Day 90-96: miles 1092-1196.5

Hello! I'm currently at Burney Falls Guest Ranch, recovering and enjoying some much-needed rest after this massive heat wave and burn zone section! I was so filthy it took two showers and two wash cycles to get all the grime off me and my clothes haha. We're also making some plans about the Shelly fire and how much of this upcoming section we'll need to skip, which is unfortunate but simply a part of the trail in this day and age. More news on that when I actually get caught up on my blog (it's day 106 for me, so I'm slowly making progress haha)!

Day 90: miles 1092-1104.5

Today's my birthday! Enjoyed a nice sleep-in and leftovers in bed. We headed out around noon and got a hitch back to the PCT, where the trail circled the perimeter of Echo Lake before going into Desolation Wilderness. You need a bear can to stay overnight in the section so we're hiking through in one day. We passed mile 1100 but alas couldn't find the marker, so no fun mile marker pic for me. We walked past Aloha Lake, which was gorgeous and then camped by Gilmore Lake, which was also very lovely, but definitely had lots of mosquitoes, so we had dinner inside our tents. I cooled off in the lake, then headed to bed after the chorus of happy birthday that Cheers and Shade gave me.

Day 91: miles 1104.5-1124.4

Headed out early this morning to do a big climb up to a view of Dick's Pass. Near the top I stopped to dig a cathole and was absolutely positive that Cheers and Shade passed me, so I spent the rest of the day trying to catch up. It was a good day with nice elevation and not too hot, so I felt pretty fast and was surprised not to see them by lunchtime. But I continued on, enjoying the views of the lakes below and all the wildflowers. Imagine my surprise then when I got to camp and no one was there yet! Turns out I was ahead of them the whole time! Funny how that works haha. I got to relax for about an hour before Cheers and Shade finally rolled up and we enjoyed dinner together before heading to bed. My socks have definitely seen better days but it's not bothering me too much yet so let's see how big these holes can get before I trade them out!

Day 92: miles 1124.5-1145

Started out early this morning to go up Ebbett's Pass, where we got a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe down below us. Then a nice downhill, swiftly going into another uphill to get into Granite Chief Wilderness. From there, we had a fantastic 8 miles or so of ridgewalking, with great views of the mountains and valleys around us plus some of the ski lift areas in Lake Tahoe. We had another nice downhill and then intense uphill shortly before lunch. I think I had my laces tied a bit too tight in this part, as the top of my foot started bothering me. I rested it during lunch, but for the last 6 miles of the day, the pain turned from a brief annoyance to intense pain with every step. My right foot throbbed and the going was slow. It felt bad to be in such pain in such a gorgeous area, and I slowly, slowly trudged into camp where I set up and ate dinner with Cheers and Shade, joined by Lizard and Butter, before taking some ibuprofen, elevating my foot, and heading to bed. We only have 10 miles or so until Donner Ski Ranch tomorrow, where my mom will be meeting me for a brief visit. I'll take those miles slow and really, really hope my foot starts to feel better. It's bad news for me if it doesn't :(

Day 93: miles 1145-1156.9

Woke up early this morning to the reports that the bear had wandered into camp in the middle of the night and chewed on lizards bear can! We're out of any regulated zones, but they're definitely still around. I am giving my bear can and all of my Sierra gear to my mom today so hopefully, that's the last one we see for a while! I started out very slow with Cheers and Shade passing me almost immediately. My right foot was still hurting for the first few hours, but did feel better after a while. The trail was pretty nice but included a few sketchy snow crossings where I put on my spikes - hopefully this is the last of it! I got down to Donner Ski Ranch around noon and my mom was waiting right at the trailhead! It was really lovely to see her, plus get to take a shower at the hotel she was staying at before she checked out. My mom's friend Ann was joining her and it was lovely to see her as well and get to tell her about the trail. We got lunch in Truckee then headed back to the trail, meeting up with Shade and Cheers again. The two of them headed off soon after, while Mom, Ann and I hung out a bit and I sorted out my resupply and iced my foot a bit. I also got rid of all my Sierra gear, including my bear can, ice axe, microspikes, puffer, balaclava, extra gloves, and waterproof socks!! Feels good to finally say goodbye to that weight! We headed back to the trail a little later, and walked 3 miles to camp, while Shade and Cheers will go a little farther and I'll catch them tomorrow. This is Ann's first time backpacking and it was really fun to show her the ropes. My foot was feeling a lot better, so I'm hopeful that it will clear up until entirely soon. We camped at a beautiful outlook with Sesame, Avalanche Don't Stop, Shazam, and a few others. The mosquitoes were rampant, so we ate in Ann's tent and then headed to bed!

