,216.0 |
|
Non-PCT Miles Day 68: |
1.8 |
Cum All Miles: |
1306.9 |
|
PCT Miles Remaining: |
1,436.6 |
|
|
|
Elevation Gain Day 68: |
4,866 |
Cum Elevation Gain: |
217,151 |
I am traveling back in time to leave a note. It is 31 July, Day 80 on trail, and I am now in Shasta City. Connectivity has been either non-existent or very bad since Sierra City. It's likely to be this way through the rest of the hike, with long intervals between updates. Also, I just found out earlier today about the fires in Northern CA. About 120 miles of the PCT are currently closed, but realistically, based on evacuation points and air quality levels, it is not hikeable for over 200 miles. I am working out details on what to do next. Luckily, tomorrow is an unplanned zero day in Shasta City since I got here a day early. I most likely will travel up to Ashland, OR and re-start hiking from there. Ashland was going to be my next major town stop, so it makes sense to go there. If possible, I will come back later and do the missed miles between Shasta City and Ashland.
Well, hitching doesn’t always work. It’s about 1.8 miles from Sierra Pines Resort back to the trailhead. Not a huge amount, but it’s also ~400 ft. of elevation gain. I was really hoping for a ride, but no bueno today.
Ever since Tehachapi, about 650 miles ago, all my food carries coming out of town have been between 6-8 days. Today was only four days; the difference in weight was very noticeable. The stats make today seem harder than it really was. Partly, that was the food weight.
The trail did start off with a long, substantial climb, but the grade was more moderate than steep. A prominent feature throughout the day was the Sierra Buttes. There was a good variety of trail and scenery today, walking by several lakes, streams and springs. And much of the walking was in shaded northern Sierra forest. Also, much of the trail tread was the gentle kind, not the kind that has a vendetta against human feet.
There was a little trail magic today. Someone left a cooler full of ice cold sodas on the trail. It was still very warm at that point in the day, so it was nice to drink something cold. Lastly, I passed the 1,200 mile mark today.
Sierra Buttes
Upper Tamarack Lake and Sierra Buttes
Gold Lake
Little Jamison Creek, a piped spring can be a very good source of water, even in the Sierra
Tentsite near Little Jamison Creek
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