Fannypack's PCT2001 July journal w/pics

Day 102- Tue,  July 31 - 4.7/1564.8 miles -start-1700 end-1830 -sunny hi-80 - -elevation-6440' Up at 0420 to go to payphone to send & receive e-mail concerning the 7-28 journal problems. Since it is 0720 on the east coast my brother will be up & he will send a confirming e-mail if he received the 7-28 journal. This important for to get this snafu straightened out before I leave town, Etna. I got the confirming e-mail from my brother, i.e., he has received the 7-28 journal. At 0450 I return to bed at the hostel. I awake at 0655 and decide I want breakfast at the B&B. The breakfast is $5 and it is pretty simple: bagels, raisin bread, hard boiled eggs, grapes, cantaloupe, berries, yogurt, cheese, OJ, water & coffee. Nate Strauss aka Fleischman & I sat outside on the porch with a retired lady friend of the innkeeper. She, Pat, lives in Phoenix. The innkeeper's daughter-in-law, Peggy, is currently running the B&B in the absence of Joyce, the innkeeper. Nate, Pate & I had a good discussion about the use & sometimes misuse of computers in businesses. Pat worked in the medical field 30 yrs ago, 1st as a nurse then in marketing working with an HMO (Pat, correct me if I am wrong). Peggy joined in te discussion later. Well at about 0900 I finished & said goodbye to Nate & walked downtown to buy AA batteries & the hitch out Hwy 3 to Scott Mtn Summit. At 1030 I still was hitching & up pulls Meadow Ed so I know I have a ride now. I ride with him to the grocery to buy more sodas. I heard someone say Fannypack & I turned around & it was Hiking Pole. He had hitched down from Etna Summit. So Meadow Ed sad he would give him a ride back up. He finished his shopping which included a 12 pack of Busch & we were off to Etna Summit. We left a few sodas on the trail. Oh, I forgot to mention that Meadow Ed saw Joe Moon & Simply Seeking, http://friends.backcountry.net/simply , yesterday at about 1800 at Hwy 3 (Scott Mtn Summit). Ed & I left Etna Summit returned to Etna (10.5 miles) & the drove to Scott Mtn Summit (20 miles). BTW, all these roads are paved. When we got to Scott Mtn Summit at 1400 Heather & Craig were there hitching. They were moving slow today as they also did yesterday cause Heather is not feeling well. We talked for a while & Ed decided to take them to the Etna hostel. I decided to ride along since now I had a craving for Ben & Jerry's chocolate fudge brownie. Craig & Heather are a very nice couple. They met on the trail in Campo & became a trail romance & are now a couple. He is from Australia & she is from Wintrop, WA (she is hiking home). Craig's journal is on http://pcta.org or http://members.dingoblue.net.au/~craigtaplin . Craig mentioned that http://lonelyplanet.com is a neat site. We dropped them off at the hostel & returned to Scott Mtn Summit & found 2 more hikers, Jerry & Dave, eating dinner. They are thru-hikers & Jerry hiked the PCT in 1976. Jerry is hiking this yr with the same Kelty external frame pack that he used in 1976. Jerry is from Corvallis (sp?, home of the Oregon St Beavers) and Dave is from Idaho, near the Canadian border. They have hiked 17 miles today & plan to go 5 more to a spring & camp. This sounds good to me & I will enjoy their company. About 1630 Meadow Ed left to meet Hal at Parks Creek Rd. This is about a 30 mile drive & 20 miles south of Scott Mtn Summit on the PCT. Jerry, Dave & I hike north about 1700 and arrive at the spring about 1830. I got there 1st so I looked for a campsite & found a couple sites by climbing above the trail about 50 yds to an open area thru which the spring runs. We setup our tents. Their tent is a Sierra Designs 3-man tent which allows them room to put their packs inside. Jerry tells me his journal is also on http://pcta.org . Since we stopped before 1900 we had plenty of time to chat & swap trail stories. About 2030 I retreated to my tent to work on my journal. A couple items from the register at the hostel: Tumble Down Dick, I saw an entry from UK Ray on 5-29-01 ; Nightingale says her feet are better ; the following left Etna Summit hiking north on Monday morn, 7-30: Rufus, White Root, Caithlin, Smokeless & I believe the Sceamin' Eagles & Scalpel. I assume all of the above made it to Seaid Valley tonite and the following should b close behind (or even with them): Puff, Zion, The Wolfpack, GI Jane, Junk Food Jen, Angel, Del The Dirty Girls. It seems that many hikers are trying to hike with Rufus. Rufus seems to be the life of the party. Oh, did I mention, Rufus must be finished the trail by early Sept so he can join his goooooooooooood friend, Gloria on a 10-day trip to Paris beginning Sept 10. Another great day. Can u tell I am enjoying myself? Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-31

Day 101- Mon, July 30 - 18.1/1560.1 miles -start-0655 end-1300 -sunny hi-77 -Hwy 3 at Scott Mtn Summit, then hitch to Etna, stay at hostel at B&B -elevation-5401' Up at 0600 and hiking at 0655. I see 2 tents about 50 yds north of me. I walked over to the hikers & it was Doug & Nick. Nick is 6'9" and I met him at the kickoff party at Lake Moreno. Since Lake Moreno, Nick got off the trail for a month & came back to hike north beginning at Mojave. Doug & Nick are faster than me so they get to our 1st break on a saddle overlooking a lake 5 minutes before me. We are hiking (traversing) along a mtn without much elevation change. I pass a lady on a horse, actually i have to get off the trail so the horse may pass. We are trying to rush to get to Hwy 3 cause we think Meadow Ed may be there with sodas, etc. I come upon another hiker getting water from a stream & I didn't catch his name. I got to Hwy 3 & Meadow Ed is there. Citrus arrives soon after me. I have decided that I will hitch into Etna on Hwy 3 (18 miles) get 2 days of food then hitch back to the PCT and then I can skip the hitch from Etna Summit into Etna. I felt the Hwy 3 hitch would be easier. Well I had arrived at Hwy 3 at 1300 & I found that Fleischman, ATer from 1999, was there. He had been hiking out west this summer & had just finished a 30 mile section of the PCT. He was supposed to meet a couple of friends to get a ride back to Boston but that has fallen thru. Fleischman & I got a ride from a trail maintainer down to Callahan (6 miles) and then it took us an hr to get a ride to Etna. We were picked up by a Etna local who raises show horses. Thx mate for the lift. We went to the drugstore for ice cream & Fleischman is considering staying at the hostel, $20 which includes breakfast. It is now 1700 so I am thinking of getting a bite to eat, food at grocery, then hitch back to the trail. Meadow Ed is staying in the van on Hwy 3 at Scott Mtn. So I may just camp there tonite. It has been a great day so far, 18 miles of hiking, seeing a friend from the AT, ice cream, & then is still more to come. Pics have been uploaded thru 2001-06-23, thx Dan. Well, it is now 2130 & I am in the hostel & will eat breakfast here Tue morning at 0700 and hitch back to trail. Since 1700, here is what has transpired: Fleischman & I walked about 15 minutes from the hostel to supper at Bob's Ranch House. I had scallops, baked potato, salad & lemonade. BTW, allot of u think I am obsessed with food. Well, I do need to eat to live even though some of u think I live to eat, here are the latest weight loss figures: I weighed at the drugstore (where the ladies said the scales were 3 lbs heavy) & I was 187 lbs. That means I have lst 33 lbs since starting this hike & 48 lbs since I quit work on Feb 28. Pretty good weight loss program, huh? Fleischman & I are back at the hostel & he is going thru my data book for the PCT copying info cause he is going to hike north on the PCT from Etna Summit to I-5 near Ashland, OR. More details about the hostel: it is $13.50 for the stay (includes shower & bunk), $5 for breakfast at 0700, $2 per person for a ride back to Etna Summit. The hostel is called the Hikers Hut @ Bradleys' Alderbrook Manor on 836 Main St. Peggy welcomed us & was very nice. She said it would probably be possible to get on the internet in the main house (no promises). Great trail town, the only problem may be the hitch in from Etna Summit but it seems like everyone has done fine. Another day in paradise. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-30

Day 100- Sun, July 29 - 22.0/1542.0 miles -start-0655 end-1800 -sunny, threatening rain late afternoon, drizzle hi-77 -tent about 3 miles north of Parks Creek Rd -elevation-6770' Up at 0600 and hiking at 0655. I am hiking in the sun traversing with several lakes down to my left. After 1 hr or about 3 miles I come to a crest & the trail goes thru & begins traversing in a northerly direction (i.e, the trail made a 90 degree right turn). When I realized that this crest was the Trinity Divide then I knew that I had 2 miles more yesterday than I had previously thought. I hiked another 2.3 miles to a paved road where I took a 30 minute break (at 0900). 3 vehicles drove by as I took a break. After break the trail went above 7000 ft where I hiked till 1200 where I took another 30 minute break. Before this break I had several great views of Mt Shasta. My 1200 break was taken above Toad Lake which looked very appealing but I have miles to, besides it is a steep climb do to the lake. The hiking in Section P (the current section) seems to go like this: u traverse along the mountainside while looking down at a basin until u reach a crest, or a saddle, or a gap where u will go thru & begin traversing while looking down at another basin. At 1300 I came thru one of these gaps & saw a hiker about 1/2 mile ahead so I hurried ti catch the hiker so I could see who it was. Soon I could see the hiker was Del. We hiked together to Deadfall Lakes. At the junction with the Deadfall Lakes trail which leads up to Mt Eddy, I met Jeff from Ashland & his daughter, her friend, & her friend's dad. They were backpacking & Jeff said that junction was about as far as the little legs would carry them. BTW, Jeff I forgot to ask if u could recommend a dentist in the Ashland area. I broke off a piece of tooth about 2 wks ago & I need a dentist to at least look at it to see what needs to be done. It doesn't hurt so I decided to wait to I gt to a bigger town, like Ashland to see a dentist. If u have any suggestions, please e-mail me, mailto:fannypack96@bigfoot.com . I should arrive in Ashland on Aug 8 or 9. I hiked on towards Parks Creek Rd where I planned to eat a hot dinner (Lipton's Fried Chicken & Rice, yummy). On this 3 mile stretch to the road I saw allot of day hikers. I spoke with a fella from Kentucky who now lives in Redding, also a local couple (she is from Austria & he is from England). I finally get to the Parks Creek Rd trailhead parking lot & find a shady spot next to a couple sitting by the back of the truck. We started talking & found that they are Laura who lives in Klamath Falls & Tom who lives in Eugene. They had come down to hike Mt Eddy and they did. They were just relaxing before returning home. They had allot of questions about the PCT thru-hike. Tom is interested in hiking the Oregon portion of the PCT. They gave me an orange which was much appreciated & they also took my trash. About 1645 they left and I do hope to hear from them again. Tom, checkout http://pcta.org for more info. Also u can check http://pcthiker.com for more PCT2001 hiker journals. I also believe that they are some PCT journals, as well as others, at http://trailjournals.com . Another journal is http://friends.backcountry.net/simply . At 1700 I hiked on under dark skies. At 1800 I decided I had waited long enough, so I stopped setup the tent & was inside by 1810. A few drops feel & it is now 1950 and it was rained a little since then but not much. I was concerned about the camera & the Sharp TM-20 organizer (used for e-mail). I lost 3 hrs of hiking but I got today's journal done & I will get to sleep early & also got in 22 miles of hiking. Off the subject but here is a URL where you can get a more detailed map of a region of CA. http://www.gocalif.ca.gov/maps/ Correction, Laura, I told that bear canisters are required in Yosemite, what I should have said is that bear canisters are required above tree line. (I believe tree line in Yosemite is 9600 ft) Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-29