Day 94: miles 1156.9-1175.6

Mom, Ann, and I got up early this morning and they headed back to the car while I carried on, quickly reaching the underpass for I-80. The trail had some ups and downs, and it was quite hot by midday. I took a nice rest at lunch and listened to some podcasts for the worst of the uphills, but was rewarded with really lovely views on all sides. Shade, Cheers and I had agreed on a general spot for camping, but I didn't spot them so I took a gorgeous site on top of a ridge. I had just a bit of signal and discovered I was actually camping a mile after them! Funny how easy it is to pass people on the trail without realizing. My foot was feeling a lot better today, so I'm really hopeful that it was just a bruise from lacing my shoes too tight. I'll have to be careful with it for a couple of days but I'm feeling a lot of relief now that it looks like it'll clear up. There's been a number of hikers I know who've had to quit the trail due to stress fractures or other foot injuries so it's definitely no small issue. I had a lovely dinner and a great sunset before heading to bed.

Day 95: miles 1175.6-1191.8

Shade and Cheers caught me early in the morning and we continued on together, enjoying some lovely ridge walks before heading back down to the forest. We also enjoyed some great views of Jackson Meadows, Reservoir, and the North Yuba river. At one road crossing there was a small cooler of Gatorade, cheese, sticks, and basil - quite a fun, eclectic selection! We then had a big uphill, taking lunch near the top. The days are starting to get a lot hotter and there's a heat wave coming, so we'll need to walking in the heat. I think today the high was in the mid 90s – it's definitely rough in some of these exposed sections. After a nice downhill, we got to Milton Creek where there was a fantastic campsite that we set up in. I had some pasta and greatly enjoyed the basil addition. My feet have been bothering me now for a new reason – though I've got hundreds of mosquito bites everywhere, there's a couple very bad ones on my feet and ankles that rub on my socks with every step. I've been trying not to itch them, but they're definitely still there. Luckily, only 6 miles or so until Sierra city tomorrow - I'm definitely excited for a shower! It'll also be the Fourth of July and Shade's birthday tomorrow so hopefully we can do something fun!

Day 96: miles 1191.8-1196.5

Town day! We had a bit of a sleep-in before heading out, enjoying some pretty flat trail before crossing the North Yuba river and making it to the highway where we had a 1.5 mile walk into Sierra City. This town is very small but has most of what we need! I managed to get a room at the first-come first-serve Old Sierra City Hotel, run by the lovely Uncle Rob, then got an absolutely massive breakfast burrito and a fantastic blackberry milkshake at the general store. There's no laundry here, but I enjoyed a wonderful shower and washed my clothes in the sink. It was frankly concerning how dark the water became! We relaxed and got out of the heat, which has become quite bad - it's getting up to 98 or so today. We also heard the first reports of the Shelly fire, which is up near Aetna and currently 20 or so miles of the PCT have been closed. Even though it's about 400 miles away, I'm not optimistic that it'll be contained by the time we get there. These days it's very rare for hikers to get truly continuous footsteps on this trail, since every year sections get closed due to fire. I was hoping that by starting early I could avoid some of this, but it seems it's not to be. It's really too early for us to make any decisions about it but we'll be monitoring it and will be prepared to skip to where it's safe. We relaxed some more before heading down the road a bit to a local park where there was some fantastic live music and barbecue for a Fourth of July celebration. I enjoyed hanging out with the locals and getting to dance a bit! We headed back around eight, I took one more shower and promptly fell asleep, very happy that I had a fan in my room. We'll be heading out early in the morning to do a big climb up the Sierra Buttes before it gets too horribly hot!