DAY 101: LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK

First on the agenda: cross the North Fork of the Feather River

 miles: 27

Ben and I have been excited to explore the Lassen Volcanic National Park and we finally arrived!

Can you spot Ben stretching?

There were piles of twigs and logs everywhere.

The hike through the Lassen area was unique and gorgeous, as expected. There were these baffling piles of wood littering the forest floor for miles. Anyone know what these were for?

Ben and I are not one for side trips, but we definitely took the side trip down to see the Terminal Geyser... and it was well worth the trip! It's funny - while thru-hiking, hikers often avoid side trips that add mileage to their day because we are already walking 25-30 miles a day, why would we want to add another mile??? It is absurd to even amuse the idea of adding superfluous miles to your day.

Despite the strict philosophy of sticking to PCT miles only, Ben and I eventually decided on taking time to mosey down to the impressive Terminal Geyser (which really isn't a geyser geyser, it is more of a hot steam vent, ferociously throwing steam about in a loud manner). The side trip was only half a mile one way and we haven't even taken a side trip so we left our packs on the PCT and walked pack-less down to view the "geyser".

Well worth it.

I didn't want to get too close to it, but Ben got within mere feet of the thing!

Approaching the "Terminal Geyser"

The first day out of Chester provided volcanic displays and interesting geologic features... and we were on our way to Drakesbad Guest Ranch, a notorious PCT hiker spot on the trail. This year is the first year things are a little different at Drakesbad. In previous years, thru-hikers were treated with free meals, free camping, and a free soak in the hot spring pool on site. This year, however, things were expected to be a bit more restrictive and less hiker friendly.

young male deer in a meadow near Drakesbad Guest Ranch... with burgeoning antlers!

Drakesbad Guest Ranch is on a fairly pastoral site: deer grazing and roaming about, wildflowers blooming, rolling hills and meadows, and well manicured trails abound. We hadn't planned on visiting but after lunch at a nearby picnic bench we changed our minds and made the journey down the road to Drakesbad to see what it was all about.

There wasn't much, but there was water and a cooler full of pop for purchase. Other than that, there was no reason to be there if you were a hiker, so we moved on almost as soon as we arrived.

Always craving an orange soda, he gets his wish.

Love a nice trail.

There's a network of trails in and around Lassen Volcanic National Park, which is popular with tourists, so the trails are very nice!

View from the climb out of Drakesbad Guest Ranch

The climb out of Drakesbad was not as bad as I thought it'd be! It was relatively short and sweet and yielded fantastic meadow views...

On the look out for bears.

A few miles out of Drakesbad, a day hiker ran into Ben and I and informed us that there was a bear just up the way, near a creek, with a cub.

OKAY!

We prepared ourselves for our first bear encounter and cautiously continued on our way, vigilant as ever.  But I am sad to say that we never saw a bear. Moderately disappointed, we moved on to our camp destination at Lower Twin Lake. Once at camp, we found out that the hikers in front of us saw FOUR bears and the hikers behind us saw FOUR bears.... this means that they were there when we passed through, but managed to miss them somehow. Exhilarating?!? Yes.

What is happening here?? The tree ate the sign.

A little bit of a burn zone... but it was beautiful.

DAY 100: UNEXPECTED LATE START

Ben - still workin' on somethin'

 miles: 3.75

The intention was to get out of Chester first thing today, but we happened to relax a little too long and I don't regret it one bit.

We ate at the Pine Shack Frosty twice today. This is a delicious fry/shake/ice cream joint that has a walk-up window and unique ice cream type desserts. There are 30 flavors of milkshake, root beer floats, malts, banana splits, etc. and it was across the street from where we were staying, so I couldn't help myself. I also spent quite a bit of time in front of a computer...

Ben and I were hoping to catch Chik Chak and Starfox in town before we left and this was the main reason for staying in town so long. We hadn't seen them in ages and we (at the very least) were hoping to high five/hug, share a few stories, and catch up a bit before heading out. AND LUCKILY THE SHOWED UP! They rolled in in the early evening and we sat around chatting.

It's hot and we are relaxing on our front porch this afternoon.

Ben had a lot of burgers in Chester. Here is the consuming of one of them.

The construction workers at the Chester Manor came and donated a bucket full of beers and ice. 

Left to right around the circle: Solstice, Golden Boy, Rocky, Chik Chak, Smiles, Dr. Slosh, Manchurian, Starfox.

A beard style.

Hiker hands, fresh off the trail.

Hikers taking advantage of sitting in chairs and talking with one another.

Nail painting.

 I was starting to feel a little stressed out about how late it was getting so we got a ride with Piper's Mom (THANK YOU AGAIN!) back to the trailhead at around 7:00pm. It was dusk by the time we hit the trail and it felt a little weird... lonely even. It's always strange to get back on the trail after being in town. In fact, it's something that I dread, simply because I tend to feel totally weird. That is the only way to describe it: weird.

We made it to a nice camp spot at the first water source by dark and were both shocked and slightly relieved to find another thru-hiker at camp. The woods we were walking through were a bit still, dark, and eerie and there was an abandoned camper next to our camp site so we were happy to find company in a new thru-hiker we had not met named Cartwheel.

Thanks for being clear.

DAY 99: A ZERO IN CHESTER, CALIFORNIA

Chester Manor - our home for a zero day.

miles: 0

I will make this post brief seeing as I took one photo (of Ben working on something outside of our motel room) and I mostly did chores.

Chester, in a nut shell, was an average town for a zero day, not too small, not large, not special, just normal. We mostly just shut ourselves in our room and cleaned our things, watched t.v. (weird, I know), and gorged on food.

