Day 84 - 87

July 28 - 31
Day 84 - 87
Mile 1284.9 - 1381.6
Just south of Belden- Subway Cave
Day 84 - The numbers of the beast
Today we hiked one of the most talked about climbs on the trail, the climb out of Belden. It is known for being hot, exposed, and ending about 3,000 ft higher than it started. We started our day by dropping down a series of steep switchbacks into Belden. We weren't resupplying there but we couldn't pass up the on trail breakfast at the restaurant. Chuckles, Chatterbox, Stonewall, and Jim were also there. After breakfast we immediately got back on the trail and started the 10 mile ascent up the canyon. The hype about it was mostly true. We had not expected it to be that bad because it is not terribly steep, but it was a beast! It was hot and there was not much shade. We had to watch for poison oak all day. Luckily it looked like some trail maintenance has come in this year and cleared the trail. It looked so nice and we were glad we didn't have to navigate through over grown bushes. In fact we have noticed that the whole trail has looked really nice and well kept so far and we are so glad. We entered Lassen National Forest.

When we got to a creek we jumped in, washed ourselves and got cold water. We had a lot of fun here and took about an hour break.We passed mile 1300!

We finally finished the climb and got a really great view that was worth the climb.

We walked on a little longer and camped in some trees.  We really felt like we were completely alone tonight and it was really cool.  Going to bed knowing you may be the only person in miles is such an incredible and freeing feeling.

On a side note, we accomplished something today that we have not done yet.  We have hiked more than 100 miles in 4 days, averaging just over 25 miles a day.  Our speed should stay around 22-30 miles per day and it is good to know that our bodies are capable of doing this!

Day 85 - Halfway... Just in time

We were super excited to make it to the halfway point today so we did 17 miles before lunch at the little halfway marker.

 We looked in the register and saw that Cam, who we started with on May 6th, was there on June 17th.  That guy is incredible! We happily hiked the rest of the way to the highway.  When we got there we saw a sign that said the trail was closed from Highway 70 at Belden to Highway 36 near Chester because of a fire.

After further investigation we found out that a human caused fire started on the PCT near Belden about 12 hours after we passed through there.  We just narrowly missed the trail closure and were some of the last hikers able to pass through that area.  Everyone after us had to hitch from Belden to Chester and skip that section for now.  The fire has since gotten out of control and we hope that everyone in the area is okay.  Maverick, Jim, Nate, and I had to wait a while for a hitch but finally a man named Lee in a 2 door Geo picked us up and we fit all of us plus our packs in.

  We immediately went to get shakes.  We stayed the night in Chester but had to wait until the morning to get our package from the post office because it was closed on Sunday.


Day 86 -Volcano!

We went to the post office as soon as it opened and resupplied.  By the time we got back to the trail it was 12:30.  The trail was really nice and shaded and we even got some good views of Mt. Lassen.  We entered Lassen National Park later in the day.

    We went about a half mile off trail to see a really cool steam vent called Terminal Geyser. 

We also walked by Boiling Springs Lake and we camped near it, in an area that had been logged and cleared.

Day 87 - Flatland
Today was very flat which was good because our feet were sore and we took more breaks than usual today.  Some areas had been logged and they replanted the trees in rows.  It was really weird and unnatural walking through these rows. (This is not really a good picture)

 We knew that tomorrow we had a 30 mile waterless, hot, and exposed section, Hat Creek Rim, so we wanted to prepare ourselves to do that as early as possible tomorrow.  However, we passed a store at Old Station and no hiker can pass up a sign that advertizes food, shade, and ice cream.  We saw a few other hikers there and relaxed for a while before walking the few miles to Subway Cave, which is a really neat lava tube.  We found a scorpion by our tent and went to bed as early as we could to get ready for an early start the next morning to beat the heat. 



-Be Free