Chester to Etna

I’m making my way through NorCal and I’ve finally started to understand what it feels like to travel at the speed of a human being. Exploring small towns and parts of the state that I’ve never seen before has been exciting, but the threat of fire has continued to push me forward. I made great time in this section, and I’m starting to really cruise through the miles. Here’s how this section went.

July 14th – Day 92

With the help of my Mom, I was able to “Slack Pack” 19 miles of trail from the Highway into a section of Lassen National Park. My pack was light and I had a new pair of clothes on when she dropped me off at the trail. I hiked with Wiggles, Pez, Baby Bigfoot, and Keebler as we made our way into the park. Halfway through the day the smoke got very bad, and I even saw small bits of ash falling, but fortunately it cleared up a bit as we got into the park. We weren’t sure where the smoke was coming from, as none of the fires we’d seen previously had blown smoke in our direction.

We ran into a very nice couple at a dirt road giving out trail magic. They had lots of fruit and salad, things thru hikers miss on trail, and we spent a while with them. I felt a little bad that I couldn’t stay longer, but I would be meeting my mom later in the day as she hiked in from another direction to meet me in the park, so I kept going and headed towards a geyser, our meeting point.

All morning my mom was very worried that she wouldn’t make it to the meeting point in time, but I knew she hikes fast and would likely by early, and she was. She arrived at the meeting point an hour and a half before I did, but she got to talk to a lot of hikers who passed by. When I finally arrived we headed down a side trail to see a geyser, one of the geothermal features this park is known for. It was pretty cool! Later, as we headed towards where she parked the car we passed a large mud lake that bubbled.

We headed back to the car where a campground sat next to the trailhead. Bear cannisters are required in Lassen National Park, so most hikers camp in the campground where there is a bear box. Fortunately, my mom still had the hotel room for the night, so she drove me back to Chester and I got to sleep in a bed and get another shower. It was glorious. Pez and Wiggles tagged along, too.

July 15th – Day 93

My mom drove us back to the trail early in the morning, and for the first time in a while it was COLD. We hiked quickly to warm up and made good time until we got to a large, flat burn zone. Water was a little scarce in this section, but the trail provided a great view of Mt. Lassen, which my mom would be hiking later that day. It was cool to look up and know that she was up there, somewhere.

When I arrived at the first water source in a while – a stream – I found much of the group taking a long nap in the shade. As I ate a late lunch, the group decided to push to the town of Old Station to get to a gas station before it closed at 7 pm to get ice cream sandwiches. The store was far away, and I didn’t think it was worth it, so I took my time finishing lunch.

As I started hiking, I decided that ice cream sandwiches actually sounded really good, so I picked up the pace to make it to the store in time. I was really rushing, but I made it with 15 minutes to spare! I definitely felt a little sore and stiff as I finished my ice cream, though.

After we finished our ice cream, we decided to hike one more mile to the subway caves, a nearby attraction slightly off trail, as the sun was setting. We put on our headlamps and headed inside, and we were very impressed. The cave was huge, with a long enough tunnel system to offer complete darkness when we turned off our headlamps. It was a new experience on trail and I really enjoyed it.

As we emerged back into the world in the setting sun we walked a short way to meet up with the trail again and make camp. Encouraged by how few bugs I saw, I decided to try cowboy camping again. It was a beautiful evening. Warm, with plenty of stars, and I enjoyed cowboy camping much more than I had the first time. I decided to try it more often, going forward.

July 16th – Day 94

We got up early to tackle the infamous Hat Creek Rim section of the PCT. The Hat Creek Rim is a large plateau, which is hot, dry, and exposed. Only a water tank stocked by a kind trail angel breaks up the 25 miles dry stretch on the plateau. We got to a rest area at the start of the plateau and took in the views from the rim. It was another smoky day, and the haze restricted the visibility a bit. Still, the view from the rim was pretty cool, and I was excited about the day.

We had heard rumors about some fantastic trail magic in this section called the “Trail Angel Cafe” and we’re looking forward to a potentially great breakfast. Unfortunately, the cafe had just closed for the season when we got there. We were disappointed, but had a nice breakfast for ourselves in a little bit of shade before heading across the rim.

We got lucky with the weather: we managed to hit this section in between two heat waves, so while it was still very hot, it was not unbearable. When I got to the water tank that most people rely on I found many hikers napping in the shade. I joined them as I ate my lunch. Still, I wanted to get to the next water source before making camp for the night, which was still 16 miles away, so I headed out to try to make it there before dark.

I made good time on the flat rim. I saw an angry rattlesnake and a few cows along the way. The trail also passed numerous small water caches and even a cooler of soda as the trail got closer to a road. The people here apparently care a lot about hikers, and leave water and soda to help us out. It was a nice gesture and I felt gratitude as I headed towards camp.

I made it to camp by a creek just as the sun was setting, after the trail had descended from the rim to dry forests and meadows. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were bad, so I couldn’t cowboy camp again. I set up my tent proud of the nearly 30 mile day we had again completed.

