Donner Pass to Belden, CA

day 17 -- 23 miles (donner pass to a some random road)

today i said goodbye to becky. i am gratful to her and her parents forhosting my smelly self for three days. the drive up to donner passreminded me just how much easieer driving is than hiking. maybe i'll do aroad trip in a car next summer!

the hike from donner was annoying due to traffic noise and poor trail. not to mention i was just feeling glum about leaving the cozy confines of the clark house.

i met two pct hikers named ladybug and thirty-thirty who were having lunch on the trail. i had met them at echo lake resort and was surprised to see that they had not gone very far down the trail during my days away. they informed me that many hikers had taken some days off for the holiday around tahoe.

i saw the peter grubb hut a few miles into the trail. the hut is a cozy sierra club destination. it looks like a great spot to go while snowshoeing next winter. anyone wanna go?

tonight i camped at a road junction that had a spring about 10 minutesaway. it was very painful getting water that night since i had thought i was done with walking for the day.

the strangest thing happened when i set down to sleep. a bunny came and sat just five feet away and stared at me. i threw a carrot over to it and it didn't even flinch. after seeing it wouldn't move i went to sleep, only to discover the bunny had departed by morning.

day 18 -- 16 miles (some random road to sierra city, ca)

i had big plans to do a large number of miles but the heat really got to me. the weather channels are reporting a record heat wave in nearby reno. even though the route was mostly downhill today, the trek became more tiring with every step. this was due to the fact that the heat was more intense at lower elevations.

when i reached the highway i was spent, and walked a half mile into sierra city. i collapsed on a shady bench in front of the general store. before i could even speak i had to eat a pint of ben and jerrys and drink a liter of soda.

my spirits had hit rock bottom. i felt like the last thing i wanted to do was head up a nasty climb out of sierra city. then again, i wanted to make good miles today in order to meet my goal. the thought of staying in town was tempting, but i didn't even know where to begin the search for accomodations.

suddenly chris appeared out of the blue. i had met him on the trail just before south lake tahoe. he was staying in sierra city with a few of friends for a couple of days. he asked if i would like to hang out with them for the day since they had a hotel and a car. sold!

after meeting pct hiker warwick, his wife jesse, and her brother james, i lounged on the outside porch and got cleaned up. they were all packing to for a section hike commencing the next day.

we had dinner on a nice outdoor patio of a local restaurant. i devoured some chicken tenders and nice salad.that night, chris, james and i stealth camped by the side of the highway. i was surpirised how soft the ground was under my bag. i slept very well that night. i think i sleep better with other people in the vicinity.

day 19 -- 23 miles (sierra city, ca to "the a tree")

chris, warwick, jesse, james and myself started hiking at 6am to try and beat the heat. we used a shortcut that climbed right out of town to save us some pointless road walking. both strategies proved to be successful. as we were climbing i realized it is great to have people to hike with you. going alone has some great advantages, but it can get old in a hurry, especially when conditions are challenging.

at a juncton in the route, the others opted to hike up a fire lookout perched on the top of the massive sierra buttes. i opted not to do the fire tower due to water issues, and a general eagerness to make up miles.

i took a nice nap at oakland pond, one of the few convenient water sources the pct would come in contact with on this day. i waved to ladybug and thirty-thrity as they came to fill up. i watched from afar as they were unable to find a faint spur trail back to the pct. as a result, they had to backtrack a bit. an hour later my own search for the spur trail was successful, and i was able to save some time.

i'm starting to realize that water is gonna be a big issue this summer. it will be the first big trip i've done where i need to watch for this.i camped at the "a-tree" site, with a great spring flowing out of a pipe. man was i thirsty tonight.

at about 11pm i was awoken by a loud voice on the trail. some crazy nighthiker and his dog showed up. the guy was talking to himself as he filled up his water bottle. i laid low hoping he would notice my presence a few feet away. it worked.i hate mosquitoes.

day 20 -- 22 miles (the "a-tree" to some refreshing creek)

another long hot day on the trail. very sparse water. not many stories of interest to report. tonight i camped at a refreshing roadside creek, the highlight of the day.

day 21 -- 23 miles (some refreshing creek to some refreshing meadow)

the highlight of the day was a swimming hole on the middle fork ofthe feather river. the water was green and warm enough to relax in. this is a great place that deserves a revisit.

it was a tough 3000 foot climb out of the canyon. i found a dead dog onthe trail. giving how hot i was, i imagined the dog was the lucky one here.

chris and james caught up with me just before dinner. they had done a couple of shorter days with warwick and jesse and decided to press on ahead. we ate dinner on a rock outcropping with an expansive vista and then we camped at a meadow for the night.

day 22--24 miles (some refreshing meadow to belden, ca)

we got an early start on the mad dash to belden. rumor has it that there are a couple of trail angels with a nice home who let hikers stay with them.

the descent into belden was sweltering and terrible. the steep switchvacks were often blocked by fallen trees or overgrown with poison oak and manzanita.

the "town" of belden was as hot and unwelcoming as the trail itself. this place is a dump and everything looked closed. i sat on the front porch of the closed general store and made some phone calls. some dude came up and sat a few feet down from me on the porch. after 10 silent minutes went by i asked if he knew when the store would re-open. he jumped out of his seat surprised that a tired hiker might want access to cold drinks and ice cream (ever heard of captalism?). he opened his store, which was pitiful, but it did have a pint of ice cream handy.

a pint of hagen daaz awoke signs of life in me. i called the the braaten trail angels and they picked ladybug, thirty-thirty, james, and myself up.

little haven, the home of the braatens, was a welcome respite from the sweltering canyon floor.james and i hiked to another local store for burger, fries, and a salad. since the laundry machines were broken, a cook named cindy (who happened to be a neighbor of the braatens) offered to do our laundry.

we rode back with cindy to little haven and then proceeded to get clean. there were a lot of hikers staying there but i managed to score a bed. even though it was too hot to sleep at night i at least was comfortable.

day 23 -- 7 miles (belden, ca to mosley flat camp)

we awoke to an awesome pancake, egg, peaches, and bacon breakfast made by the braatens. james and i did dishes.

neighbor cindy's husband, roger, gave james, a hiker named journey, and myself a ride to quincy, the big town in the area. at the post office i collected a package that had some provisions and new shoes. i then did some big damage in the town safeway, assembling a lunch of epic proportions: chicken wings, roast beef sandwich, avocado, 2 smoothies, mountain dew, chocolate milk, 2 bananas, hummus, and carrots.

we then said goodbye to james, who was going to look for a hitch from quincy to sierra city, where his rental car was located.

the afternoon was spent eating and chatting with other hikers who had just come off the trail.

the climb out of belden was steep and hot, suprise. due to water issues it did not make sense to push past. i ended up camping with journey, saltlick, jacob, and chigger. a second party arrived an hour after we went to bed.