Tag: California Section L

  • Day 87 – Mile 1191.8 to Sierra City

    Day 87 – Mile 1191.8 to Sierra City

    Sunday, July 19. Mid-50s and cloudy going up to low 80s and humid at low altitude.

    Woke up to thunder at 4:00. It rained on and off from 5-7. Given that, I slept in until 7:30.

    Two miles on the PCT then a 3-mile road walk. About half gravel and half paved. 

    Day 87 Road Walk

    Got into Sierra City at 10:00. Very small one-road old mining town. Went directly to The Red Moose Cafe for food and drink. There were about 12 other hikers here. With more coming in. I can get into my cottage at 2:00 at the latest. 

    Day 87 Sierra City
    Day 87 Red Moose in Sierra City

    I had a nice breakfast then hung out and watched the beginning of the World Cup finals with about 20 other hikers.

    Day 87 World Cup at Red Moose

    I walked down the street to the general store to pick up my resupply package, some additional resupply, and some adult beverages. The resupply was sketchy as it’s Sunday and the shelves were very picked over. Walked back to the place where I’m staying at 1:00 and my cottage was ready. 

    Day 87 Butte Resort

    I exploded my pack and put my tent out on the porch to dry. There is no laundry in town, so I washed a few things in the bathroom sink. I called my shirt, bandannas, and underwear clean when the water coming off of them was mostly clear. The socks were good enough when the water was light brown:)

    YouTube Video of Pack Explosion in Sierra City

    I got my Bear can ready to ship home and prepped my food for the next 4.5 days to Quincy, CA. 

    Day 87 Food for 4.5 Days

    Showered, packed, and had a nice call with Pitcrew.  Walked a mile to Sierra Pines Resort, the only place open, for dinner at 7:00.

    The post office does not open until 10:00, so I’m not in a rush in the morning. My plan is breakfast back at Sierra Pines, post office, checkout, and on trail by 11:00. Only doing about 13 miles tomorrow. There is a huge steep 4000-foot climb out of Sierra City.

    I have a 4.5 day trek to Quincy for my next section.

    Technical Notes:

    • Quest Bar: 180 cal, 20g protein 
    • OJ 
    • Coffee
    • Sausage scramble 
    • Lamb chops 
    • More!
    • Water liters: .5
    • Miles: 5
    • Time: 2
    • Up: 197
    • Down: 1286
    • Calories consumed: 695
    • Calories burned: lots
    • iPhone battery used: 10%
  • Day 86 – Mile 1170.3 to Mile 1191.8

    Day 86 – Mile 1170.3 to Mile 1191.8

    Saturday, July 18. Mid-50s and cloudy going up to low 70s.

    Up at 7:00. We had unexpected rain between 4:00 and 5:30 this morning. Not a lot, and I could still see some stars while it rained. Odd. On trail at 8:00.

    I got a nice surprise from Jon Luning, my Theta Xi Fraternity Big Brother, late yesterday. This is from the latest edition of our national publication, The Unicorn.

    Day 86 – Except From The Unicorn

    Power hiking 22 miles today so that I can Nero in Sierra City on Sunday. 

    Some good lake views today.

    Day 86 Lake View

    Had an 8-mile ridge walk that looked like this for hours.

    Day 86 8 mile ridge walk

    Lots of forest recovery and restoration work today. They are removing the dead and dying trees.

    Day 86 Lots Of This Today
    Day 86 Lots Of This Today

    Camp at 6:15 and 22 miles. Awesome spot 10 feet from a babbling brook and bridge. 

    Day 86 Camp by River and Bridge

    This is the first time I’ve done anything over 18 miles in quite a while. My feet hurt, but overall it was a decent day. I need to do more big-mile days soon.

    I’m really looking to breakfast in Sierra City tomorrow. I have a resupply box at the general store and a cabin rented for tomorrow night. I need to post 7 days of blogs and plan for my next hiking sections.