Miss you all back home.

DAY 98: CHESTER DREAMIN'

miles: 22? I actually don't remember.

It's July 26th.

AND WE REACHED THE HALFWAY POINT.

The halfway monument was the carrot at the end of the rope for me. Today was mentally difficult.

Difficult to stay focused.
Difficult to not be bored.
Difficult because of the heat and monotonous scenery.

Hiking all day, every day can be mundane at times. It typically isn't because of the ever changing ecosystems we pass through on a daily basis, but there are definitely those days that are less than exciting.

Today was one of them.

I'm not sure what it was but I was struggling today. Perhaps it was the heat? No option but to keep moving forward. I kept picturing the halfway monument and that is what kept me moving at a fast pace.

We reached the halfway point in the early afternoon and were the only ones there. There was a trail register there where everyone signs and writes a little bit about how the trail has been for them up until this point. It was so much fun reading who was ahead of us and when they passed through. Trail registers have been hard to come by these days, it seems as though when we were in the desert they were everywhere! The trail is one long grapevine and it is a real highlight to come across a register. I frantically flip through pages, searching for names, checking dates. A lot of folks we used to know and hike around have passed us and are seemingly un-reachable, if you will. Will we ever see them again?

It's interesting because you always know who is in front of you and by how far... but the crowd behind you is a complete mystery. I don't think we've even met most of the people behind us yet. This is because in the beginning of the trail we were agonizingly slow-paced and we continued to be passed by hikers day after day after day after day... but we have gotten stronger and our pace has picked up quite dramatically, so we are finally catching up to some old friends. No one will be passing us any time soon....

Volcanic

What we stare at all day. The ground. The footprints.

Lassen in the distance!

HALFWAY MONUMENT!

YEAHHHHHHHHH!

We are excited for the upcoming walk through Lassen Park, to reach Mt. Shasta, to reach Oregon....

After spending a very short amount of time with the monument, we pushed on so that we could make it to Chester before the Post Office closed. We heard we had packages to pick up!

The last few miles leading down into Chester were brutally hot and dusty. I was losing strength, stamina, and my wits. We coasted through a series of private properties (as in - Kimberly Clark the toilet paper giant and other corporate forest demolishing companies) and were appalled at the state of the forest in these areas. It was one private property announcement after another and then we were on a ranch? Which was bizarre... and eerie.

I fell behind and was literally dragging my feet only miles from the highway. Then the trail threw a nice, steep, rocky, .5 mile uphill at me and I nearly lost it. The last half mile to the highway was a hot climb out of an oven. WHEN YOU ARE BEING BAKED ALIVE.

But I made it, we made it, made it down to the highway and were greeted with amazing trail magic provided by Piper's Mom! I nearly cried, I was so happy. Cold coolers full of pop and snacks. This could not have been more perfectly timed and I am forever thankful for the trail magic on that day. Thank you Piper's Mom! We basked in the trailhead magic glory for a brief moment but quickly found a ride with Craig and his dog Lance (THE SWEETEST YELLOW LAB).

***Craig is out west for a few weeks (all the way from Oklahoma) helping Nurse Betty on her thru-hike, and he is AWESOME. He has provided beers, offered us food, and given us rides.***

He drove us in to Chester right away and dropped us off at the Post Office.

Post Office love made it's way from Oregon and we were happy to find a surprise care package from our friend Aileen (Thank you Aileen!) - home made cookies, injinji toe socks, and more!

Chester is a hot little town. We wandered around searching for a hotel room that had AC and found the Chester Manor, which was surprisingly clean and cozy! Chester Manor is fantastic! I recommend it.

Oh how I love to walk into a fresh, clean, hotel room. The night ended with the usual - pizza in bed, one beer each, and crashing obscenely early.

DAY 97: WHAT IT'S LIKE TO CLIMB 5,000 FEET IN THE HEAT

miles: 27 (including the 5,000 foot climb)

It has been hot. HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. This morning we decided to wake up early and try to attack the upcoming climb with fervor. Brenda Braaten offered to take us to the trailhead by 6:00am, which was perfect. We were antsy and eager to make some big miles.

Look at this fresh and clean boy!

There were some nice bridges.

The view as the climb out of Belden began...

This was not the most attractive section.

Belden.

Burnt, exposed, poison oak everywhere, tall.

LASSEN!

Let the climbing begin.

greenery.

Cairns guide us everywhere we go. This looks like it is usually a rushing river.

Couldn't believe my eyes.

 As we climbed (and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed) the clouds began to form, making me uneasy. Ben and I climbed at our own paces today and I was surprisingly ahead of him. He was NOT feeling it today but I was pumped - the climb wasn't that big of a deal, actually.

A lot of people DREAD this climb, and yes, it is a HUGE one, but I didn't find it all that difficult. The thing is - you never know when you are going to have a good day or when you are going to have a difficult day. Every day is different depending on the calories you've consumed (that day and the night before), the sleep you had, the mood you are in, the temperature outside, the weather, etc. I was having a particularly good day and was feeling strong so I sped up that hill in no time at all.

Lunch was at a nice spring, but this was a day of yellow jackets (again). I got stung.

I am always on the look out for thunder clouds, and these became pretty threatening. 

lunch spot

Sometimes the PCT signs look like this. 

Following the Hiker Foot Print.

YUM

The beginnings of a thunderstorm.

The horse trough. This is actually really good water.

I like this bench.

???

Nice fence, yo.

Entering Lassen means it is starting to turn prettttttttty volcanic. 

A forest mess.