October 6-12, days 190-196
PCT kilometer: 1,923; kilometers hiked: 3419 km
Accomplished our first stretch through northern California and, after about 185 km, arrived in Sierra City, population 225. We're staying at the Sierra Pines Resort for a night; tomorrow we head for Quincy. We plan to take 4 days for the 115 km. Unfortunately, Quincy is probably Olli's terminus; from there he'll travel to San Francisco and fly back to Germany on October 21. Even if he were to change his ticket, we'd still have to cover 40 km a day to finish in Ashland. We are, however, 25-30-kilometer hikers, taking our time. In addition, we'd have to give up Nerodays, hiking full days instead. But Sabine will continue in any case; she may be able to finish in Ashland in 3-4 weeks, if the weather holds.
But back to South Lake Tahoe ...
Our last day at South Lake Tahoe was really special! Got up early to have breakfast at Bert's café before 10 a.m. church service. Because we had to wait 20 minutes for a table in the café, we arrived a few minutes late at Hope Lutheran Church. But the wait was worth it: breakfast was fantastic!
Kris, whose piano playing we'd enjoyed in the wine bar the evening before, now accompanied the songs during the service. This was followed by a modest get-together in the church community room, with sandwiches, eggs, cake, and coffee. We found out it was Kris’ birthday! Sabine got an interesting interview with pastor Diana Turner – likely the only pastor with tattoos! ;-)
Afterwards, Kris wanted to show us the spot where his home had been: 13 years ago, his entire house, including his grand piano (a Seiler) was destroyed in a forest fire. The spot offeres a grand view of the valley below. One day he plans to build a new house there ...
After a short walk, he showed us his favorite place, with its view of the beautiful Fallen Leaf Lake. (According to legend, Indians believed that a lake formed wherever the leaves fell.) At the end of our impromptu day with Kris we attended an Octoberfest (!), with bratwurst, sauerkraut, and wheat beer (ok, American style). Kris was kind enough to drive us back to Gail’s apartment. In nearby Relay’s we took care of our resupply (for $240!) and then packed. In the evening, it was already dark, Clarice and Justin drove us to the trailhead. Hiked a tad more than 8 km (camping was forbidden on this stretch), before pitching our tent late at night.
It was so late that the next morning we decamped around noon. We noted the air smelled faintly of fire and the sky was hazy. That evening in the darkness we found out the reason: Bemerkenswert war, dass die Luft einen leichten Feuergeruch hatte und der Himmel diesig war. Am Abend konnten wir dann bei Dunkelheit den Grund erkennen: a forest fire was raging. Fortunately far away, but nevertheless somehow very threatening (see photo).
The trail slowly settled in lower altitudes, mostly between 2000 and 2500 meters. Best of all: hiking became increasingly pleasant because the trail wasn't as stony. We were able to pick up speed and make more miles. Which was easier on our feet. Nevertheless, Olli's foot problems got worse: bunions on both pinky toes, an uncomfortable pressure spot on the ball of his left foot, along with an open wound on top of his left foot, caused by an inconvenient seam on his new shoes – all made hiking a painful business for him. Added to that came knee problems. Well, legs and feet simply have to hold on a few days more!
Extremely stormy winds made for a few unpleasant days and nights. Fortunately, the tent held up. While hiking along a few kilometers of Tinker Knob rim, we were nearly blown off the scarp, were barely able to stay on our feet. A life-threatening situation! And it was icy cold. Reminded us of a stormy day on Iceland a few years ago, which was nearly fatal.
We had plenty of food, almost too much (worth $240, after all). That will mean quite a bit left for the next stretch – which is good, since we won't need to spend more – it just means shlepping.
The trail was a bit lonely; we met a total of 4 PCT hikers, three of them headed south. The couple Dairy Queen (trail name) and Kenny had met on the trail and fallen in love; Yukon was hiking solo. Animal (trail name) was hiking northbound, like us, and only had another 300 km to reach Old Station. His plan was to cover the distance in one go, had food for 10 days. We passed each other s few times, since he started off very early and we finished late. Amusing!
We had a special overnight stay in the Peter Grubb Hut, which is open for hikers and serves as a ski lodge in winter. Happily, we were the only guests and had a very cozy evening warming ourselves at the open fireplace.
Crossing Highway 50, we decided to drop by nearby Donner Ski Ranch, a restaurant offering free beer to hikers, among other things. But our disappointment couldn't have been greater: the place was closed. The owner, who turned up a little while later, told us the reason: power had been turned off in large areas of northern California because strong winds (we knew about those) threatened the power lines. Since last year, when a similar incident had caused an entire village to be consumed by fire (Paradise, 60 died), the power company wasn't taking any chances. Too bad for us; we'd been looking forward to a nice meal and beer. The good news: we had reception and were able to reserve a cabin at the Sierra Pines Resort in Sierra City, a 2-day hike away. We found out the store holding our package with the new SD cards was normally closed Sundays and Mondays; because of the power outage now, there was no telling when it might open. We hoped it would open on Saturday, so we hurried, to make sure we'd arrive on a day with regular opening hours. In addition to the package, we also had to resupply. However, the owner of the resort, Cindy, promised to pick up the package – which promise she kept.
And we were in luck: just in time for the Sierra City Octoberfest, the power came back and the store was open on Saturday, when we arrived. So we were able to buy food. On the way through the town, we were invited for a beer by a local family whose house fronted on the main stsreet. Marcia, Cathy, and Food Locker (trail name, had hiked the PCT in 2011) have only been living in Sierra City for 3 years. After shopping at Larry's Store, we were given apple juice from Ross and his two sons, Michael and Robert, who'd been selling fresh apple juice at a stand and were just packing up. Ross’ family, like so many, has German ancestors who emigrated during the Gold Rush. Sierra City had once been such a town. Thus fortified, we headed to the Sierra Pines Resort, where a delicious dinner awaited us that evening.
Cindy was very hiker-friendly: she was willing to do our laundry privately because the power outage had caused the resort laundry to pile up, so all the washing machines were occupied.
Photos