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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 19, 2015 - 11:53pm PT
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Mtnyoung,
Dang, I slacked getting back to you..I bet you are on the trail...
Timid and i will be meeting up with some old friends on the coast the weekend you are in the Beldon area... ...
Do you know when you will get to the Humboldt summit section? We actually like that area more better.....
We hiked it last weekend, and it was the first time we have not seeing any snow on the ground in June...)-;...........
Apogee, what is your answer?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2015 - 07:41am PT
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Nita, we're not leaving until Tuesday (Tricia's currently attending "Tech Trek" at Fresno State - a math and science "camp" sponsored by the American Association of University Women).
I looked up Humboldt Summit. I think we will reach that area (if things go as planned) at about the middle of our July trip. If I had to guess, we'd get there around July 20 or 21. Perhaps give some thought hiking with us for a while?
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 23, 2015 - 09:21am PT
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mtnyoung, We would love to join in on your hike...still not sure if we can rendezvous...Weekdays are an issue...We will be at a music festival the weekend before those dates...So it's iffy...Dang..
For this next PCT trek, what sections are you hiking ?... beginning, ending and possible dates?
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2015 - 09:34am PT
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Nita,
We're leaving in 10 minutes (I'm waiting for everyone to be ready). The plan today is to hike from Highway 49 to Packer Lake Saddle (leaving late so as to do the hike in cooler afternoon temps).
From there we intend to go 12 to 16 miles per day until reaching Belden at the end of next Tuesday, June 30th.
If you feel crazy and want to hang with us for a day, try 209 768 4546 (although we didn't get any significant cell service in many places up there when we were there last). Obviously we're not entirely sure where we'll be each day. And we're not entirely sure where we'll be camping either each night. We know that we're likely to stay two nights at Little Grass Valley Reservoir (probably Little Beaver Campground, and likely Thursday and Friday nights). We're especially tentative north of there.
Maybe July if not this trip? We really enjoy hiking with company.
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Jun 23, 2015 - 09:36am PT
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This thread keeps on giving. You have a great family, man!
I was just talking with my future wife about the pros/cons of the AT-PCT. Naturally, I'm in the PCT camp. Someday...
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Jun 23, 2015 - 11:11am PT
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Thanks for the info..That gives us a clearer idea....Not sure if we can meet, but ...July may be better.
ps.. Two weekends ago on the PCT, we were at Robbers springs filing up with water when we met a young german PCT hiker...He was hiking 29 miles a day.. with some rest days for showers and food pick-up...He barely had time to talk with us, wanted to celebrate at the 1/2 way point, which was 8 miles from where we met on the trail... He planed to complete the whole trail in less than 160 days...Sounded like he had seen & talked with very few people...I think he will succeed with his goal...
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Cragar
climber
MSLA - MT
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Jun 23, 2015 - 11:14am PT
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Awesome Brad! Some lucky ladies in your life eh?!
!!
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Jun 23, 2015 - 11:54am PT
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Cheers! This is a great thread.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 1, 2015 - 12:43pm PT
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We're back after a great trip. Hot though, even at the upper elevations of our hike.
I've got part of a trip report done and I'll start posting that as quickly as I can.
Brandon, good on you for looking at the big trails. I hope you do get on them. Yes, them; you don't necessarily have to choose one or the other… :)
Cragar, That's a nice way of looking at it (my girls being lucky), but in all honesty, I've always felt that I was the lucky one.
Nita, you don't suppose I insulted apogee by making assumptions about his age? I certainly hope not, he's a very positive voice on this forum and I'd hate to have gotten on his bad side.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 1, 2015 - 07:38pm PT
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Day One:
Our first day's plan worked perfectly.
