Day 92: July 16; 20.7 miles
Woke up to three months on the PCT! I can’t believe I’ve been out here this long, but at the same time it feels like forever. When planning I always hoped I’d make it this far, but never really certain. Now I’m confident I’ll go the distance.
It wasn’t the greatest nights sleep at the KOA, a train came through hourly blasting its horn that earplugs just couldn’t stand a chance against. Nancy picked us up at 9am and even treated us to coffee and homemade cookies. She’s one of those rare kind people who really makes an impact. She said if we ever do the Arizona Trail she’ll be happy to be our own personal trail angel! I can’t guarantee I’ll ever want to do another long trail after this, but who knows. Probably two years from now I’ll be ready to go!
At 10am we were off, knowing it’d be a big climbing day it wasn’t great having a late start, but it was what it was. Already hot, I was just praying the climbs would at least be shaded. Well, they weren’t. It was sunny and bright, great for spotting the abundant bear scat. I have never seen so much on trail in all 3 months. Must be all the manzanita and blackberry bushes. Though plenty of evidence of their existence, none were spotted.
Most of the climbing was with big views of Castle Crags, which made it at least scenic. Another big distraction was watching a helicopter land far off in the distance, right by where we knew the trail passed. We hoped it’d still be there by the time we did so we could check it out. The whole walk to it we theorized that it was definitely parked there to deliver trail magic. Why else would a helicopter land right on trail?? After the 4.5 mile walk to it, we realized it was actually a few hundred yards off trail separated by a large ravine. Darn, looks like the mystery won’t be solved… just yet.
The last few miles to camp were interrupted by a plane flying in circles over head. What was with these aircrafts today?? Round and round it went, with no real noticeable purpose. I figured it was a training exercise, maybe for the military or for SAR. Either way we were heading right for it.
When we got to camp Batona was not far behind. “Did you hear what’s going on??”, he asked. How could we have? We haven’t had service all day! But I love trail gossip so I was a very active listener, especially with such a juicy opening line. “There’s an active armed hostage situation at Gumboot Lake, that’s why all the planes and helicopters are flying around”. Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. Gumboot was only 4 trail miles away. Certainly not close to be overly concerned, but definitely close enough to be concerned about how this could affect our ability to hike tomorrow. But of course, the main concern was for the safety of those being held hostage. Without any more information, it was hard to make sense why someone would choose a backcountry off the grid lake to perform such a violent act. Only time would tell.
The planes are still circling around, I’m sure sleep won’t be easy but I just pray everything ends peacefully without anyone getting hurt.
Also, when looking back at the day, I realized we did 5859’ of elevation gain! That is our biggest day yet, I’m fairly certain. While it was no means easy, I was shocked by the high number. Sure it was climbing all day, but I felt not only up for the challenge, but strong the whole time. Maybe I finally have my trail legs, only took 3 months!
The day ended with a beautiful sunset with 360 degree views. It might be the best sunset on trail yet.
Day 93: July 17; 30.5 miles
After falling asleep to the sweet sound of planes whirring around, I was abruptly awoken at 1:45am by a sound that was not an aircraft. There was something big clomping around a little too close to comfort. And when I say clomping, I mean it. It sounded like a legit horse was milling around camp. Thinking it was just a large deer and not a bear, I put my earplugs in and drifted off to sleep until 3am when I woke up again to silence. And not because of the earplugs. The planes were gone. The hostage situation had clearly been resolved, hopefully without any fatalities or injuries. I enjoyed the silence for a bit as I stared at the abundant stars and Milky Way. I will never get over how dazzling the night sky is out here.
I woke up in a panic at 5:30am, fully aware that I slept through my alarm. It’s amazing how that panic can motivate quick disassembly of camp. I was still ready to get a start to the day by 6:30am.
We only saw one helicopter hovering over Gumboot briefly, likely a news helicopter. We weren’t sure what to expect when we got there, we just hoped to not come across a crime scene. The 4 miles went quickly and when we got to Gumboot, you wouldn’t know anything happened! It was open and no vehicles outside of those of day hikers were to be found. We did find, however, Grizzly Gramps there with his trusty dog Nevada. We first met Gramps at Horseshoe Meadows campground back in the beginning of the Sierra. He’s a trail angel who follows the “bubble” providing trail magic and rides to needy hikers.
He had all the scoop on the hostage situation, mainly because he had a first row seat. Apparently two NFS employees were held hostage by two captures. Because they are federal employees, they sent the FBI from Quantico to negotiate and safely end the hold up. They even jammed all cell towers to prevent any information leaking. At 2:21am they flash banged the area and got the hostages out and arrested the perpetrators. It all ended peacefully and by 2:45am the scene was cleared of all personnel, like nothing ever happened. As he was telling us this, I couldn’t help but notice there was a cooler full of water and Gatorade right next to him. He said as the FBI left they gave him all the leftover drinks they had, encouraging him to give them to needy hikers. Can’t ever say I’d ever get trail magic courtesy of the FBI, but given that the situation was handled safely and peacefully, I was happy to accept!
This is the full story, as of 7/20 the motive has not been released. https://www.kcra.com/article/us-forest-service-workers-taken-hostage-shasta-trinity/73173300
Obviously, the hostage situation was talk of the trail. We talked to some folks who were right by the action. They heard the planes, flash bangs, and megaphone communications. One guy even claimed that the flash bangs were so loud that baby bears started crying shortly after. I’m sure they’re not used to that type of noise in such remote wilderness.