Day 99- Sat, July 28 - 19.6/1520.0 miles -start-0850 end-2010 -sunny hi-91 -tent approx. 3 miles south of the Trinity Divide -elevation-6320' Up at 0645, packed & hitching by 0730. After 30 minutes not one vehicle had entered I-5 south using this entrance ramp. I decided to walk thru town & get on the next (further south) entrance ramp. I walked about while sticking out my thumb with my back to traffic & finally got a ride from a fella who worked 1 exit south. I needed to go to the Soda Creek exit which was a couple miles past his exit but he said he would take me. I was hiking at 0850. After 1.8 miles on the PCT, I took the wrong trail. I took a trail to the right instead of taking the Rock Creek trail. I walked till (.6 mi) this path ended, then looked at the guidebook & headed back to the junction. The guidebook certainly said to take the Rock Creek trail for 1/10 mile. So in my haste to get started this morning I failed to read the guidebook. After leaving I-5, we will be climbing or traversing for about 20 miles. The elevation gain in those 20 miles will be approx. 4000 ft. After getting on the PCT I met a day hiker named Jim from Dunsmuir. Jim told me that he had brought 2 thru-hikers, John & Sharon Farber, out to the trail at 0700 on Friday. BTW, John & Sharon's journal is on http://pcthiker.com . I took an hr lunch at 1125. We are walking under tree cover. About 1300 I came upon Del taking a break at the East Fork of Sulphur Creek. The 1st & only time I saw Del was in Lone Pine. He had been in Dunsmuir for 2 nites at the Oak Tree Inn. I hiked on & didn't see Del again. As I climb there are views of the Castle Crags above. About 1550 I take another 30 minute break. At 1630 or so I encounter 4 mtn bikers coming down the PCT. I still have a long way to climb & as I get higher I am walking more & more in the sun. I finally get above 5000 ft & once again I can see Mt Shasta. As I approach 6000 ft I find 2 springs with cold water. I get 4 liters since I do not know where I will camp. At 2010 I walked into some shade & decided that this would be a good place to camp. I have been climbing or traversing all day & it doesn't t seem like I was going very fast but I did what I could do. There were some great views today & I hope the pics show them. I setup my tent & I am in it 15 minutes after stopping. It feels soooooo good to take off my shoes & socks & lay down. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-28

Day 98- Fri, July 27 - /1499.7 miles -start- end- -sunny hi-90 -Travelodge in Dunsmuir, 530-235-4395, Rm 11 -elevation-' Up at 0630 & Citrus rolls roll over & turns on the TV. Meadow Ed pulls up about 0645, he slept by the river in the van. BTW Hal should be hiking in tomorrow. Also GI Jane hiked in yesterday, she had left Burney Falls SP on Tuesday. We are eating breakfast at the River Cafe. Citrus is taking off today. He is going to see the movie, Planet of Apes. U may reach Citrus aka Todd Query (today leave tomorrow morning) at Travelodge in Dunsmuir, 530-235-4395, Rm 11. Well, I am packing up & will hitch back to the I-5 Soda Springs exit & begin hiking north. Hopefully I can get in 15 miles today & hope to get the miles to Etna Summit by Monday afternoon. I will hitch into Etna for food on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morn. I hear that Fiddlehead is living in Etna, maybe I will get to meet him. Does anyone have a contact # or e-mail for Fiddlehead? Or do u know his off-trail name? At 1030 I walked about 4 blocks to a salon to get a haircut & beard trim. Not sure that I look better but the haircut & beard trim are done. BTW, according to Rufus, men with beards are trying to hide something. Rufus repeated told me to shave & then maybe I could get a woman. Of course, I told Rufus that I was not out here to find a woman. So it is now 1230 & I am still in town & it is very hot, 90+, sooooooooo, it looks like a zero day for me. The prediction for the next few days is for cooler temperatures, highs in the low to mid 80s. At 1300, got an e-mail from White Root, he is in Etna (100 miles north of Castella) & here is what he shared with me: BTW, you should definitely come to Etna. Everything is here, laundry, showers at the pool, hostel at the B&B, grocery store, PO, bob's ranch house for meals, and good fried food at Dotty's. Also, you can camp at the town park, but beware of the sprinklers; we got nailed at 3 am last night. The register is at the Pharmacy. Everything is within 1/4 mile. Very convenient. A 1996 AT friend, Langolier aka Bob Bush, just sent me a link concerning grizzlies & I thought I would share it with yall: http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/ . 1430, I guess I will take a nap, all this keyboarding is tiring & I also I am considering going to a movie tonight, just a 4 block walk. If anyone is in the area stop by Travelodge in Dunsmuir, 530-235-4395, Rm 11. At 1645 I was awakened by the phone ringing, it was The Ole Fhart aka Dick Bailey. OF was calling from Gonic, NH. He just called to say hi & see how I was doing. I hope to see the OF at the Gathering, http://www.aldha.org , in Hanover the 1st w/e in Oct. At 1800, Citrus & I ordered a large pizza w/ bacon. Citrus has been reading "All the Presidents Men" and while channel surfing we saw the movie, "All the Presidents Men" is playing on AMC. We are now watching this movie. FYI, I used up the 150mb of web space that I had purchased with my 1 yr agreement & I had to decide if I wanted to pay the additional per month charge for more space. I have decided to purchase the space & my webmaster will probably start putting the pics up (thru 7-26-01) this w/e. I will notify u in my journal when the pics have been uploaded. I got an e-mail from Scalpel's dad & he says Scalpel called from Etna today. I haven't seen Scalpel aka Aaron since Aqua Dulce. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-27

Day 97- Thu, July 26 - 5.6/1499.7 miles -start-0605 end-0800 -sunny hi- -Riverside Rd then on to Travelodge in Dunsmuir, 530-235-4395, Rm 11. -elevation-2180' Up at 0500 & finished journal. It is still dark as I begin packing. Hiked about 1/4 mile and saw Bud from Portland camped in the middle of the trail. Easy hike down to Riverside Rd & then 2 miles to Castella PO & grocery store. I haven't seen any hikers but I know Rufus & the gang is camped someplace near. I got an e-mail from Anne from Seattle and she has been sick & just started hiking again at I-80 on 7/20. She says Earthsurfer & Alexa signed in near Sierra City 5 days before her. She says she hasn't seen any thru-hikers & she has been doing 30 mile days. Bud just came into the grocery parking lot at 1045. I walked up to the PCT25 campsite in Castle Crags SP to see if anyone was there. They were all gone, actually u can walk out of the PCT25 site & connect to the PCT going north. At 1150, I returned to Castle Creek Rd & am now on the on-ramp for I-5 north hitching the 5 or 6 miles to Dunsmuir. 1230, I am at Travelodge in Dunsmuir, 530-235-4395, Rm 11. Great room, paid for 1 person & got 2 double beds. Also a luxury item in this room is the tub, just took a hot bath. U should have seen the bathtub ring. Well, it is now 1255 and as soon as I pre-wash my socks I will go to the laundromat just a couple of blocks down and buy groceries for the 100 mile hike to Etna Summit. Then I will hitchhike 10 miles to Etna to re-supply for the 57 miles to Seiad Valley. I will be here tonite so call if u like, leave msg (if u can) & I will try to call back. Of course u can always e-mail me. Well got a small pizza, did wash, it is drying now, got new batteries for my white photon light (the light velcroed to my baseball cap). Check out these lights at http://photonlight.com . For the persons in Northern VA u can buy them at Appalachian Trail Outfitters in Vienna or $14.95. At 1500 I walked down to main street & up drove Meadow Ed with a van full of hikers. The hikers are: Citrus, Jen, Zion; GreyWolf, Cub & Werewolf (also known as the Wolfpack). The Wolfpack are from the San Juan islands off the coast of WA state. Just got an e-mail from Yogi (AT99) and she talked to Ann Cahill who is in Old Station now. Ann says that the following hikers are there (there are probably more): Earthsurfer and Alexa, Eric (No Worries), Alan (The Cartoon Ostrich), Bill and Phyllis Davies. Got a call from Bear at The Cabin in Andover, ME. Bear & his wife, Honey aka Earl & Marge Townes, host hikers from the AT, u know that "other" trail as u west coast people refer to it. Earl is quite familiar with this area of CA since he used to live & work here. He also tells us that he & Marge are hosting northbound ATers as well as SOBOers. Nice to hear from ya, Earl. Say hi to Marge for me. Hope to see ya at the Gathering, http://www.aldha.com, in Oct. Just received a copy of a posting to Brian Robinson's journal: Saturday, July 21 Monument 78, Canadian Border. BRIAN CHECKS IN FROM THE MONUMENT. HE COMPLETED THE PCT AT ABOUT 2 PM TODAY, 84 DAYS AND ABOUT 6 HOURS FROM CAMPO. HE WILL STAY OVER AT MANNING PARK LODGE TONIGHT AND LEAVE FOR MONTANA TOMORROW MORNING. Congrats to u Brian, quite a feat & good luck on the rest of your Triple Crown attempt in yr 2001. U may find the link to Brian's journal by going to http://hikercafe.com and page down. I finally got my lizard sewed on my baseball cap bill. Hopefully Larry Lizard will be lounging w/ me as we go thru Oregon & Washington. Citrus & I watched TV till about midnite. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-26