The climb up from our start point on Highway 49 (at 4,600 feet) would require almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain. A lot of the climb would be on a mostly-coverless trail with southern exposure. We knew temperatures would be hot. So we did the drive from home and started hiking late (we met Laura and Alex Dawson on the way; unfortunately Steve had work commitments). In this case "late" meant beginning a 9.8 mile hike at 4:20 in the afternoon. But it also meant cooling temps and a sun that was already to the west when we started up the east side of the Sierra Buttes. And after all, we were hiking on almost the longest day of the year. So we got to hike mostly in the shade.
Starting:
The first part of the ascent involved switchbacks in forest:
We passed trail mile 1,200 about a mile and a half into this hike:
Near the top of the switchbacks we encountered a "trail obstacle" (blurry shot, because - go figure - I used maximum telephoto):
When, after ten minutes, the obstacle refused to move from the trail, we moved around it instead:
After the switchbacks the trail breaks out into the clear and then winds its way around and up the south side of the Buttes, to the west, ending on their northwest side. As soon as we broke out of the forest we started getting great views:
Here's Sierra City from up high:
From this high up we could see Castle and Basin Peaks. Castle Peak is about a mile and a half north of Donner Summit at I-80 (where we started our last trip):
By the time we got to the west side of the Buttes, it was getting pretty late:
Tricia seems to have an eye for sunset shots (her photo):
And alpenglow:
We finished at the paved road at Packer Saddle (apparently the PCT is in the process of being re-routed here - dropping down a bit to the Tamarack Lakes so it doesn't follow a dirt and a paved road for half a mile). Vicki was, of course, waiting for us. Notice the amount of energy that Tricia and Alex have, racing to be the first "to the finish line" (after all, we'd only hiked just under ten miles):
We then drove the three miles to Packer Lake campground, had a very late dinner and hit the sack. What a great day.
We would be up early tomorrow to get ready for another, this one longer, continuing mostly on ridge-lines to the "A Tree Saddle."
Day Two:
Our plan for day two involved moving camp to Upper Jamison Campground at Plumas Eureka State Park (it's Vicki doing that part). From this park a rough dirt road leads to the "A Tree Saddle," a road/PCT junction that is a 12.5 mile hike from Packer Saddle (that's the others of us doing that).
We started in great weather:
Early in these PCT adventures, both of my girls adopted a habit of touching PCT signs as they go by them. Alex now tries to do the same (with a little help now and then):
Although the PCT guidebook is a bit negative about the PCT's chosen route in this area (it comments that maybe it should have gone nearer to the lakes in Lakes Basin), we found that the ridge hiking along this stretch of trail was both easy and viewful:
Water is short though, high on a ridge. Small Summit "lake" provides one source near the trail, although it certainly isn't a fresh-flowing stream. Water quality aside, our dogs loved the coolness of the water and romped to their heart's content:
The views we caught of the Sierra Buttes got farther and farther away all day; and this time we were north of them:
Along its length, the PCT is marked with various signs. The newer style sign is probably familiar to most who have hiked on or over the trail. But many parts of the trail were originally marked with plain metal diamond signs, and these are still there. Some of these signs in this area have been marked up by someone, mostly in a positive manner. Here's an example:
We headed south just before lunch. Yes, that's right, south, toward Mexico (the trail does that now and then, which is part of the reason it is 2,658 miles long). At the end of our southward segment we found a lunch spot we liked:
After an excellent 12.5 miles day we wound down through forest to the A Tree Saddle (and no, we never figured out why it was named that). Vicki was waiting for us:
The less-than-five-mile drive back to Upper Jamison Campground was totally routine, dirt road driving. At least it was routine until we heard the distinctive hissing of escaping air out the left side window. Luck has many forms; we'd had good luck that day in that the flat tire didn't occur until after Vicki picked us up. The bad luck though was that the flat was bad; we'd get a very late start the next day in part because we had to deal with this issue by driving all the way to Quincy (on the spare).
Day Three:
On our third day we started a 15.7 mile hike at 12:25 in the afternoon (due to the flat tire). It was hot by then. Fortunately a lot of our hike was in the shade. Even more fortunately, we were able to meet Vicki halfway through our hike as she drove from the east side of the range (at Plumas Eureka State Park), 15 miles over to the west side (at Little Grass Valley Reservoir) to set up a new camp.