Onward we went. I couldn’t help but notice how much horse poop and tracks were on the trail. Sure, some people hike with their horses. I know we’re close to a woman doing as much of the trail as possible by horse. But this is way more than just one horse. The tracks were going in both directions too. Maybe it indeed was a horse I heard last night, I just couldn’t imagine how one would be passing by so late off trail. Another mystery!
We had lunch at the halfway point, right at a gorgeous lake that was perfect for swimming. There are a lot of day hikers here, as it’s only 3 miles from a trail head. We met Rocky who has section hiked the whole trail in her youth. Easily in her 80s, she’s still out here hiking and keeping up with it. She’s an inspiration!
The last 15 miles were fine. The elevation and temperature lent itself to a good day to do 30 miles. During this second half of the hike I saw something I couldn’t believe – a wild horse!! Apparently there’s a whole bunch of them out here, so that was definitely what I “herd” last night. I never imagined I’d be woken up by a wild horse in such an inhospitable place, but I guess today is just the day for unexpected oddities.
We got into camp with still a lot of daylight left. Because it’s an exposed site and fairly windy out, we debating going another mile to a more protected site. But after a long exciting day and having a great view, we decided to stay put. And we were rewarded with another gorgeous sunset.
Day 94: July 18; 29.5 miles
With another long day planned, it was up bright and early to get the miles in during optimal time. When I start this early, the first 5 miles go quickly since I’m still waking up and in a bit of a fog. It makes breaking down in the dark worth it.
After 9 miles we ran into Sea Gypsy, a notorious trail angel who supports hikers all along the trail. He had fresh fruit and Gatorade waiting for us. We stayed a little before moving on. We entered Trinity Alps Wilderness and enjoyed our short time there. We met Mike, who has a cabin at one of the lakes in the wilderness. This is rare to have a civilian own land in a national wilderness, but he said he owned the land before it was deemed a wilderness and they let him keep it. He said it’s a pretty well known secret, but he has let hikers stay there. He stopped after two of them drank all his beer. Sounds about right.
We had 7 miles of burn zone from last year’s Peak Fire. Sure it was messy and aggravating, but it was nothing compared to the previous burn zone. If only they all could be that easy!
We got into camp exhausted, ready for dinner and sleep. Though I’m beat and my foot is still hurting, I feel strong after these long days. I definitely feel confident keeping it up in the future.
Day 95: July 19; 18.3 miles
Woke up early again, ready for a town day! Though a low mileage day, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy given the elevation profile. But it was going to get done one way or another.
It was a quiet day, but we did run into Kent, who we haven’t seen since Mammoth. It was quite shocking to see him, honestly, because we figured we were at least a hundred miles ahead of him. With conversation we learned he had a bad fall on Carson Pass, leading to a broken nose and hospital stay in Truckee. He determined then that he wasn’t going to bother with the burn zone and skipped ahead. Probably the wise choice! He said yesterday’s burn zone was horrible for him. I told him that was nothing compared to the Dixie aftermath. He was happy to have skipped. I’m sure we’ll see him in town.
When descending to the highway, we were on the look for a 1600 mile marker. There was none to be found! We did, however, run into 5 groups of about 12 teenagers per group. They moved out of the way and were extremely polite and respectful, not entirely what I was expecting. In fact, I broke my however long record of not falling and fell like a sack of potatoes right in front of one group. There was no sneering, laughing, or mocking, which I was fully prepared to experience. I mean of all the ages for that to happen in front of, teenagers would be my biggest nightmare. But they acted like they didn’t even notice and congratulated on 1600 miles. I later learned they were part of a large church summer camp going on a week long backpack trip. I will always be thankful for their politeness.
Once we got to the highway we realized this wouldn’t be an easy hitch. There was no traffic and few cars in the parking lot. Well shoot. But timing was on our side. Dusty, a woman known for giving rides for a price, was there waiting for Gray Area, who was just a minute or two behind us. She had room for two more. So in a matter of minutes we were off. Cowgirl was also in the car. I was told in Sierra City we were basically twins, so I’ve been on the chase ever since. While I see the resemblance (she was even raised in Camden County NJ too!), I wouldn’t say we’re twins. But it was nice to meet her nonetheless.
We’re staying at Kathleen and Rusty’s, a couple who own a few houses in Etna. The house we’re staying at is the one they rent out to hikers. They can fit 10 hikers in the house, so with the only options being a more expensive hotel or the city park, we lucked out with space here. They are a lovely couple and extremely accommodating to hikers.
We got food at Denny Bar and the brewery and picked up more food at the store. My hunger is insatiable, especially since starting these longer mile days! It’s a full house, which is nice getting to know new faces. We met Flamingo (arguably the most infamous PCTer this year), Bigfoot, Artemis, Glissage, Kris, and Svetlania. These days I am going by Emilie. After so many people got Pippie wrong (I was called Pippin, Poppie, Hippie, and even Piggy – that’s when I drew the line and ditched the trail name) I decided my government name suits me perfectly.
With some hikers getting back to trail early in the morning, it’s a strict 9pm quiet time. You won’t hear me complain!
Emilie Bikes and Hikes 