Day 80, California Love

Part 3, Northern California, Day 80

California Love

Miles: 29.48

Total Miles: 1251.53

Last night the lightning lit up the whole meadow I was camped in. It was a pretty great show, especially since I was already in my tent when the rain came. As long as I don't have to set up or take down camp in the rain, it's ok. It rained all night and I woke up at 5 to semi-clear skies. I hiked out at 6:15. The wet plants on the side of the trail soaked my clothes. The morning cleared up pretty fast though.

Since leaving Sierra City, I've been in a bubble with 3 groups. I see them all throughout the day and chat and whatnot, but it pays to stay ahead of groups, so I hiked fast today. I had 12 miles by 10am. 

In the past week, I've seen these two southbound section hikers pass me going south, 3 different times. I guess they drive north, hike south, drive further north, and repeat. Sorry if that's confusing. Today I saw them again, and one of them, who goes by the name "Second Breakfast," gave me a bunch of cherries. I think i fit all of these into my mouth at once. It was fun!

He said I'd see him again hiking south in a few days. See ya later Second Breakfast!

I'm in the Plumas National Forest now, and it's so beautiful and well maintained. Northern California is my favorite section so far. Don't get me wrong here, the Desert and especially the Sierra Nevada are beautiful, but everything is vast and open in those places. Everything is there for you to experience, a huge open world. The forests of Northern California, however, seem to hold many secrets. There is a buzz here; a hidden world thriving in the forests all around me. 

After meeting a backpacking Boy Scout troop and answering their thru hiking questions, I missed a turn for a spring. Water is tricky here in NorCal, and I was so damn thirsty, so I hightailed it 4 miles to the next spring. 

I had to walk way downhill to drink from Alder Spring, but it was well worth it. 

This is ice cold, crystal clear water. All the springs up here are top notch and most are piped. These cold springs help, since it's much hotter up here than any other spot on the trail, including the desert! (It is, of course, summer up here though..)

Around 1 pm, a thunderstorm was brewing. Thunder rumbled all over, and the sky turned dark. 

It rained for about a half hour. I guess thunderstorms are a daily thing here. 

Northern California certainly has the most  verdant forests I've seen thus far.

I was making good mileage today. It's very tiring and pain is a normal thing on the trail.

I began a long descent to around 3,000 feet. 

Some parts of the river trail were like a green tunnel. The air was hot and stuffy.

Around 4pm, I arrived at the footbridge over the Middle Fork of the Feather River.

The Feather River is pretty neat, flowing through these deep forested canyons. 

I almost dropped my sunglasses off the bridge...I just thought you all should know that.

This awesome swimming hole was just below the bridge. My clothes melted off my body as I quickly made my way down and jumped in. After all that goodness, I was back in action.

I found some reminders of old industry on the other side of the canyon.

This is when I lost the trail. I wasn't paying attention and walked up river on another trail. As a thru hiker, I spend all day every day for months looking at the PCT, so whenever I go off this trail, I sense the difference immediately. I instantly knew something was wrong here. I found some great camp sites, drank some water, and kept looking for the PTC for nearly an hour. I have a gps app on my phone that, of course, wasn't working when I needed it most. I finally backtracked to the bridge and saw Homie. I asked him where the trail was and he pointed upwards. D'OH! It was right there. I hiked uphill in the gorgeous sunny evening. The skies had totally cleared up by now. 

Here's me drenched in sweat, but having a good time: 

I came to Bear Creek at 6pm. I could have gone on longer, but I like to camp early so I can write my blog entry and read for awhile. Plus, these big mile days are doing a number on my feet. Bear Creek is absolutely stunning; green and lush:

I saw Smokey getting water from the creek. I haven't seen him since the end of the desert! We talked for awhile, mostly about books. He scoffed at my current reading list, even though I explained that I get whatever I can from used book stores. 

There are mosquitoes here, but they're not too bad. 

Here's a bag of M&Ms I'm eating from as I type this. They're heavy so I'm working on lightening my load. 

Tomorrow I'm waking up early and hiking big miles in the AM to take an alternate route for a little July 4th celebration. Most of the hikers I saw today are hitching to Quincy, but I have no business there. Until tomorrow...