    Day 86 Map – Mile 1170.3 to Mile 1191.8

    Technical Notes:

    • Protein Shake (10oz): 330 cal, 19g carb, 13.5g fat, 36g protein 
    • Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein
    • Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein
    • Quest Bar; 180 cal, 20g protein 
    • Mango (3-4p, 30g): 100 kcal, 25g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per 
    • Mango (3-4p, 30g): 100 kcal, 25g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per 
    • Quest Bar: 180 cal, 20g protein 
    • Salami: 220
    • Jerky (2 oz): 140 kcal, 12g carb, 0g fat, 22g protein 
    • Cup noodles Stir Fry Sweet Chili (8 oz water): 370 Kcal, 55g carb, 13g fat, 8g protein 
    • Cup noodles Stir Fry Sweet Chili (8 oz water): 370 Kcal, 55g carb, 13g fat, 8g protein 
    • Tuna: 90 kcal, 4-7g carb, 1g fat, 14-16g protein 
    • Fritos: 400
    • Skittles (2.17oz): 250 kcal, 56g carb, 2.5g fat, 0g protein 
    • Water liters: 4
    • Miles: 22
    • Time: 10:16
    • Up: 2283
    • Down: 5108
    • Calories consumed: 3030
    • Calories burned: 3013
    • iPhone battery used: 32%
  • Day 85 – Donner Ski Ranch to Mile 1170.3

    Day 85 – Donner Ski Ranch to Mile 1170.3

    Friday, July 17. Mid-60s and clear going up to low 80s.

    Up at 7:00. Breakfast with Maui at Donner Ski Ranch. I met Maui 2 days ago. He’s about 10 years older than me and hiked the AT in 2022. Good guy. We bunked together last night as well. He only does 10-13 miles a day. I should see him again in Sierra City.

    On trail at 9:30 and crossed over Donner Summit.

    Day 85 Donner Ski Ranch
    Day 85 Donner Pass

    Donner Lake and Truckee

    Day 85 Donner Lake

    Cal Trans mountain climbing and repelling training. Very cool.

    Day 85 Cal Trans Staff Training
    Day 85 Cal Trans Staff Training

    Abandoned railroad avalanche sheds now pedestrian trail. I think this is where the film crew was filming.

    Day 85 Old Avalanche Shed
    Day 85 Old Avalanche Shed

    Crossed under Interstate 80.

    Day 85 Crossing Under I-80
    Day 85 Crossing Under I-80

    Summited Castle Pass (7,929 feet) at 1:25.

    Day 85 Castle Pass

    Lunch at 1:20 and 7.7 miles at Peter Grubb Hut. Back on trail at 2:30.

    Reached camp at 6:45 and 16 miles. Very nice camp sites next to a dirt road. Another group of 6 arrived at 8:00. I met them a couple of times today and have run across a few of them in the past. They made a campfire since someone left us a stack of firewood.

    Day 85 Camp
    Day 85 Campfire

    If my left Achilles was not slowing me down, I could be doing 20-mile days. Tomorrow is all downhill, so I may put that to the test. I would like to get within 6-8 miles of Sierra City so that I can get into town early on Sunday.


    Day 85 Map – Donner Ski Ranch to Mile 1170.3

    Technical Notes:

    • Fried egg 90
    • Ham 120
    • Cheese potatoes 300
    • OJ 300
    • Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein
    • Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein
    • Protein Mac and Cheese: 400 cal, 20g protein 
    • Tuna w Oil: 140 kcal, 0g carb, 8g fat, 17g protein 
    • Mango (3-4p, 30g): 100 kcal, 25g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per 
    • Mango (3-4p, 30g): 100 kcal, 25g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per 
    • Salami 220
    • Jerky (2 oz): 140 kcal, 12g carb, 0g fat, 22g protein 
    • Cup noodles Stir Fry Sweet Chili  (8 oz water): 370 Kcal, 55g carb, 13g fat, 8g protein 
    • Cup noodles Stir Fry Sweet Chili  (8 oz water): 370 Kcal, 55g carb, 13g fat, 8g protein 
    • Fritos 400
    • Skittles (2.17oz): 250 kcal, 56g carb, 2.5g fat, 0g protein 
    • Water liters: 3
    • Miles: 16
    • Time: 9:10
    • Up: 3186
    • Down: 2165
    • Calories consumed: 3600
    • Calories burned: 3073
    • iPhone battery used: 40%