We passed under Gibraltar Rock with its Pinnacles-like formations (too far in the back country to EVER be worth it):
Small creeks provided water and some relief (I'll say it again, these were some very hot days of hiking):
And after just under eight (quick) miles, there was Vicki, waiting for us on Johnsville-Gibsonville Road, right where we'd planned:
After lunch we continued. One of the first things we saw was this gnome-like tree (Gollum in repose?):
Then we were back to the beautiful ridgelines that were so prominent this trip (look how far the Sierra Buttes have receded in this first shot - we were really moving north):
We got our first view of Pilot Peak (it's very visible because of its fire lookout, and it's near our end point for the day):
Other, oddly named geographic features appeared:
Then a first view of LaPorte road let us know that we were closing in on a 15.7 mile day (ten year old Alex's longest day of hiking ever):
LaPorte Road has been an important county road since 1867. It's well graded and well paved, and yet in all the time we spent driving it we saw almost no other vehicles. This is a very quiet part of California:
On the drive back to our new campsite Tricia noticed that she had accumulated dust spots all over her legs, clear up to the knees. She thought this was pretty funny (she must have sweated a heck of a lot while hiking the dusty trails; I really like having a daughter who laughs at getting really dirty):
In fact, it had been so hot that, in spite of all the water we gave the dogs, Hallie found the camp water faucet as soon as we got out of the car and started to help herself:
We were in good shape after this third day. The Dawsons had one more day to spend with us and it promised to be one of easy hiking and good views. Then new friends would join us and we'd finish off with two really hard days (with an easier one in between).
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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I wish this trip could go on forever.
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johnboy
Trad climber
Can't get here from there
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Looks like your dog has a drinking problem, lol.
Still the best thread, bump to the top.
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Finally, you can enjoy the scenery with nice light packs
Luging a giant Pig wears on you after a while
Keep up the Fun!
I'm rooting for you!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 2, 2015 - 09:18am PT
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Yep, the light hiking is easier. And it's nice to share the evenings and camping with Vicki.
It's funny though - through-hikers call what we're doing "slackpacking." Never to our faces however, and seemingly with a little twinge of jealousy.
Day Four:
Although we thoroughly enjoyed our fourth day (nine miles of easy, shaded hiking), it wasn't particularly noteworthy for purposes of a trip report. The hiking did set us up for a hard, really hot hike the next day. It also insured that Alex passed 50 miles of hiking in four days - a pretty noteworthy accomplishment for a ten year old boy:
It was fun to start the day; we drove up to LaPorte Road, and there, in front of us (but 50 miles away) was Mount Lassen! We hadn't noticed it when we were there the day before. I'm really starting to like this mountain:
Fun Hiking (including touching the occasional sign):
We met up again this day with Vicki:
And we saw signs too:
Even signs about a small lake we passed:
But there were two signs for this lake (and, really how could this one ever have been taken out into the field and put up)?
And that was it for the fourth day; fun, and not too strenuous.
Day Five:
Today we traveled a short distance as the crow flies. But that short distance, across the Middle Fork Feather River canyon, required nearly 16 miles of hiking, 2,800 feet of elevation loss, and over 3,000 feet of elevation gain. All in 90 plus degree temperatures. We enjoyed it.
