9/4/2023
Section: Milepost 1196.5 to 1178.3
Total Trail Miles: 1761/2650
Distance: 18.77 Miles
Moving Time: 07:36
Elevation Gain: 4,616 ft
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I think it took me most of the night to get warm again. The cold soaks in deep hiking in the rain for 4 days straight. We decided that, due to the circumstances, we would sleep in today - figured we had earned it. Of course, with Amanda, sleeping in means sleeping ‘till about 7:30, maybe 8 max. The day was gorgeous outside as we went about picking up our room. It was a funny look, with clothes hanging off just about every horizontal surface we could find but the good news was that everything had dried well overnight.
Once we were a bit more organized and I had checked on our tent hung over the banister on the back deck, we went across the street to the Sierra City General store that sold the same burritos Lightweight had gifted us the night before. We put in our order and I grabbed a tub of sour cream to accommodate it and, just as we sat down at the table, Fiver came into the shop looking very ragged. “How are you doing?” Amanda asked, waving for him to join us. “Okay,” he said sheepishly. He sat down and told us that the day before, not long after he had passed us, he had gotten very cold and worried that he might be hypothermic. At Packsaddle campground he had gone into the outhouse and slept on the floor for an hour or so, because it had a heater, before pushing on to Sierra City. Once in Sierra City, he hadn’t found a place he could pay for so had slept against the side of the general store. We told him we were sorry to hear that and offered him some of our burritos - they were waaaay too big for one person, which he happily accepted. We told him there was a good hiker box across the way in the Sierra City hotel and that he should take a look. He said he would and that he was going to try and get a hitch out to Truckee because he had gone as far as he could with the paper maps he had and needed ones for further south in California. We wished him luck and told him we had enjoyed sharing the trail with him the past few days and, just like that, he was gone.
After the burrito, Amanda and I did a little resupplying. We were still about 4ish days out from South Lake Tahoe and needed some odds and ends to get us there. I bought a milkshake because, you know, nothing like grocery shopping with a milkshake, and got to perusing. After about 10 minutes, Amanda and I had collected everything we thought we needed for the trail ahead, paid and stepped outside. On the deck we talked with an English guy for a while before heading back across the street and grabbing our stuff. We paid, and Uncle Rob agreed to give us a lift back to the trail head. We jumped in his Dodge Pick-up and he sped up the road to our destination. At the trailhead, we took some pictures with him and thanked him for the stay before getting into our warm-ups and setting off.
The stage today was a short one due to the late start, but it climbs pretty much the whole way. On the south side of Route 49, the trail parallels the road for a bit before crossing the North Yuba River on a beautiful bridge and starting to climb along and then away from it. At 2.5 miles in, the PCT crosses Milton creek and then Haypress Hydro Road before ramping up through the Milton Creek drainage. The next 3.5 miles are solid climbing which eventually culminates in attaining a series of low hills. At mile 11, the PCT crosses FR H07 near Pass Creek Campground and continues to grind upward, passing through a labyrinth of forest service roads. The path eventually gains a ridge and turns due east, eventually arriving at a saddle below the day’s highpoint where we stopped for the night.
We crossed the North Yuba River, marveling at the beautiful trough it had cut into the granite before continuing on. Early on we encountered a number of day hikers that steadily fell off as we climbed out of the Yuba drainage and eventually got ourselves into the Milton Creek drainage. The day was sunny and warm, a wonderful change from the last 4 days of rain and we made good time. We reached a series of low hills and serpentined around them for a while before descending slightly to Henness Pass Road, where we stopped for a quick bite to eat.
After our short lunch we continued to climb again. Jackson Meadows Reservoir spread out below us on our right as we gained altitude. Eventually the path turned east and we started looking for a place to bed down for the night. We reached a rise and descended a short distance to a saddle where we called it and made camp for the night. I went to get water while Amanda got the tent going. We had some freeze-dried meals and took in the fading light over the landscape that was looking ever more Sierra-ee by the mile. We passed out shortly after, so glad to be dry again.
