This morning I dream that I am a teenager and have run away from home. My best friend’s family shelters me for a day as we all come to terms with what this means – I must seek my fortune in the world. On the day I depart, the family gathers to send me off. […]
Sliding By
I’m slow getting up. Temps are in the low 40s and I’m comfy in my quilt, delaying the rising. I finally let the air out of my air mattress and that decides the matter. I am out of camp by 6:30. Not great, but I only have to hike 15 miles today. Uh oh, I […]
Tahoe!
I did not sleep well in the hostel. The night seemed to go on forever. I had the whole place to myself. I kept waiting for the sound of someone arriving. Laughing voices, a television on too loud, chairs scraping on the floor. Nothing. I don’t have to leave for the trail so early, I […]
Donner
It cooled to the 40s last night and I slept well although I did need to take a couple ibuprofen for stiffness in the early morning. A day of hiking still leaves me sore. The Peter Grubb Hut is in one of those mountain meadows I mentioned yesterday. Here is what it looks like in […]
Mule Ears
I slept by the path to Mule Ear Creek last night under a mixture of live trees and widow makers. I normally avoid sleeping under dead trees, but I was out of options so I chose what I thought was the least dangerous spot. As my eyes closed in sleep I prayed to the one […]
Tune Up
Sierra City is not part of the modern world. It does not have cell phone service. It has television and WiFi but only through satellite links. I love it for this. You feel like you have stepped back in time 50 years. The town sits nakedly under the Sierra Buttes. In 1952 an avalanche from […]
Town Legs
The circle of protection I had installed around my tent worked like a charm. Frisky deer, inquisitive bears and bloodthirsty Druids all kept their distance. It’s Tuesday. This is my eighth day on the trail. It’s time for my weekly selfie. The Runup I have been hinting about the Sierra Buttes for a few days. […]
The Wind Giver
I slept very well last night in my cozy tent. It was as warm as the night before on Middle Fork of the Feather River. I slept uncovered most of the night until the temps dropped into the 60s this morning. The goal today is to get closer to Sierra Buttes. It is also a […]
My Limit
I’m gonna make this short. Today was hard. I walked through the worst of the burn taking several detours and several side trips for water. By the end of the day I was exhausted. The Good I did not bonk hard. I kept my feet moving even when I was exhausted. I drank from two […]
Bear Creek
A good day depends of an early hitch from Quincy to the trailhead. It’s Saturday and people are weird on the weekends. As I walk to the corner for the road to the trail, I call Patti. It is 6am here but 9am back home in Florida. When I turn up the road to the […]