Day 96- Wed, July 25 - 32.4/1494.1 miles -start-0625 end-2005 -sunny hi-100 -tent -elevation-4050' Up at 0450 and hiking at 0620. The day off with my shoestring breaking. I am kicking my left shoe with the right. This has 2 shoestrings to break & a tear on the shoe. Jen is filtering water so I tell her I will see her at the 1st break. Trail is very easy today & I am doing 3 mph and I start thinking about a big day, maybe even getting to Castella (over 40 miles). I pass the 1st 2 creeks & see that they have camp space on the trail, just like Deer Creek. The reason I mention this about the camp space is because the guidebook says that are no campsites at any one of these three creeks. It is not all downhill today. Today we have climbs of 1400 & 2100 ft. A couple things helping to make today's hike a good one: trail is mostly dirt or duff, trail is not dusty like past days, most hiking is under tree cover. I am thinking about hiking to Fall Creek, then I will only have 5.6 miles tomorrow to get Castella (there is a 2 mile road walk to Castella). I made it to Trough Creek about 1315 and ate lunch. I also changed my socks. At this point I have hiked 19+ miles. The next 3.2 miles to Squaw Valley Creek seem to take forever. While I was stopped for water at the bridge over the Squaw Valley Creek, I met a guy on a mtn bike who was born here & lives in WA. He had ridden down on a side trail. At this point, I was below 3000 ft & had a 2100 ft climb in the next 5.7 miles. Since I was under tree cover, I very few views but I was in the shade. Near the end of the climb I was able to see Mt Shasta. I took pics of Mt Shasta and this is the 1st pics of the day. I also get my 1st view of the Castle Crags which are the mtns that are just ahead. When I get to Castella I will be next to the Castle Crags SP. As I hike the last 4.9 miles to Fall Creek, I am very aware of the pain in my feet. A long day of hiking can really make the dogs (feet) ache. I get a glimpse of I-5 which is about 6.5 miles down in the valley. When I finally reach Fall Creek, I find that the only camp spot is right on the trail. A t 2005 I setup my tent and I sure hope no horsemen happen along now. Since I have a freestanding tent, setup is simple. I eat the last of my snacks & fall asleep to the sound of running water. In the morning I will hike downhill 5.6 miles to Riverside Rd & then road walk 2 miles to Castella which is also the entrance to Castle Crags SP. I has been a long day but I will reap the benefits tomorrow when I can do a short day & be able to eat, do laundry, shower & relax. BTW, I did not see any hikers today, they must all be in town. I guess great minds think alike. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-25

Day 95- Tue, July 24 - 23.2/1471.7 miles -start-0725 end-1905 -sunny hi-93 -tent in the middle of the trail at Deer Creek -elevation-4700' Up at 0615 & on the trail at 0725. Within a mile of walking under the tree cover, we got a great view of Mt Shasta. Today we are walking thru allot of logged areas so there are allot of trees down. Lucky for us, these trees on not on the trail. We walk several miles on a rim (ridge) with logged areas to our right & views of Mt Shasta to our left. Mt Shasta is awesome. It is so much higher than the surrounding mtns and it has snow on top of it. At 1100, after 7 miles we take a lunch break. We get water at the headwaters of Moosehead Creek. I start hiking again at 1230 and Jen leaves about 10 minutes before me. We have a 600 ft climb which is our only significant climb of the day. Most of the time, we are walking under the tree cover but when we are exposed to the sun, it is hot. I catch up to Jen about 1430. She is taking a break & laying in the middle of the trail. I join her & we hike out at 1515. We descend to a road & then climb up towards Grizzly Peak. During this climb we are traversing (no switchbacks) in the direct sunlight. It is hot. A little after 1700, we complete this climb and begin the final 4.7 miles to Deer Creek. Hopefully, Deer Creek is our camp for the nite. The 1st 2.6 miles is a traverse below the Grizzly Road & also Grizzly Peak. We are hiking on a narrow path with lots of loose gravel. We 1st go down then we must climb to get back to the ridgeline so we can cross & go west down to Deer Creek. I reach the road on the ridgeline about 1625 so it is all downhill to Deer Creek. We have 2.1 miles to go with a 900 ft drop in elevation. We arrive at Deer Creek at 1905 & we see that we can setup our tents right on the trail (no other campsites are available). We see a deer as soon as we arrive. We eat dinner & get in our tents to do our journals & go to sleep. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-24

Day 94- Mon, July 23 - 21.0/1438.5 miles -start-1045 end-2015 -sunny hi-103 -camp near trail, 1 mile north of road to Deadman Spring -elevation-5200' Up at 0710 & everyone seems to be sleeping in this morning. I am the 1st to leave the campsite. At 0820 I hiked over to the camp store to get a couple of ice cream sandwiches for breakfast & send some e-mail. It is 0925 & Citrus just joined me. It is going to be a long lazy day, hoping I will hike 21 miles. Jen is hiking today so we will see how the feet are doing. I finally left the store & headed for the trail. I started hiking about 1945. The following were still at the store: GI Jane, Puff, Adam, Citrus. zi believe they were waiting for a mail drop. We assume Jen started hiking earlier this morning since we never saw her at the store. It is hot & getting hotter. Since the elevation of Burney Falls SP is at or below 3000 ft, the temperatures are warmer than the surrounding mtns. Much of the hiking is under tree cover but when u are exposed to the direct sunlight, it is hot, hot, hot. I stopped at Rock Creek at 1235 for a break. I sat under the bridge & ate a tortilla with cheese & smoked turkey. The trail starts climbing. There is not much trailside water in this section. Our next water will be Peavine Creek (8 miles). This section is called Section O and is known for logging activity that makes the trail hard to find. At 1700 or so I came to a place that had all the trees removed & it appeared the ground has recently been tilled. The trail just ended. I did see a few orange ribbons hanging on tree limbs. I went to the orange ribbon, then saw another ribbon & kept following them till I found the trail. At 2000 I came to road which I took 1/4 mile to get water. I continued hiking & came upon Jen's campsite. She had stopped at 1800. I am tired so I am going to sleep soon. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-23

Day 93- Sun, July 22 - 16.2**/1417.5 miles -start-0750 end-1330 -sunny hi-91 -camp at a primitive campground at Burney Falls SP -elevation-2950' **slackpacking Up at 0630 & Meadow Ed took Citrus & I to the trail and we started hiking at 0750. We saw Mt Shasta standing way above the other mtns. It was snow covered. The trail was pretty much in the sun today. At 1210 I reached Hwy 89 where Meadow Ed & Jen were parked. Citrus & Hal came out about 1250. We decided to hike over to Burney Falls SP store. We hiked the 9/10 mile to the store. We got a primitive campsite which is right on the PCT. It is 1430 & we are now driving to Burney to buy food for supper. I also need to buy food to hike the next 80+ miles. Tomorrow we will start backpacking again, ugh!!! Looks like some watermelon for tonite & we will see what else. I am hungry & that is dangerous when I go grocery shopping. I bought too much food & I am giving food away. We saw Puff & Adam Bomb at Safeway & they rode back with us to the campsite. I fell asleep from 1530 til 1800. It is so hot, maybe 92 or 93 and we are in the shade (no breeze). We are sitting around the picnic just enjoying life. Life as it should be lived on the PCT. We have a cooler with sodas, watermelon, ice and other goodies and this is how u should car camp. Adam is showing us his hammock with mosquito netting. It is nice & he has used it the whole trip. It is 1900 & Puff has gone to call his sister to wish her a happy birthday. Change the subject, has anyone seen or heard from Earthsurfer or Alexa??? The last time they were heard from was on July 4ht when they left Tahoe City & were hitchhiking to SF. If u know anything about them, please e-mail me at mailto:fannypack96@bigfoot.com & I will let their friends know their status, thx. We are having baked chicken we bought at Safeway & eating it with salad, ummm gooooood. It is now 2000 & we are at the camp store at Burney Falls SP. Hal needed to buy some ice & call home. He will take a zero day tomorrow. BTW, i saw a couple & a friend of theirs here today that I had meet north of Sonora Pass about 400 miles ago. The couple was day hiking when I met them & they are following my hike on the website. They had just climbed Mt Lassen. Well back to supper. Hope everyone has enjoyed their w/e cause tomorrow is Monday, a workday, ha... ha... ha.... Has anyone seen or heard from Hagit and/or George????? Hal, Jen & I returned from the store to the campsite and I finally had supper, some chicken & salad, goooooooood. I decided to wash my feet, hands & socks so I went to a water faucet next to the PCT. Well guess who walks up?? GI Jane. She had backpacked from Road 22. I invited her over to our site. So currently at our site are the following: Meadow Ed, Hal, Adam Bomb, GI Jane, Jen, Citrus, Puff & I. We had allot of discussions tonite and I would like to pass one of them on to u. Puff told us of the experience that he & Rufus had trying to blue-blaze out of Sierra City. They saw a trail, not the PCT, that seemed to go from town & go to the PCT. They hiked up the hill on a few roads & came to a gate with no trespassing signs but they continued on past these signs. They were confronted by a man with a gun & a Rotweiler & he was mad. He told them that they were trespassing & they better get off his property. Puff & Rufus returned to the gate & went further up the hill on a road & at some point decided it would be faster to bushwhack. So up the hill they went until Rufus realized they were walking thru poison oak & he is very allergic to it. So Rufus said he must go back to Sierra City to get a shower. Puff continues on until he realizes he has lost his maps so he decides to return to Sierra City. Puff finds Rufus, Eaglet & Ro-B-O in the bar. During the nite they meet a local named Robert Frost. He invites them to his home for food & lodging. Robert's son feeds them & Robert shows them his porno collection (i have no details on this). The next day Puff & Rufus go back to the PCT trailhead on Hwy 49 & hike north. Many other stories were told but that is all for now. At 2300, Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-22