July 17th – Day 95

I slept in as the rest of the group got up early to head into the town of Burney. I made my way past a fish hatchery, and it reminded me of home, as I grew up next to a fish hatchery. I passed another angry rattlesnake on my way into town. The four miles I hiked that morning were interesting, as the trail here skirted civilization. It was interesting seeing people, cars, and houses from trail again.

When I got to the highway that leads into Burney I decided not to hitch in. I didn’t need much food, only a few more snacks to get to the town of Mt. Shasta, and I thought I could go a few more days without laundry, so I pressed on. It was a very warm day as I hiked to Burney Falls State Park, a stop only slightly off trail with a general store. Just before the falls I entered a totally empty campground. It must have been abandoned. The water spigots still worked, however, so I washed myself off in the cool water. It felt great to be cool and clean.

When I got to the state park I headed straight for the store, where I bought a hot dog, all the snacks I’d need, and several types of ice cream. I enjoyed my spoils on some picnic tables under a shade structure by the ranger station. I was the only one there, but it was seemingly built for thru hikers as it had a charging station attached. I charged my devices and chatted with Chicago when he showed up, and we waited out the heat of the day.

Finally in the evening when it had cooled down I packed up, but not before making the 0.3 mile walk to the falls. The falls were spectacular, although there were still massive hoards of people at the base. It was a Saturday in the heart of summer, and the park was full of families on road trips.

I heard from Pez, Wiggles, Baby Bigfoot, and Keebler that they were planning on staying in the town of Burney that night, meaning I’d likely be half a day ahead of them for the rest of this section into Mt. Shasta. I didn’t really mind being alone for a while. I hiked a few more miles past a very large dam before making camp for the evening.

July 18th – Day 96

I hiked alone most of the day, seeing very few other hikers. It was hot, but I saw some cool wildlife, including a mother deer and two fawns, along the way.

The trail climbed until it eventually opened up to my first view of the impressive 14,000 foot Mt. Shasta in the distance. The air was still hazy from some wildfire smoke. When I stopped for a break I learned that the smoke I’d been seeing since the day I entered Lassen National Park was smoke from a fire near Belden called the Dixie Fire. This fire had started the day I slack packed out of Chester, and had quickly grown so large that the PCTA had to close many miles of trail, including the PCT midpoint. I was grateful that I had gotten through the area before it was shut down.

I made camp at a junction with a dirt road with amazing views of Mt. Shasta after only seeing a handful of people all day. It was a nice evening and I enjoyed being able to talk to my family with the little bit of cell service that I had.

July 19th – Day 97

I set a goal for myself to go 32.6 miles for the day. I didn’t get up as early as I planned, but I made steady, consistent progress throughout the day. At a junction with a dirt road someone had left a sign showing where to find water.

As I hiked I found a “Happy Birthday” balloon caught in a bush right off trail. I untangled the line and tied it to my backpack to pack it out. I was actually excited to find the balloon. It’s kind of fun to hike with one attached to your pack, and it’s kind of considered a PCT rite of passage to find and pack out a helium balloon.

Unfortunately throughout the day my gear started to fall apart. I snapped a trekking pole in the morning. I need trekking poles to pitch my tent, so I tucked it into my pack and hoped that I could figure out a solution when it came.time to pitch my tent later. In addition, my water bladder started leaking, so I needed to use one water bottle to filter another. Later, I lost the white “O” ring on my filter that is required to make the filter effective. From then on, I had to rely solely on springs, where I could be sure that the water would be clean, rather than rivers and creeks.

Despite the later start than I wanted and my deteriorating gear, I made it the 32.4 miles to camp before dark. I found Caboose and Old Soul there, who were the first people I’d seen all day, and it was nice to camp with them that evening. We were camped off of a dirt road at a seldom used trailhead. When I set up camp, there were no cars there at all. I was proud of myself for completing my longest day to date.

July 20th – Day 98

We were woken up at exactly 4:20 am by a truck with extremely bright lights blasting very loud music circling the parking lot for a few minutes. The car never parked, and eventually left, but it was a very strange morning. I headed out as the sun was rising. My goal was to get to Highway 5 at noon so that I could relax by the river before catching a 1 pm bus into town.

It was a nice day, a little warm but not oppressive, as I made my way into town. The trail offered beautiful views of Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta as it descended to I-5. I got to the river right before the highway a little after noon and waded in to cool down. I also found wild blackberries growing by the river that made for a great snack.

I got into Mt. Shasta and got lunch with Caboose and Old Soul before heading back to the hotel to relax. To my surprise I got a text from Pez saying that he, Keebler, and Wiggles would be getting in that evening. It would be very tight crammed into my hotel room, but we could do it. I got the sad news that Baby Bigfoot had gotten off trail at Burney due to bad foot pain. I knew she’d been hurting for a while, but she’d hid how much it hurt. I hoped for her quick recovery.

When Pez and the group got in they showered and we headed to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately the restaurant was takeout only, but coincidentally the dive bar next door let people bring food in, so we ate in the local dive bar as we watched the NBA finals. We headed back to the hotel and slept soundly, as we all had hiked some very long days.