The Cooks joined us for this hike. At least Kathy did. John was gracious enough to join us for parts of the hike only (the beginning and the end) and to join Vicki in moving camp and cars around, through Quincy and over to a new camp on the north side of the river:
It was warming when we'd gone just a quarter mile and got a clean look across the whole canyon at Lookout Rock, the end point for the day's hike (up high on the canyon rim):
It was warm when we started down the switchbacks (after switchbacks, after switchbacks):
It was warmer when we reached the river (and the biggest pedestrian bridge on the PCT) at 2,900 feet (the lowest elevation we've been to on the PCT in a long, long time):
Then it became downright hot as we traversed to Bear Creek and then began the looooooong sets of switchbacks up to canyon rim level:
But we made progress. We gained elevation. And it got a little cooler:
We "found" John hiking toward us once we reached the rim:
Together we made our way along the rim to Lookout Rock (it's not all that much of a rock, but the lookout part is great):
We saw this sign right at the end of our day's hike; the PCT is truly unique in many ways and it's really cool to have seen again and again how love of the trail brings out the good in people:
We then met up with Vicki (and the dogs - their paws had taken a rest day today). We found a wonderful place about a quarter mile away to bandit camp:
From this camp site we could see all the way to the Sierra Buttes (photo taken from directly behind our car):
Dinner and socializing followed:
After we'd all eaten dinner, we did what all good, modern people do in the evening: we got heavily into electronics. No iPads though. And no televisions or Kindles either. Just a few iPhones, and those used as cameras only. We were present for a spectacular, distant sunset and lightning show, all seen from the rim of the canyon, 200 feet from our tent sites:
This really was a fantastic show (and free too). As the sun set we saw lightning bolt after lightning bolt way to the east (we could only occasionally hear low rumblings of thunder). We sat for an hour just taking it in (and both Kathy and Vicki actually caught bolts in photos):
This great day and evening were then followed by collapsing into our tents exhausted, just after dark. We knew we had two more days to come, one easy and the other a 20-mile push in the heat.
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2015 - 10:23am PT
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Day Six:
The morning skies were cloudy and dark on our sixth day. We hoped for sprinkles and cooler weather and got a little of each, but it cleared more and more as the day went by:
The natural distance to hike today was just over nine miles - after that it's 20 miles of wilderness to the North Fork Feather River and the town of Belden. So we took it easy, and enjoyed the sights and the movement:
While we were hiking Vicki got to play "trail angel." We first crossed and later finished on roads that lead to Buck's Lake and it's small resort facilities. Most through-hikers use one or the other of the roads to go down for a meal and some resupply. At one point while we were with her, two young through hikers came out of the woods, looked around and started walking the road to the west. Vic interrupted them: "are you looking for the trail," she said. "No" they responded, they were headed over to Buck's Lake. "Well in that case could I offer you a ride?" (There are many advantages to having a large-capacity family car, and fitting lots of people and junk into it is one of them.)
The through-hikers were blown away. "Yes, yes," they'd like a ride, "hell yes." So Vicki ran them to the lake, let them do their business and then shuttled them back to the trail. A little later she picked up another pair and shuttled them too.
Another through-hiker saw Vicki again that day for about the sixth time. For some reason the timing worked such that for days, when Vicki would park to meet us or pick us up, this hiker would walk by. He wasn't very talkative, but they got to recognize each other and traded hellos and smiles.
Anyway, Vicki really likes meeting the through-hikers and helping them out when she can.
Because she was running around, we waited for Vicki after we finished at Buck's Summit. But we weren't in any rush, and before long she picked us up and we drove two miles over to White Horse campground (which we had all to ourselves - even the camp hosts were gone; such wonderful peace and quiet isn't common in a public campground).
We had a nice, long afternoon in camp. And, as usual when we hang with the Cooks, Kathy and John got Tricia to play the Scrabble-like game Bananagrams. They all three laughed a lot while they played (and the Cooks claimed that Tricia won two out of three games, but I'm not sure I believe them):
A campfire, giant marshmallows, and SMOREs rounded out what had almost amounted to a rest day:
We were again to bed early, knowing that tomorrow wouldn't be very "resty" at all.
