My plan to join Jenny and Justin was rather late in the making, and it wasn't until mid-July that I figured out a plan to meet them for a section in Northern California and took the plunge and bought tickets. A week or so before I was supposed to leave, I got the ominously titled email from Jen: "pct is on fire." This obviously complicated matters, but I'm grateful to Jenny & Justin for their flexibility and creativity in coming up with the plan that we eventually ended up doing.
Bag packed with the finest in camping cuisine, I flew to SF last weekend, picked up a sweet rental Prius (Travel tip: Always try to blend in with the locals), spent a night in the Oak-town hills with my college roommate, and then headed to the Sierra last Monday to get rolling. Monday was a day full of logistics -- meet in Truckee, drive to Sierra City, leave car there, drive to South Lake Tahoe, return rental car, meet sweet cabbie Luke, learn all about wilderness in Poland, and then finally get to the trailhead at Echo Lake -- but it was all worth it when we got to experience some of the finest hail that California has to offer.
Our rain gear came through, though, and we settled in for a nice night at camp with a fine Sonoma wine (tastefully carried in Jenny's dirty gatorade bottle) and a selection of fine cheeses. From there, weather was essentially great, with a slight windy hiccup, and the rest of the hike was amazing. We split up for the first few days, giving Jen and I time to catch up and Justin time to sleep in and fish. Following this, we reunited and crushed the last 60 miles before making it back to the bay yesterday.
A few highlights / things I have learned:
- Alpine lakes are the best. The first few days of our trip were a constant string of awesome alpine lakes, and I did my best to swim at as many as I could. There is nothing quite like a cool dip and then stretching out on the rocks to warm up.
- Alpine streams / creeks are also awesome. I have no idea what the difference is between streams and creeks, but I know I like both. On our last day we hit three pretty beautiful ones, and our push to get to the car was delayed for one last swim.
- Jen does not like water very much. She does not like to swim in it. She does not like to drink it. I have known this last fact for many years, but it rang especially true this trip, when I probably filtered four liters of water for myself for everyone one for her.
- Cheese rocks. We joked that we were doing a 'cheese cleanse' on our trip, but this was not that false. There was a lot of cheese consumed, and every bit was delicious.
- Justin can eat like a champion. We started off the trip by dropping my car in Sierra City, where, ravenous from sitting in a car all day, he proceeded to demolish the 1lb burger with avocado, bacon, and probably a bunch of other extra toppings. This pattern would continue all week, and I came away impressed and humbled. True hero among men.
- Dehydrated veggies are delicious. I clearly need a dehydrator.
- I earned the name Breakfast Sandwich as my trail name, after I ate most of a (mostly) delicious breakfast sandwich at Donner Ski Ranch (see below). This name also pays homage to the morning of Jen and my college graduation, when many breakfast sandwiches were consumed. I didn't think a mere week on the trail merited a trail name, but I was very pleased with this moniker and couldn't say no.
- Donner Ski Ranch is the greatest place on earth. I spent my 31st birthday on the trail, and I expected a celebration of mac & cheese with some extra dried poblano peppers, or something of the ilk. Little did I know the wonders that awaited me at Donner Ski Ranch (a small ski mtn just off the PCT that has a small restaurant / bar). After realizing the possibility of beer & burgers awaited us, we powered through a tough day to get there in time. On arrival, we were greeted by Lincoln (the greatest barkeep to ever live) and Ricky, his trusty sidekick, who immediately pour complimentary beers and made us feel right at home. The night continued from there and culminated with a delicious few BL^2 (Bud Light Limes) that we ordered 'to go' (wasn't aware that was thing) and drank on their deck. We then lounged most of the next morning on the sunny deck. Donner Ski Ranch was not just delicious food and beverages though; whatever we needed, it provided. We didn't want to walk far after dinner to find a place to camp, and lo and behold, we could camp right behind one of their buildings. I was out of sunscreen and chapstick, and of course they have both for sale. My sunglasses are broken, and, without fail, they have a stylish and affordable collection. I wasn't feeling so hot the next morning, and of course here's Lincoln with free baked goods for the post-birthday boy. All in all, clearly the best place ever. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Ask for Lincoln, and tell him Breakfast Sandwich sent you.
- On the eternal debate of thru-hiker vs. thru-hanger (see prior blog posts), I am squarely on the side of the thru hangers. I enjoy the mileage as much as the next guy, but I am all about stopping for a swim, lounging on the rocks in the sun, and making the delicious meal.
On a more serious note, this trip was an amazing opportunity to spend a lot o time with one of my best friends. As mentioned above, Jenny and I have been travel buds for almost 10 years now, and together we have explored Yosemite, Sequoia / King's Canyon, Joshua Tree, various spots along the Eastern Seaboard, Nicaragua, and many places in between. What was so amazing about this trip, though, was to see her so completely in her element. Over the course of this summer, the Sierra have become Jenny's home, and there's no better way to describe this trip than a visit to one of my dear friends in her home.
So that was my walk in the Sierra with Jenny and Justin. One of the best trips I've done in a long time, and I've got the bug a little bit -- can't wait to hear about the Washington adventures coming up next!
Captions:
1. Breakfast Sandwich in Heather Lake.
2. Sunset at Dick's Lake. Little did we know the windiest night ever was about to start.
3. Middle Velma Lake.
4. Stoked about the sweet ridgeline.
5. Selfie. We can add it to the collection of selfies we've been taking since 2001. #Trendsetters.
6. The Greatest Place on Earth.
7. Sunset by Richardson Lake.
8 & 9. 103 miles in the bag. We want a beer.
Donner Ski Ranch sounds amazing! I'll have to check that out one day. Love the post, Breakfast Sandwich!
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