July 21st – Day 99

We did laundry, resupplied, and walked around the town of Mt. Shasta. Mt. Shasta is a cute town, and it was a hot summer day. I’m starting to appreciate that I’m spending this summer exploring small town America. It reminds me to slow down, and appreciate the simple things.

In the evening we headed to a speakeasy where Keebler and Caboose played Cornhole with some locals. We had planned to celebrate Wiggles’ birthday there, but we didn’t tell him it was his birthday celebration, so he decided to skip it and napped instead. Oh well, we’d have to celebrate it some other way.

July 22nd – Day 100

Pez had ordered cupcakes for us to pack out for Wiggles’ birthday, so I went to the store to pick them up before we headed out. The cupcakes had trees on them, as Pez had asked for “Hiking Themed” birthday cupcakes. Pez, Keebler, and I hid them in our backpacks and headed out.

What followed was a great bit of generosity from the locals of Mt. Shasta. We planned to hitch a ride to Dunsmuir to go to a famous burger restaurant. As we walked across the street to get on the right side of the road, Keebler looked at the car stopped to let us cross. “Hey guys, that’s a Subaru, we should just ask him for a ride!” She said. And before we could respond she yelled to the driver “Hey, can you give us a ride to Dunsmuir?” To our surprise, he said yes and pulled over. We were shocked at how easy it was to get a hitch and grateful for the ride. “I knew a Subaru would pick us up”, Keebler said, “those are the type of people that drive Subarus!”

When we got to the restaurant we were there a few minutes before they opened, so we chatted outside with some locals. When we headed into the restaurant, one of the men slipped Pez a $100 bill to pay for our lunch. We were blown away, and so grateful for his generosity. Later after we ate our burgers the owner came by to give us free cinnamon rolls for the road. She said that she always loves seeing hikers. Again, we were so grateful for her generosity. The people of Mt. Shasta and Dunsmuir are incredible.

We set an ambitious goal to make it to the top of a large climb. It was late by the time we got there, and the campsite was small. We didn’t have time to hike on, and Leathermaid, Shred It, and Posideon arrived as the sun was almost completely set. We decided to all cowboy camp to squeeze in and make space. It was a tight squeeze, but a lot of fun.

July 23rd – Day 101

We got up early and headed out. We planned to only hike 20 miles, as it was Wiggles’ birthday and we wanted time to celebrate. It was also Wizard’s birthday, and Leathermaid, Shred It, and Posideon planned to camp at a lake with some of his friends, so we decided to camp there, too. We didn’t get to the lake as early as we thought we would, because we took frequent breaks. In addition, the air got very smokey as the afternoon progressed. At a stop for water halfway through the day we inflated a birthday balloon and tied it to Wiggles pack, and gave him a soda.

When we finally got to the lake Wizard’s friends brought out some beers to shotgun to celebrate. Wiggles, Leathermaid, and Wizard participated. Wiggles finished his beer faster than anyone I’ve ever seen, which is saying something because I was in a sorority in college.

After the beers were finished, we presented Wiggles with his birthday card, cupcakes, and a candle in the form of an “adult cigarette” as Wiggles would call it. The cupcakes held up surprisingly well for having been hidden in our packs for 2 days of hiking. We set up camp at a beautiful spot on the lake and were treated to a spectacular sunset.

July 24th – Day 102

We got up early to get in another big day. The smoke wasn’t as bad in the morning, but it was still pretty smokey. We made good time. At a trailhead a man gave me a quartz crystal “for protection”. I thanked him, and it reminded me of a conversation Pez had had with a man the day before. The man told Pez that a colony of aliens lives under Mt. Shasta, and that they’re nearly immortal and trade crystals with other alien colonies. Maybe this was an alien quartz.

After a break by a stream we crossed Highway 3. Pez’s shin was bothering him a lot, so he decided to hitch into Etna from Highway 3 while Wiggles, Keebler and I pushed on. We wished him well and hoped for a speedy recovery. We made camp later that evening near a lake outlet.

July 25th – Day 103

We had another long day ahead of us as we set off. The air was, once again, smokey, but not unbearably so. Here the trail winds through the incredible Trinity Alps. We did pass through several burn zones, but even the recently burned areas were beautiful. I had to rush to get to camp before dark, and set up my tent by a lake with the light of my headlamp.

July 26th – Day 104

It was an easy six miles to the road that leads to the town of Etna. I got a ride from an elderly woman who used to be a competitive figure skater. She was a blast to talk to. In town, I ate a ton of delicious food, did laundry at the laundromat, resupplied, and then headed to the Etna City Park. Every hotel in Etna was completely booked, but there were still over a dozen hikers without a place to stay. The town recognizes that this is a problem, so they set aside a corner of a public park for camping to house the PCT hikers. There’s even bathrooms, a shower (with soap and towels) and a charging station. It was a cool place to stay and I capped off a great day playing Rummy with Pez, Keebler, and Wiggles.

Until next time,

Megan “Fire Ant” Spencer