Imagine walking out of the desert and into the fertile, green valleys of the Sierras. Now imagine walking out of the Sierras back into the desert. Disappointment floods you, right? That is what Northern California felt like. I am not saying it did not have incredible views, a wealth of trees casting shade on the dusty trail, and ascents up to heights where you can see for miles. But it lacked the abundant water sources that made the Sierras refreshing and the elevation that provided a cooler hiking environment. Going from carrying one liter of water at any given moment to carrying two to three was a pain to say the least: literally and figuratively. Dry camping (a campsite with no water) becomes the norm, making it necessary to carry lots of water for the night to cook and drink. On trail laundry is also hindered due to the lack of water sources, causing my lovely hiker funk to linger longer than I would like. 

My maps begin the Northern California section at Echo Lake and end at the California/Oregon border. Echo Lake is a small resort with a nice store filled with soda, sandwiches, and ice cream. The morning I arrived in Echo Lake, I had already hiked 10 miles and I planned to hike another 6 to Aloha Lakes to spend the night after taking a quick dip. After a short detour down the wrong trail, I was able to walk along the lake to the campsite. I figured if I averaged 24 mile days from Echo Lake, it would only take me 4 days to arrive in Sierra City, my next resupply. At this point, my longest day was 30 miles and that practically destroyed my feet. I had gone home to make sure my feet were not completely destroyed and to give them a couple days rest. Coming back on the trail, I wanted to ease my way back into miles, causing some anxiety with a 24 mile average that was demanded. But the morning after Aloha Lakes, I was able to hike 29 miles. I was exhausted by the time I got into camp but I felt great otherwise. 

I started this section alone and although I had been staying at camp sites where other hikers were staying, my tent was often far enough away from other hikers to give the impression that I was all alone in the wilderness. It felt very lonely but was also an incredible feeling. With no one really around, I could play music as loud as I wanted, dance while I cooked dinner, or just lean against the trees and watch as the sun lowered behind the mountains. It has got to be one of the most relaxing feelings one can ever experience: to be completely free.

The next day I had 26 miles until Donner Pass, where there was a ski lodge one can buy burgers and soda and beer. I was not particularly settled on making it there that day. I knew the day would hold lots of inclines and descents and was not sure after hiking 29 miles the day before if my body was willing to make the push. I had lunch with some fellow hikers atop a hill that looked over the Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Some asked if I was gonna try and get a burger and I responded saying I was not gonna kill myself to get there. About 9 miles from highway 40 a burger began to sound really good. They stopped serving at 7 and I wanted to make sure I got there with enough time to sit and enjoy my meal instead of scarfing it down and hiking on. I had about 3 hours to get there by 6, and it was mostly downhill, so I began running. I got there around 6, panting, and was handed a free beer. 

I quickly realized the long mile days were getting easier. I made it to Sierra City four days after leaving Echo Lake, only having to hike 16 miles into Sierra City. Tired and feeling my body asking for a break, I decided to spend the night at the River Haven, a vacation home whose owner let PCT hikers rent a room in. The house was right on the Yuba River with a lovely swimming hole. After a relaxing night, it was back to the trail. This time I had some new hiking friends, Shadow and Van Go, both of whom were from Holland. We camped together the night after Sierra City, but Shadow got sick so Van Go and I hiked on without him. Van Go and I hiked together to Belden, the PCT halfway mark, and parted at the Chester junction, as he was visiting his cousin there. While hiking with Van Go to Belden, we met Bravo who began hiking with us. After leaving Van Go at Chester, Bravo and I hiked to Drakesbad Resort, a place on the trail where hikers could get a warm dinner, showers, and laundry done. We met Slingshot there, who I had leap frogged with on the trail since before Sierra City and had a huge meal of goat cheese salad, ravioli, scalloped potatoes, chicken with capers in a lemon cream sauce, and corn dogs. I ate so much, it was absolutely delicious. We then hiked 3 miles to a campsite, with our bellies full, set up camp and passed out. The next day, we hiked together to Old Station where Slingshot was meeting his girlfriend, Bravo would be hiking onto Hat Creek Rim, and I would meet my best friend and get a ride to Burney to zero.

My zero day in Burney consisted of sleeping in (aka waking up at 8), resupplying, getting breakfast, and then visiting Burney Falls at Burney State Park. We parked near Lake Britton and hiked a 3 mile loop to see the falls (ok, so I guess it was not a complete zero). Afterward, we rented kayaks and paddled around Lake Britton. It was a wonderful little vacation on my vacation. Afterwards, we drove back to the town of Burney and stuffed our faces with pizza and beer then promptly went back to the hotel where I fell into a food coma until my parents and sister arrived to pick me up and take me to their hotel. After spending the night with them, we went to a laundromat to do laundry, had breakfast, and then went back to the falls. Saying goodbye to them, I hiked out of Burney Falls State Park at 5 pm, only going 5 miles that day. 

The next couple of days, Joe and I camped together. I was able to do consistently 30 mile days until Castella, where I hiked 16 miles into Castella pondering if I should stay the night or not (Joe was meeting his parents in Shasta and was zeroing there) but I did not really want to after zeroing only 3 days before. I ran into Bravo at Castella and we decided to hike out together, after waiting 6 hours because it was so hot. The stretch from Castella to Seiad Valley was one of the hottest stretches I have experienced so far in the trail. Luckily, we had hiked so that each campsite ended near a lake, where I could take a dip and soak my sweat drenched clothes in an attempt to clean them. We were able to average 30 mile days and made it to Seiad Valley only 8 days after I left Burney.

By the time we arrived in Seiad Valley, my shoes were completely dead. There was no shock absorbance in my soles, making every step painful. We had pushed to arrive in Seiad by Monday night, so we stayed the night at the RV park and planned to leave late afternoon the next day as the hike out of Seiad was steep, exposed, and the temperature was hot. After a relaxing day of gorging on eggs, French toast, toast, bacon, pancakes, blt’s, French fries, and milkshakes and chilling in the PCT hiker room of the RV park watching television, we finally escaped around 5. We hiked most of the uphill in the cooling air of the evening, finally falling asleep around 11 pm. 

The next day we had 28 miles to the California/Oregon border. It was a rough journey. The finally stretch of California was fairly waterless, with the only water sources being a distance off trail. My feet were sore from the miles and my crappy shoes, which were not going to be replaced until Ashland. It was a final push, but we made it to the border on my 3 monthiversary of my journey. It was a bittersweet feeling. Excitement coursed through me that night, however, knowing I had finally made it out of California. California is 1689 miles long and is about 2/3 of the PCT. Hitting the halfway mark was exciting, until you realize you still have 300 miles to go until the border. The end of California was a giant push to get to Oregon. Oregon was another adventure waiting for me. I have been to Portland once, when I was in sixth grade, for my cousin’s wedding. Other than that, I had never been and it is waiting to be explored.

Until next time. ➡️&⬆️