Day 92- Sat, July 21 - 25.6**/1401.3 miles -start-0850 end-1905 -sunny hi-85 -camp at a campground in Cassel, CA -elevation-3480' **slackpacking Up at 0620, Meadow Ed, Hal aka Green Hornet, Jen & I drove to the Old Station Pub & Cafe for breakfast. The french toast was good but not as good as the french toast at Indian Johns yesterday. I forgot to mention 2 things that happened yesterday: 1) Shady Tree hitched north to try to catch up to Nightingale. 2) The Dirty Girls walked down the road to Subway Cave & told us that they enjoyed so much the people honking horns & yelling at them, so they will road walk the 28 miles to Burney Falls instead of hiking the PCT (note, both of these women turned 21 recently). After breakfast we went to the gas station for gas, soda & ice. By the time we got to the trail it was 0840 and I started hiking at 0850 after a little foot doctoring. Hal is starting to hike about 3 miles north & Jen is resting & will be the navigator for Meadow Ed. As I approach Hwy 44 I lose the trail but after looking at the map realize it is close to the road but does not cross it. I go left on a dirt road off of Hwy 44 & see a sign that says "PCT trailhead", so I go down this road which runs along side Hwy 44. I reach the trailhead parking & don't see the van with Meadow Ed & Jen so I continued north on the PCT. The hike today goes thru an area called Hat Creek Rim. It is a 30 mile waterless stretch but we are meeting Meadow Ed after 17 miles at Road 22. Just before 1300 I finally catch up to Hal & Citrus is also hiking with Hal. We took a 35 minute break under the shade of a tree about 50 yds north of the microwave tower. We all made it to Road 22 about 1430 & found Meadow & Jen playing cards. We had sodas & ate chips. After a little conversation we decided to hike another 8+ miles. By hiking these miles today we will only have to hike 17 miles tomorrow to get to Burney Falls State Park. Hal leaves at 1545 & Citrus & I leave at 1610. Citrus & I are carrying only a liter of water & no backpack. Of course, I have my fannypack & camera and Citrus has his hiking poles. We catch up to Hal at 1650 and we all hike together the final 5+ miles. The hike this morning was thru a burned area & we always stayed on the rim with the Hat Creek Valley on our left. If u look back to the left u can still see Mt Lassen & it u look off to the left in front of us u can see Mt Shasta partially hidden by the clouds. We are hiking on volcanic rocks. This afternoon we are hiking thru some areas with trees but very little shade. At 1905 we finally reached the road where Jen & Meadow Ed were parked. We decided to go to a campground in Cassel & get a site for $13 for all 5 of us. We had dinner & planned to hike to Burney Falls SP the go to Burney, Ca for supplies. U know, when we starting hiking today I had no idea we would do 25+, so thx to Meadow Ed for being here with Hal's van. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-21

Day 91- Fri, July 20 - 4.0/1375.7 miles -start-1445 end-1545 -sunny hi-75 -stealth camp in woods near Hwy 44 near Subway Cave -elevation-4365' Up at 0600 finishing journal for yesterday. 0750, journal done, we are waiting for the restaurant to open at 0800. I am trying to slack up to Road 22 which is about 21 miles. Angel has misplaced her "wallet" (a baggie) with drivers license, ATM card, credit card & $400 in travelers checks. Angel found her "wallet" at the bottom of her pack after searching the area for a couple of hours. The following hikers have left or will leave today going north: Smokeless, Camera Dave, Angel, Rufus, Hiking Pole & Shady Tree going south. A fella left us some eggs, bacon, half a watermelon, a cooked pork chop & a half gallon of ice cream. This food didn't last long. Jen has changed her mind, instead of taking the day off to ice her left shin & doctor her blisters, she now wants to hike 4 miles to the Subway Cave. I have decided to take an easy day, rest my feet & only hike to Subway Cave. The Dirty Girls hike in about 1000 and an about the time Meadow Ed drove up. Meadow Ed is waiting for Hal aka Green Hornet who is hiking in from about 13 miles. Drew & Bailey from Oregon come in after hitchhiking from Belden. Bailey said he will be skipping a few sections so he can do all of Oregon & Washington. Bailey has taken off about a month because his father was very ill. BTW, I mailed my bounce box to Ashland, OR, my 20 degree bag to my brother in Seattle & a copy of my letter to Kelty about my pack to the outfitter in Northern VA that sold me the backpack.. I now am using a 38 degree Western Mountaineering Highlite bag which has a weight of just over 1 lb. I will save 2 lbs or so by switching bags. changing sleeping bags. I will get the 20 degree bag back in Washington. Green Hornet & Citrus hiked in at 1330. Citrus had stayed in Chester the day we left. Citrus said Puff was signing the registers ahead of him & since Puff didn't come into Old Station, we assume he is ahead. Meadow Ed & Green Hornet took off. Jen & I hiked out at 1445. We decided to hike down the road for 4 miles & stop at the Chevron station for a sandwich before going to the Subway Cave. We saw a Cafe & Pub so we decided to stop & lo & behold, guess who is there? Meadow Ed & Green Hornet. They offered to slack us tomorrow up to Road 22 (16 miles). I am doing it & Jen will take off tomorrow & treat her feet. After eating we road over to Subway Cave & we went thru the cave, very interesting. We decided we will stealth camp in the area & Green Hornet will sleep in the truck. We hung out at a picnic table near the cave & Jen soaked her foot & iced her shin. At 1900 we went to eat at Uncle Runts Restaurant & returned to the woods about 2000. Oh, we saw Citrus just as we went to camp & he camped with us. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-20

Day 90- Thu, July 19 - 23.6/1371.7 miles -start-0630 end-1645 -sunny with allot of clouds hi-75 -camp in woods behind Hat Creek Resort at Old Station -elevation-' Up at 0530 and hiking by 0630. It is a little cool, i.e., less that 60, this morning. I get my food bag out of the bear box & I wake Jen when I drop the food bag to the ground. Since we are in the campground (Warner Valley) we have access to the outhouse, what a nice switch (we get to sit down). I notice that we are camped very close to the camp host's site. Ro-B-O & Eaglet came by at 0545 or so, they camped about 1/2 mile back & they saw Rufus, Camera Dave & Angel in a campsite about 300 yds back down the road from us. Ro-B-O & Eaglet hiked on. Jen left about 5 minutes before me & I didn't catch up to her for about 2 hrs (she was taking a break). Jen hikes about 3 mph even though she has duct tape all over her feet (covering blisters) and she is also wearing Tevas which don't seem to slow her down. I am trying to make it to Old Station before the PO closes at 1630. Jen has been dealing with shin splints lately & has been taking as much as 2400mg of Vitamin I (the hiker drug from the gods). We are hiking under tree cover with very few views. Yesterday we had some great views of Mt Lassen (10,000+ ft) which normally has snow on it this time of year. On this section of the PCT the signs at the junctions are different & actually are much easier to read. The signs are kinda like the ones u see on an office door. They have black background with recessed white letters. Jen & I take a break on the beach of a lake. Jen's shins are really hurting. We hike on & the trail becomes a dirt road and we see Ro-B-O & Eaglet about 1050 taking a break. WE stop to talk. They say that Nova just hiked by about 30 minutes before. Nova slept in & didn't start hiking till 0930. Nova is fast so he can do that. Jen & I hiked on & stopped again at 1200 cause her blisters were bothering her. She found that dirt & grit had got up under the dead skin from the blisters & this was irritating her big time. I have looked at her feet & I can not see how she hikes at all but she is determined to make it to Canada & she wants to continue to 25 miles a day which is doing since she started near Mammoth Lakes (Agnew Meadow) in late June. Hey, Jen's birthday is tomorrow & she will be 30. If u would like to wish her a happy birthday just e-mail & I will pass it on to her (she is using Pocketmail also but i will not give out her e-mail w/o her permission). While we are breaking Ro-B-O & Eaglet come by. Finally Rufus, Camera Dave & Angel catch us. They didn't start hiking till 0730. I wrote a permission slip (& gave him my drivers license) for Rufus to get my mail at PO. Jen did the same with Angel. So now I don't have to race to beat the PO closing. The hiking is very easy today but Jen's shins are hurting badly so when we stop for water she takes 800mg of Vitamin I. As we approach Old Station I lose track of where we are cause we are crossing so many roads. When we reached a gated road which had a menu for Indian John's Pizza on it, I thought we had 2 miles to go till to Old Station but Jen said no that we only had 3/10 mile. I followed her lead & she was right. Everyone was sitting at 3 picnic table under a huge tent. Jen & my packages from the PO were there, thx Rufus & Angel. The 1st thing I did was go to the restaurant & order a bacon cheeseburger. Shortly everyone else joined me. Everyone is saying here tonite except Nova. Nova hiked out about 1840. Nova needs to finish the PCT by Sept 8 or so cause he is the best man in a wedding. Everyone is talking about this super nice guy who runs the store. The guy's name is Doug and when I meet him I see what everyone is saying is true. One of the things tat he wants us to know is Old Station is hiker friendly & it sure seems to be true. I get a pint of Ben & Jerry's (mint chocolate chip, no fudge brownie, shucks) & I go eat it while watching some horseshoe pitching. While I am sitting there GI Jane & her dad walk up. I didn't think I would see her again. The last time I saw her was at Crabtree Meadow on June 8 after she had climbed Whitney. She has been taking some time off at her parents in Chico. Currently she is taking some more days off, slacking a little, & visiting with her parents. They are staying tonite at a campground about 5 miles north of Old Station. Well her & her dad go to the laundry room & I go to find Rufus so we can do our laundry, especially our filthy dirty socks. The PCT has had dirt/dust about 3 to 5 inches deep for the last week. The socks really get dirty. We actually pre-wash the socks in the sink before using the washer. The amount of black dirt that comes out of them is amazing. While in the laundry room I talk more with Jane & her dad tells me that Jane probably gets her stubbornness from him. Jane asked about Brak & I said the@last time I know that someone has seen him was July 5th at Echo Lake. Well 2200 about time for bed. We have been told we can just camp in the woods right next to the resort. The people here are super friendly. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-19