Day Seven:
Our seventh day was great; a long and hot hike with great views ending in a town that many consider "halfway" to Canada (it's actually around 30 miles short of halfway). The Cooks joined us for the first four miles of the trip and then, after Spanish Peak, it was just me and Tricia:
The middle several miles of this trip are passed on the northeast edge of a large plateau. Clear areas provide wide vistas. Of Spanish Peak:
Of Highway 70 going through the town of Quincy:
Of the Sierra Buttes, now around 35 miles south of us:
And of Mount Lassen (I'm really looking forward to getting closer to this peak):
We hauled buns to lunch at Clear Creek, 10.1 miles into the day:
This photo, taken at Clear Creek is for our two geology professor friends, John and Roger. What are we looking at by way of this big orange rock guys, and why is it here?
After lunch we continued on easy trails, still flying along.
At this stage of our hike, while walking and dreaming, I started to realize something about my now 13 year old Tricia. She's still a kid in so many ways. But she's not a child any more. And this is true even more so in a hiking/backpacking/camping sense.
Tricia's now 1,300 miles into this trail. She's done killer-hard hikes, she's backpacked days and days at a time (and carried her share of the weight). She's starting to learn the lay of the land, to study maps and to find our way. She's met and seen a large variety of outdoor people (both by way of our hikes and through all the climbing we've done as a family). Tricia helps with every camp chore, from tents to food to getting a campfire going and clean-up.
On this day's hike it really hit me: Tricia is now closer to being my equal in this venture than she is to being my "student" or my "kid." Thirteen years old or not, we make most decisions on the trail now by consensus, or even without discussion. I like it.
This realization led me in turn to think about how incredibly proud I am of her. And then, the next thought was about how much I just like hanging out with her. She's totally fun to spend time with:
We were now about 15 miles into our 20 mile day. The dogs were hot, they were seeking cool in any way they could:
We got our first view of Highway 70 and the river way, way down below:
Open areas led slowly downhill (Mount Lassen disappeared behind the far canyon wall):
We hit the "endless" switchbacks that lead down to Belden town and the river:
While on the switchbacks we got a view of Chips Canyon. This will be our first day's hike on our July trip. It looks hot, hot, hot (the trail is visible on the right wall):
Finally most of the way down the switchbacks we got a view of the Belden Lodge and the town bridge:
After 3,000 feet of descent we hit the flats, crossing double railroad tracks to Belden Town Road:
While I'd expected Belden Town Road to have a town on it, Belden is actually much smaller than that; the PCT path is the town road for half a mile before any of Belden comes into view:
Naturally Vicki was waiting for us at the lodge:
Our first priority was cooling off the dogs; the river was perfect for the purpose:
After cooling off and having a cold drink we needed to finish the day's hike; across town bridge, along the highway, and over to the Eby stamp mill rest stop (where the PCT leaves Belden) and then our 50 extra feet (to insure that we never miss a step):
That wrapped up another fine trip. We made over 92 miles in seven days (it seems like we've made it way into northern California now). We had fun and enjoyed friends.
And now we're done, home and back to normal, waiting until July 18 when we leave for another trip. After that will be August when Katie will join us in passing Lassen and then heading northwest toward Shasta.
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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stoked to see this next installment. Cool that you can do day hikes in this section.
I was up at Spanish Mountain/Silver Lake a month ago. under the radar climbing. Spanish Mtn. is a chossy 4th/5th class "ridge" climb.
You'll love the Lassen zone.
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Gene
climber
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I love this thread.
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BMcC
Trad climber
Livermore
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Great to see your story and pics pop back up. Brad, thanks for sharing your ongoing adventure(s) with us!
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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I've said it once and i'll say it again...I LOve this thread!!...but it needs a little music...
I've played this before, but it's my favorite( PCT) hiking tune...
For mtnyoung and his daughter..
[Click to View YouTube Video]
The video that goes with the music is yours? Edit:..No.. but I know the guy that made the video.. His trail name is~ Weather Carrot ~..Kinda funny, i no longer can remember his given name.
ps, you should check out some other songs by Greg Brown .I love his music..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNHIreIBMeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXW0chMDo7o
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 3, 2015 - 06:40pm PT
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Nice. I've never heard of him. The video that goes with the music is yours?
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