Day 89- Wed, July 18 - 18.4/1348.1 miles -start-1330 end-2210 -sunny hi-75 -camp at Warner Valley Campground -elevation-5670' Up at 0630 finishing my journal for yesterday. Jen is still asleep. She should be resting cause she has averages 25 miles per day since starting to hike 18 or so days ago at Agnew Meadow (near Mammoth Lakes). She has had only 1 zero day. Her feet are covered with blisters & she has hiked in Tevas the last few days. She is hiking all the way to Canada. Well it now 0750 & I am going to wash clothes, the laundromat is only 200 yds away. This is a perfect hiker town. Well almost perfect, they need a 24 hr restaurant to be a perfect hiker town. I guess I will wake Jen to see it she needs anything washed. BTW, no phone in the room so i can't give u y'all a number. At 0830, finally made it to the laundromat. I sitting in a chair outside the laudromat & life couldn't be better. I hope to be on the trail by noon so I can do 15 to 20 miles today & get to Old Station tomorrow night. Hey well u do some big mile days the towns come quickly. Recently, I have noticed that I cannot eat as much as used to eat, I believe my stomach is shrinking (this would be a good thing). Hey, does anyone know of anyone ahead of me that is using Pocketmail??? I would like to get some details (the real facts) about the upcoming towns & maybe trail conditions. I will be doing this for Tony Measures who is currently at Poohs Corner. I would like to share from my friend, Sly... He extracted the following from the journal of a thru-hiker named Simply Seeking: Read this in Simply's journal tonight (somewhere in the Sierras): """"Probably the most colorful of PCTers passed me today. An ugly white backpack, leaning precariously to the left, had too many objects to name tethered on the outside. Wiggling his butt from side to side, Fannypack was on a mission to cover miles. A town is nearby.""""" U can read Simply's journal at http://friends.backcountry.net/simply . Hey SLY, let me know if this link works, thx. Well it is 1015 & we are going for lunch then on to the trail. I am having trouble with the payphone at the motel so I am using the Pac Bell phone at the supermarket. Citrus saw some hikers at Kopper Kettle Cafe so Jen, Citrus & I joined them. Hikers here are: Hiking Pole, Camera Dave, Eaglet, Angel, Puff, Shady Tree, Nightingale, Rufus, Ro-B-O, Citrus, Jen & I. After eating lunch Jen, Hiking Pole, Angel & I began hitchhiking at 1130. This sweet lady riding a 3-wheel cycle with a basket on the back offered Jen a ride (got pics). After standing across from the Kopper Kettle Cafe for 1 hr we decided to walk to the outskirts of town. Jen had all 4 of us a ride with Ben from Chester. Ben is a retired engineer with Hughes in LA. Ben has backpacked allot with his son so he understood what we are doing. He gave us a ride to the trailhead & we were hiking at 1330. Thx, Ben. Ro-B-O & Eaglet also were at the trailhead so we all hiked north. We took a break after 3.4 miles at Stover Camp. I lightened my pack weight by about 5 lbs by giving away at least a lb of grapes. I drank a qt of Gatorade & gave away a liter of OJ. A fella in town was dumpster diving & found 3 1-gal jugs of OJ that the supermarket threw away. This guy gave us one. Hey Dan tell Royal that he could do some dumpster diving out here. We hiked on from Stower Camp at 1515 & we did the 5.8 miles to the North Fork Feather River. Ro-B-O & Eagglet were taking a break when Jen, Angel & I arrived. About 30 minutes later Camera Dave, Rufus & Hikng Pole hiked in. We have been hiking under tree cover most of the day & the trail is an easy grade. Jen, Angel & I left about 1820 planning to do 9.4 miles to a campground. Rufus & Camera Dave caught us after an hr of hiking. We hiked till we caught up with Angel, who was standing in the trail looking at the geyser. When we reached the Lassen NP boundary at 2020, Rufus, Camera Dave & Angel decided to bushwhack down to a jeep that traversed to the geyser. Jen & I continued on the PCT. At 2045, we reached the side trail for the geyser & at that point had about 3 miles to Warner Valley Campground. At 2115 it was so dark I had to turn my headlamp on. Nite hiking is not fun when the trail has allot of junctions & tonite we have about 5 junctions to decide the proper direction to take. Finally at 2210 we arrived at the campground but we didn't see Ro-B-O, Eaglet, Rufus, Angel, or Camera Dave. It has been a long day for only 18.4 miles but I saw allot of friends & shared allot of laughs. It was; another day in paradise. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-18

Day 88- Tue, July 17 -27.2/1329.7 miles -start-0730 end-1810 -sunny hi-75 -hiked to Hwy 36 then hitched to Chester, Antlers Motel -elevation-4990' Up at 0630 & on the trail at 0725. Smokeless left about 0530 & Citrus about 0715 & Nova & Jen shortly after me. BTW, I tried to get up at 0500 but it was kind of cool so I just rolled over & back to sleep I went. Nova & I are trying to reach Hwy 36 (27.5 miles) early enough so we can hitch to Chester & get a room. I need a little food to make it the 42 miles to Old Station. Also I want to wash clothes since the washer wasn't working at Belden. Nova doesn't need food but would like to consume some town food & also just break up the hike to Old Station in to shorter segments. I take my 1st break after less than 1 hr of walking. I feel like I have the slows today. We are walking under tree cover with little or no views & it is very easy walking, i.e., very little elevation change. At 1000 & after 6.8 miles I reach Humbolt Rd & take another. Jen & Nova join me. I walk on at 1025 & soon they pass me. At 1145 I came upon them taking a lunch break on a saddle with a view. There is allot of volcanic rock in this area & there is allot of dust along the trail so your shoes, socks & lower legs get very dirty. Citrus joined us for lunch. He is reading the book, "All the Presidents Men". Actually there are some very well read persons out here on the trail. We talk about going to town at Hwy 36 which is 16.5 miles away & everyone is going except Jen. She said she will stop at Soldier Creek after doing 23.5 miles. BTW, today we have a 23.5 mile waterless stretch so I am carrying 4 liters of water instead of the normal 2. There is water 1/2 mile off the trail but we would prefer to not do that extra mile. After lunch Citrus leaves 1st & then I left. A little about Citrus. He is from Harrisburg, PA & hiked the AT in 1999. I did not meet him on the AT. I met him on the internet a couple of months before this hike. He started at Campo on April 24. Citrus loves to watch baseball games so he has made an effort to see as many games as possible. A couple of weekends ago he went to SF to see Barry Bonds & the Giants play. Later, I will give a more accurate count of the games he has seen. The next 6 miles have an elevation gain of 1400 ft but it is not that difficult. We are under the tree cover & the temperature is only 75 with a cool breeze. After 2.3 miles at the junction for Cater Meadow Trail I hiked past Citrus & started the 3.7 mile, 1000 ft climb. This climb was gradual with switchbacks. Near the top of this cimb Nova caught & passed me. It is now 1430 & we have 10.5 miles to Hwy 36 and it should be mostly downhill. U know the downhills have been bothering my toes lately & I would almost rather hike uphill. On the 3.7 mile uphill just completed I did it in 76 minutes which is slightly less than a pace of 3 mph. Just for your info: 3 mph pace = 1/10 mile every 2 minutes 2 mph pace = 1/10 mile every 3 minutes (see my math degree from Hampden-Sdyney College does come in handy). In the last couple of miles before Hwy 36, the trail crosses many parcels of land that are privately owned so u are contantly reminded to stay on the trail. I reach Hwy 36 at 1810 & Nova has already been there for 10 minutes. It is a 2 lane road & the traffic is moving at 60 mph & there is very little shoulder for a car to pull off. Chester is 8 miles so we definitely will not walk to town. At 1830 Nova is getting discouraged & says he will go up in the woods a ways to camp if he doesn't get a ride in 10 minutes. No ride so at 1840 Nova hikes on. Within 5 minutes a car goes by me & turns around to pick me up. It is young couple & their son from the Bay area. Kevin, his wife (sorry I forgot your name) & Kevin, Jr are up vacationing in the Chester area for a week. They to move here in next couple of months. Kevin tells me he has time to drive me to several motels to check prices (life is great & people u meet off trail can be so kind). We went to Antlers Motel & the note said "back at 2000, gone to son's ballgame". We went acrossthe street to the Sierra Motel & they had no single rooms but had a double for $65, I was tempted to take it but.... I decided to wait till 2000 to try to get a room at Antlers. It is now 1900 & there is a restaurant, Kopper Kettle Kafe, right across from Antlers & the supermarket next to it si I decide to get dinner at restaurant. The fish & chips are great, yes, u heard me correcty, no burger & no steak. I went to Antlers & got a room (no phone) for $41 including tax. I put my pack in my room & was going to try my e-mail on the payphone & around the corner walks Jen & Citrus. They got a ride in from a drunk. Jen changed her mind after reaching Soldier Creek at 1700. Jen slept on the floor in my room & Citrus got a room. We went to the supermarket & we had to get a pint of Ben & Jerrys. Jen got "Half Baked" & it was good. We went back to my room & did my journal for yesterday & sent it about 2230. I received an e-mail from another hiker who is at Poohs Cor ner. His name is Tony Measures, he is from England. I met Tony at Bob Reiss' home in San Diego back on April 21. If u would like to e-mail Tony, his pocketmail (yep, just like mine) e-mail is, mailto:tony.measures@pocketmail.com . Even if u don't know Tony u can invite him over for a spot of tea when he gets in your neck of the woods. Jen is asleep when I get back to the room so at 2330 I say Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-17

Day 87- Mon, July 16 -**19.3/1302.5 miles -start-1130 end-1945 -sunny hi-80 -camped on a primitive campground on Humbug Rd at Cold Springs -elevation-6450' ** - since the guidebook does NOT show the mileage for the reroute, we can only guess how far we hiked we re-joined the PCT, We think it is very close to the same distance on the PCT. Up at 0600, boy was it hard to sleep with the traffic across the river on Hwy 70 and trains coming by about 100 yds above us. We went to the restaurant for breakfast & found that the Belden Town Resort restaurant is closed ALL day on Monday. The general store opened at 0900 as usual. I decided to take another shower before going to the PO, which is about 1/2 mile from the bridge down Hwy 70. The postmaster opened the PO at 0830 instead of waiting till the 0900 opening time. Her name is Dorothy & I have heard that she is very nice to the hikers, like coming to open the PO on the weekend so hikers can get their packages. My Dana Bridger was there, thx to Helen & Tex (mom & dad), MaryLee, Dan, & Tom (sister & brothers). I unloaded the Kelty Vapor pack & loaded the Dana & mailed the Kelty pack to Kelty's warranty department for evaluation. Nova came in from a couple day stay at his relatives home in Chico. His feet were still bothering him so he dumped the running shoes & went back to the Solomons. We all returned to the resort area so we could get stuff from the store before we hiked out. As we sat at the picnic table, Rufus & Eaglet hiked in. Rufus says he stopped smoking for 4 days & he will make it to Canada by Sept 10. Puff should be here shortly. Also another hiker came in, he started May 22 & his name is Ro-B-O (row bee oh), B-O = body odor (don't ask me). At 1130, Nova, The Hiking Pole, Junk-Food Jen & I hiked out. When u hike north from Belden u take the reroute of the PCT, Indian Spring Trail. The reroute has been in place for several yrs because of a landslide on the PCT. The reroute rejoins the PCT about 13 miles north of Belden. The climb was very steep but we moved slowly (2+ mph) & arrived at a creek (good flow) after 2 hr 20 minutes. We stopped for water & continued after 15 minutes. About 1500 Nova realized that he had lost his hat & guidebook pages so he said that he would wait to see if Hiking Pole or Jen picked them up. Nova said that this was the 1st time he had dropped items from his side pouch. I continued on the jeep road that the reroute was now on. So we stayed on the reroute path for about 3 hrs then walked on the jeep road for another 2 hrs before reaching the PCT. It was obvious when we reached the PCT even though along the jeep road there had many other roads interesting this jeep road. One way we knew we were close to the PCT is: just before u reach the PCT u can see to your right that the ground drops off sharply (this is where Green Island Lake & Frog Lake are, u cannot see them from the jeep road). I arrived at the PCT at 1635 and Jen & Nova came up at 1700. Jen did pick up Nova's hat & guidebook pages. We took a break till 1750 & then hiked a mile to a spring & got water. I forgot to mention that reroute went thru a burned area & there was still allot of soot & cinders on the trail. We arrived at Humbug Rd at 1945, actually Nova arrived 1st, then me, then Jen. There is a pipe running into a trough. The water is very cold. We camped about 50 yds from the pipe. At 2005, Smokeless hiked in. He had left Belden at 1400. Citrus came in about 2100. We didn't see anyone else. There was a guy camped near us who was using 2 goats to carry all of his equipment. He plans to hike the PCT next yr using the goats. I believe he said he would skip the Sierras. It is 2100 & I am tired, good nite. Pics from 2001-07-16

Day 86- Sun, July 15 -0/1283.1 miles -start- end- -sunny hi-90 -camped on Feather River 3/10 mile south of Belden general store -elevation-2310' Up at 0300 to finish my journal, done at 0430. Sent e-mails from pay phone next to the bar/general store/lodging building. Walked up to shower/laundry building & showers are $2 but I must wait for the general store to open at 0830 so I can pay & get the key for the shower. This town seems to be populate mostly by residents of the RV park. It is a small town with the ability to only serve so many persons at one time. Next week when biker week happens, this place will have very few facilities or space to accommodate hikers. But since the PCT goes right thru the middle of town, hikers kinda expect to be able to use the facilities here. I was told at Haskins Store near Bucks Lake that Biker week starts on July 22. In the PCT town guide the phone number listed for the Belden general store is: 530-283-9662. If anyone receiving this msg can post this info near I-80 and in Sierra City, pls do so. It look like u can hitch on Rt70 over to Rt89 take it south to Quincy, a town that I am told is a full service town. More in coming e-mails (probably today) on the Biker Week & how it will impact hikers. Also I have heard that u can hitchhike from Bucks Lake area, actually Big Creek Rd which is also Quincy-Laporte Rd to Quincy, check your roadmaps, by doing the hitch this way u only have to travel on 1 road. I will check at the general store at 0830 to see if I can find more details about Biker Week & facilities which are available. I just found out that Biker Week (weekend) actually starts Friday, July 20 & ends Sunday, July 22. The facilities will be stretched to the limit in Belden & hikers would be better (in my opinion) served to walk straight thru town on Fri, Sat or Sun & then hitch to Quincy or hike up the hill to the next camp spot. It is 1100 & the Green Hornet just hiked north & Meadow Ed is parked across the river at a rest area on Hwy 70 & probably will sleep in his truck tonite rather than stay at the camp area in Belden ($10 a spot). A friend of Angel's from SF is coming to visit for a few days, so Angel will probably take today & Monday off. Tomorrow I will receive my Dana pack from home & then send my Kelty pack back for repair. Also I need to call Black Diamond for replacement tips for my hiking poles. I would think Shady Tree & Nightingale, Rufus & Puff would be here today. Old station, CA is 88 miles from Belden so I hope to be there on Thursday afternoon. looks like I will hang out at the general store & watch for other hikers. Also I need to write a letter to Kelty concerning the problem with my backpack. If u are in the area stop to see us. I will check my e-mail periodically today but I will not be sending part 3 of today's journal till tomorrow. Well I just cracked off a part of a tooth. I will be trying to get a dentist appt. in Quincy tomorrow. Quincy is 30 miles away. Actually I thinking about waiting till I get to Ashland, OR to go to the dentist. We ate breakfast, lunch & dinner at the restaurant in Belden Town Resort. The use of the word "resort" is sort of misleading, a couple old cabins, a bar, a store & restaurant (that is a resort?). Hikers camped on the river tonite are: The Hiking Pole, Citrus, Shady Tree & Nightingale, Junk Food Jen, Smokeless, Camera Dave, Angel & her friend from SF. Where is Rufus & Puff?? We heard that Earthsurfer & Alexa hitchhiked to SF. Also I tried to find the phone number for GI Jane's family (so I could say hi) & I realized I didn't know what town they lived in, only that their last name is Hiley. Well, good nite, pleasant dreams. Pics from 2001-07-15

Day 85- Sat, July 14 -27.4/1283.1 miles -start-0710 end-2130 -sunny hi-90 -camp at Meadow Ed's campsite in Belden -elevation-2310' Up at 0315 eating my breakfast of Frosted Flakes. Back to sleep after taking 2 pics of the moon. Up again at 0600 to get a pic of the sunrise. We arrived at Bucks Lake Lodge at 0930 after stopping at Haskins Store (cn't miss a eatin' opportunity). We are eating breakfast at the Bucks Lake Lodge now and may walk a mile or so up the road to Lakeshore Resort for lunch & then we may hike 10+ miles up the trail. The number of the payphone on the porch outside the Bucks Lake Lodge is 530-283-9892, BTW, my name is David Atkinson or just use Fannypack (I am used to this name), in case someone else answers (this will likely be the case). I will either be in the dining room or on the porch (it is now 0950). Finally hiked out from Bucks Lake Lodge at 1330. Angel & I are hoping to make it Clear Creek so we have a 9 mile hike into Belden tomorrow. We starting walking up the right side of Bucks Lake Rd the 3.8 miles to Bucks Summit where we will rejoin the PCT & hike north. We had our thumb stuck out as we walked but we didn't get a ride till about 1.5 miles from the PCT trailhead. A fella from UC Berkley, who is working on a project studying the area forest, specifically the impact of fire suppression in the national forest. He dropped us off at the trailhead parking lot where we met a couple from the valley near Redding who come up to the mtns to camp & escape the heat of the valley. We starting walking at 1420 & after awhile met a father & daughter descending. They asked where we hiking to & we told them Canada & they seemed fascinated. He said he brought his daughter to hike up to Spanish Peak which is on a 1/3 mile side trail. We continued on & stopped at the 2nd crossing of Bucks Creek of a break & water. We are hiking in this mostly shade less on a path that is white sand & very wide for the 1st 2 to 3 miles. Just before the side trail to Spanish Peak I found 2 clean socks on the trail & I put them on my pack. After 4.2 miles & 1400 ft of climbing we reached the junction for Spanish Peak. The hiking has been easy & hot. We now have 5.8 miles of "generally" downhill trail to Clear Creek, our projected campsite for today. We are hiking thru a shady area with allot of fallen rotting trees. Soon after our 15 minute break I mentioned that it would be nice to make it to Belden tonite & Angel said "we can". So just like yesterday our plans changed & now our objective in Belden. The main reason we want to reach Belden tonite is so we can see many of our hiker friends who should be there. We are hiking at 3 mph pace & reach Clear Creek at 1815. We break & now have 9 miles to Belden and a nearly 3800 ft descent. 3600 ft of the descent is in the last 5 miles of this 9 mile hike. We leave Clear Creek at 1830 & plan to arrive no earlier than 2130 but we think it will be later than that cause we have to hike some in the dark (after 2100) & surely we will slow down our pace then. We start the switchbacks a little after 1930 & soon we see the Feather River over 3000 ft below us. It is so awesome to feel the feeling of terror as well great feeling of anticipation as we descend. Remember we were going to camp in the woods tonite but now we are going to town where there is food & friends. We finally descended from the shade less area to a wooded area which has suffered fire damage. The threatening skies of a few hours ago now seem calm but there is plenty of wind on the steep mountainside. I forgot to mention at 1600 at the Spanish Peak junction it was 90 degrees & then at 1830 at Clear Creek it was 73 degrees (great hiking temperature). The Sunto watch indicates we are descending at a rate of between 36 and 46 feet per minute. It becomes obvious that we will not make it down by nightfall. We make to the double railroad tracks at 2115 & cross them & continue walking on a paved road towards town. We are walking a tree lined road & finally reach an area where we see RVs & campers. At 2130 Angel hears someone on our right speak to us, so we go over & it is Meadow Ed & another hiker named the Green Hornet. Meadow Ed is a well known trail angel along the PCT. We ask about food & they say maybe we better hurry over to the bar before they stop serving food. The bar is only 50+ yards so we leave over packs. Meadow Ed & walk I over to the bar & get a roast beef sandwich & some potato sandwich. Angel tells me she started this hike as a vegetarian but .......... It must be very hard for vegetarians to get enough calories & carbs along the trail. These small towns just don't have the selection necessary to maintain a healthy vegetarian diet. We returned to Meadow Ed's campsite & talked with him & Green Hornet till about 2300. What a great day. Our day included (in this order: a little hiking, a 4 hr break which included breakfast, a little more hiking & finally another hiker town with a little food. I can truly say that today is, Just another day in paradise. BTW, we are camping at Meadow Ed's site. Good nite, I am tired & satisfied. Pics from 2001-07-14

Day 84- Fri, July 13 -26.2/1255.7 miles -start-0740 end-2045 -sunny hi-85 -camp at Lookout Rock -elevation-5955' Up at 0610 finishing journal for yesterday. Hey, it is Friday the 13th. Hope all goes well for u. On the trail at 0740 & Angel & I are hoping to make it 19+ miles to Bear Creek, then we see if we can go farther. We are walking in a pine forest with allot of jeep & logging roads. We walked the 1st 7 miles in 2 hrs 10 min, so that shows how easy the terrain is. I went down a road looking for a water source & could find it. The water source was supposed to be 1/4 mile away and I must have walked 3/4 mile. We decided to go on in another mile we saw a trail to Fowler Lake. We took this trail got some water & now we are good until the next water source which is 8 miles. We are descending & will descend today to a low point of 2900 ft (Middle Fork Feather River). We started today at an elevation of 6474 ft, so we go down allot, & like they say "if the trail goes it must come back up". We had lunch about 1230 for 70 minutes. At lunch we discussed taking an alternate route tomorrow to Bucks Lake Lodge. If we go to the lodge to eat we will be adding 2 miles to our hike tomorrow so we said let's see how many miles we can get in today. We decided to try to make it to Lookout Rock. After descending a great deal we arrive at 1530 at a steel bridge over the Middle Fork Feather River. We took some pics & continued on. BTW, we have not seen any hikers today. Someone may have passed while we were at Fowler Lake. From the Middle Fork Feather River to Bear Creek is 3.5 miles & we must climb 700 ft then descend 500 ft. We take a break at Bear Creek & figure that we will try to make Lookout Rock by dark (2100). We starting hiking again at 1715. To reach Lookout Rock we must climb 2700 ft in 6.8 miles. After 1 1/2 hrs we had risen 1400 ft, so we took a 20 minute break. We then hiked to a spring & got more water. We will be dry camping at Lookout Rock. We were getting but we continued & finally reached Lookout Rock at 2045. Now we are to planning to get breakfast after hiking the approximately 5.7 miles t o the Bucks Lake Lodge. After eating we will only have 13 or so miles to our intended camp spot which will leave us with a 9 mile hike into Belden on Sunday morning. I forgot to mention that an East coast friend calls the PCT the "pampered hikers trail". He claims that the PCT is easier than the AT because the PCT is graded for horses. Since this friend has never hiked the PCT but has hiked the AT many times, including this yr, I suggest that he hike the PCT before passing judgment on it. I will respect this friend's privacy but will say his initials are BJ. If u see BJ on the AT or at The Gathering (see http://www.aldha.org for details) in Hanover, NH, the 1st weekend in October, please encourage him to hike the PCT next yr instead of the AT. Great day, another day in paradise. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-13

Day 83- Thu, July 12 - 23.8/1229.5 miles -start-0730 end-1840 -sunny hi-80 -camp just north of Quincy-Laporte Rd -elevation-6474' Up at 0635 and on the trail at 0730. We are hiking through a pine forest (just like normal) and once in awhile will pop up on a ridge will pop up on a ridge for a view of the surroundings mtns & the lakes below. While hiking today we stay between 6000 & 7000 ft elevation. At 0900 Angel & I come upon Shady Tree & Nightingale taking a break, so we stop for 30 minutes. The Hiking Pole joins us. There are not many water sources in this section. The Sierras spoiled us with all the water there. We hiked till 1100 & break at a piped spring. After getting water Shady Tree & Nightingale move on cause they want to take an hour break for lunch at the next water source which is 5.1 more miles. Angel, The Hiking Pole & I take off at 1125. After an 800 ft climb & 1200 ft descent we came upon Shady Tree & Nightingale. We took a break right in the middle of the trail (see pics) from 1315 till 1445. We had about 10.5 miles to go to our intended camp spot & we hoped to get there by 1830 or 1900. We have allot of climbing to do but it doesn't seem to slow us down. We do 2.5+ on the ups & 3 mph on the downs. At 1840, Angel & I got to the road where we plan to camp. We sat down & looked at the map & description of the location of the water source & we decided it was down the road a 1/4 mile to the left. About this time Shady Tree & Nightingale & The Hiking Pole walk up. We went down for water when Nightingale & Angel stayed with the packs. We decided to just jump over in the woods to camp. Shady Tree & Nightingale were the only ones who put up there tents (we figured it wouldn't rain, it never does). I had frosted flakes cereal & chocolate chip cookies for dinner. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-12

Day 82- Wed, July 11 - 14.2/1205.7 miles -start-1430 end-2010 -sunny hi-85 -tent near Summit Lake Rd -elevation-7050' Up at 0630 to do my journal for the last 2 days. Smokeless just left. Hey, just found out Nova has been here the last days with foot problems. He stayed at the Buckhorn Lodge & left this morning. I would have liked to see him cause I enjoyed talking with him during our day of hiking. I forgot to get his real name, address, phone # & e-mail so if his wife is reading this, could you please send me this info. Send to mailto:fannypack96@bigfoot.com . Bruce's package didn't arrive. It was mailed 16 days ago from San Diego (600 miles away). How can the United States Post Office cannot be allowed to continue to give this kind of poor service. Someone needs to be held accountable. 1030, just saw Matt aka Phoenix & he said he stayed with the local fella, Glenn, last nite. It is now 1215 & I hope to leave by 1300 but sitting on the porch of the general store is nice. Just walk & get ice cream, soda & other food anytime u like. BTW, I just would like to thank the owner of Sierras Skies RV Park for allowing PCT thru-hikers to camp & shower FREE at the facility. Any hiker who would like to write the park & thank them for their generosity, just write:

        Sierra Skies RV Park

        PO Box 308

        Sierra City, CA 96125

        (916) 862-1166                     See you on the trail. Well I didn't leave at 1300. I called Kelty to see what they could do for me. My Kelty Vapor backpack has started to really hurt my shoulders. The shoulder straps dig in & this only starting happening in the last couple hundred miles. 1st of all, the Kelty customer svc person told me that my pack is not a backpacking pack but is described as a Alpine Mountaineering pack. He was telling me that the outfitter who sold me the pack was wrong in suggesting I use this pack for my PCT hike. I called the outfitter & the owner told me the Kelty person was mistaken. The issue is whether Kelty will replace the shoulder straps (they have started to lose they shape, i.e., they have started to compress) & fix any other problems with the pack per the warranty. Has anyone else had this problem with a Kelty pack? The owner of the outfitter is going to fight for me, i.e., try to make sure any problem with my pack is treated as a warranty repair. I will receive my Dana Bridger pack at Belden & send the other pack to Kelty. Also I found out that Kelty doesn't use loaner packs in this type of situation. Will tell u how this situation turns out. At 1430, Shady Tree, Nightingale, Angel & I were about to hike out when Puff hiked up to the general store. He said that Rufus was at the library. We didn't talk we needed to hike out so we could try to do 14.2 miles. We decided to take a shortcut which would meet the PCT 7.2 miles north of Hwy 49. We had to take a paved road 1 block from the general store up the hill & eventually hit Sierra Buttes jeep trail. The Sierra Buttes jeep trail would connect with the PCT. The hike up this road was hot & steep & probably was 5+ rather than the 7.2 PCT miles. We got on the PCT at 1730 & needed to do 7 miles to the next water source. We were in the forest most of the time. We saw allot of lakes down in the valleys. We arrived at Summit Lake Rd at 2010 & were tented by 2040 about 1/4 miles from the trailhead. The water source was Summit Lake & I filtered (treated it) for the 1st time since before the Sierras. Also Angel built & started her 1st campfire on this hike. BTW, I forgot to mention that Sugar Babies are sold at the general store in Sierra City. I had not had Sugar Babies since I craved them as an 11-yr old. I used to buy them at the baseball field concession stand in Highland Springs, VA. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-11

Day 81- Tue, July 10 - 26.3/1191.5 miles -start-0655 end-1915 -sunny hi-80 -camp at Sierra Sky RV park in Sierra City -elevation-4100' Up at 0545 & on the trail at 0655. We are hiking downhill allot today but it seems we have these 300 to 500 climbs which make the down hills longer. This morning we are hiking in the forest then we come to come to an open ridge with plenty of corn lilies. We can see meadows & lakes from these open ridges. It is nice to have someone to hike & talk with. Angel is 20 something, from Maine, a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio & has most recently worked for a dot com company in Silicon Valley. We are trying to do a 26 mile day so we can go to Sierra City for dinner, specifically pizza. At 1115 wee take a 75 minute break for lunch. Actually we walked by the creek, it is was 20 yds off the trail & we thought it crossed the trail. As we hiked on we starting seeing Jackson Meadow Reservoir. There were several campgrounds near the reservoir but we would not be deterred from our mission: pizza for dinner. After about 20 miles of hiking we started descending on switchbacks that would take us down very slowly to Melton Creek (4900+ ft). 1st we are descending on a steep rocky mtn side & the we get into the dense forest. We can hear the water in the creek but it taking forever to get down to the bridge across the creek. We took a break at 1715 For water & figured we had 5+ miles to the road then 1.5 miles to town. The walk to the road was a roller coaster, e.g., the road is at 4500+ ft & we were at a creek that was 4900+ ft & was 2.5 miles from the road. Well it appears from these elevations that the walk was all downhill, well guess again, we went up 200 ft to 5100 & then descended to the Yuba River. We crossed a bridge over the Yuba River & walked the 4/10 mile to Hwy 49. We arrived at 1915 & the pizza joint doesn't close till 2100. We hitch for 20 minutes, no luck, actually I waved to the passing motorists & only 1 waved back. We start walking at 2040 & almost get to the middle of town when a local, Glenn, pulls over & offers a ride. He tells us the pizza joint is out of business, there is no place open to get something to eat except maybe the bar/hotel across from the general store. We leave out packs in his van & join him at the bar. We find out that the only to eat are micro waved hotdogs & polish sausages. Angel has 2 hotdogs & I have 2 Cajun hot sausages. After about an hour, in walks The Dirty Girls & Nighingale. Angel & I were very surprised to see them. They are staying at the RV park where the owner lets thru-hikers stay & shower free. The Dirty Girls had hitched up from Pooh's Corner & had been here since 0900 and they are waiting for a mail drop. Nightingale & Shady Tree got here yesterday & they are waiting for a mail drop also. They tell us that other hikers are here & they are: Bruce, The Hiking Pole, Lars, Phoenix, Willie & Jennifer from Mammoth Lakes. Jennifer is the woman that Rufus met on the JMT last yr. We were supposed to hook up with her at Reds Meadow for some trail magic but we missed her. Jennifer started hiking at Agnew Meadow & I am not sure how far north she is hiking. She is also using Pocketmail on a Sharp TM-20 (like mine) but I forgot to get her e-mail so if anyone knows it pls let me know, mailto:fannypack96@bigfoot.com  After 2100 Lars & Willie walked back to the trail but Phoenix (Matt) stayed in the bar with us. It was great to talk with Matt since I had seen him since 1998. Glenn had offered for Angel & I to stay at his home but we decided we wanted to stay with the other hikers. The bartender was very nice, she gave us ice water all nite. So even though we didn't get pizza it has been "another day in paradise". What more could u ask for: a 26 mile day, a town only 1.5 miles from the trail, a friendly local bar, getting to see hiker friends, making new friends with the locals, just a great day. Finally at 2345, Angel, Nightingale & I walked down to the RV park to sleep. I forgot to mention that The Dirty Girls told us that Rufus & Puff came to Pooh Corner on Monday at 1600, got their package & left at 1700. We should see them today or tomorrow. The last I heard about Earthsurfer was that he had taken a side trip to SF. Did I mention that Rufus & Puff took 4 days (July 3, 4, 5, 6) off in Tahoe City???? Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-10

Day 80- Mon, July 09 - 15.1/1165.2 miles -start-0955 end-2010 -partly sunny with rain hi- -tent on a saddle with a view -elevation-8140' Up at 0545 as Bill starts preparing breakfast. Breakfast is: eggs, pancakes, OJ, cantaloupe, & more. I must go to Soda Springs at 0900 to mail my bounce box to Old Station. Angel must also go to the PO. Well a little before 0800, Molly takes Lars (David), Phoenix (Matt), Jason (Willie) & Bruce to the I-80 rest stop. The Dirty Girls are still sleep. A little after 0800 Bill takes Angel & I to the Soda Springs PO (it is on old Hwy 40 about 3.2 miles west of the PCT trailhead. After mailing our packages we started hitching to the trail & got a ride within 20 minutes. We started hiking at 0955. The trail is a little rocky as we leave the road but soon we are in the forest again. As we leave the road we can see the old covering over the train tracks. FYI, in this area the train tracks had a "shed" (covering) built over top of them so the tracks would be sheltered from the snow. When these coverings were 1st built, they were wood & the steam engines would sometimes cause the wood to catch. Angel & I continued under I-80 using the culvert. We took a break after only 3+ miles of walking. I ate a hoagie sandwich I bought at Safeway. We talked to several day hikers as we made our way up to Castle Pass (about a 700 ft climb). The climb was easy since I am now taking baby steps when I climb. After the climb we descended 1 mile to Peter Grubb Hut as the sky darkened. We arrived at the hut about 1320 & ate lunch. This building is used by a local ski club as well as hikers. We cooked lunch & ended up staying to 1640 as we waited out the rain. While we were there we met a hiker named Dennis who has had a double lung transplant. Dennis is from Tacoma, WA. We hiked out with our raingear on & within 30 minutes had to stop to remove it (too hot). We are doing allot of ups & downs in this section. We came to the White Rock Creek at about 1900. We got water & then met a scout leader who was camped near by with 7 scouts & another leader. They are out for about a week & will probably do 35 miles. The mosquitoes are very bad in the low wet area. Angel & I have decided to hike 1.5 more miles up to ridge where we will dry camp. We have had very few views today since we are under the green canopy. I forgot to mention that the hut was at the edge of a big meadow & we could see the surrounding mtns on the edge of the meadow. As we climbed to the ridge we could tell that it had rained more here than at he hut. We tented on the ridge & had a campfire. It is now 2200, good nite. BTW, meanwhile in Seattle...It's is a girl!!! Fannypack is an uncle again. Rob & Megan, had a little girl, Caroline Grace Atkinson was born at 5am PCT. Everyone is doing fine including Rob. Pics from 2001-07-09

Day 79- Sun, July 08 - 0/1150.1 miles -start- end- -sunny hi- -Bill & Molly Person's home -elevation-????' Up at 0550 and Bill is already fixing breakfast, eggs & pancakes, juice & coffee. I have been have problems for the last couple hundred miles with my backpack digging into my shoulders & the closest outfitter with competent persons to deal with backpacks is the REI in Reno. I will be trying to catch the 1230 bus ($11) to Reno from Truckee. Since it is now 0900 I am going to try to hitch to Reno until time for the bus to leave. I forgot to mention my side (lowest rib/muscle/cartilage) is feeling better. I have stopped taking the Ecotrin because I seem to have many irregular loose bowel movements (not a good thing while hiking). It is now 1030 & I have given up on hitch hiking to Reno. The bus comes at 1230 & a bus return to Truckee at 1640. I just called REI in Reno to verify that they will help me with my Kelty pack problem. The guy at REI aid they couldn't help since I didn't buy the pack from them. He said the best thing for me to do is call Kelty & he said he didn't know the number. He said I should be able to get the number from the internet. I tried to explain to him that I was hiking the PCT & his store was the closest Kelty dealer. He continued to say that they would not try to troubleshoot the problem with my pack. So I did not go to Reno but hitched back to Pooh's Corner. I got back about 1230 & went thru my pack trying to eliminate weight. I put my fleece jacket, long underwear top & bottom in my bounce box which I will send to Old Station, CA. I am going back to using the alcohol stove & my Dragon Fly is in my bounce box. I also put my radio & OR sombrero in the bounce box. Dinner was fantastic (again), boneless chicken, broccoli, pork chops, corn on the cob, salad, ice cream. Bill & Molly got a call at 1900 & went to Tahoe City to pickup 2 women. They had left the trail at Richardson Lake because they felt sick. They got here about 2015 & the 2 women were The Dirty Girls. Bill got another call at 2030 from 3 hikers at old Hwy 40. When the 3 hikers arrived I was very much surprised to see 3 AT hikers from 1998: Phoenix, Lars Thunderfoot & Confucius. They started on May 6. Finally everything has calmed down here, 2155. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-08

Day 78- Sat, July 07 - 22.0/1150.1 miles -start-0635 end-1700 -overcast, little rain, partly sunny hi-75 -Bill & Molly Person's home -elevation-????' Up at 0600 & on the trail at 0635. It looks like rain. We have about a 4 mile traverse of the mountain side. I get a few raindrops & many views of Lake Tahoe. We had a 1400 ft drop & the a 1400 ft climb, then a 1000 ft drop & then a 1000 ft climb. We had views of many ski areas including Squaw Valley. As Nova & I were climbing Granite Chief Mtn, Hawk & Zaz passed us. Hawk & Zaz then stopped for a break & we continued on. As we descending from Granite Chief, I lost sight of Nova. This is a common problem for me, i.e., I am not fast enough to keep up with any of the hikers I enjoy being around. I have learned from Nova that I can take small steps when climbing steep trails & still do 2 mph. In the past I feel that I continue to try to do a 2.5 to 3 mph pace & I just overheat & run out of gas. I tried taking the small steps up the last 1000 ft climb & it seemed to work for me. I came upon Bruce taking a break about 1300 just after climbing Tinker Knob. Bruce & I hiked together out to old Hwy 40. On the way we met Larry who lives in the area & plans to hike the PCT next yr. We also met several day hikers who congratulated us on making it this far. One of the day hikers was asking about the security issues near the Mexican border & I told her there was no security issue, i.e., the Mexicans are afraid of Americans & usually go the other way when they see a hiker. The last 1/4 mile of today's hike was downhill & very rocky. When I got to old Hwy 40, Joe & Simply Seeking were there. They decided to hike on & not go to Pooh's Corner. So I walked 2/10 mile down Old Hwy 40 to the payphone & called Bill & Molly Person. At 1715 I spoke to Bill & told him that 3 more hikers were coming & he said he would come to give us a ride at 1800. Bruce came in about 15 minutes later. Bill came about 1740 & Bruce & I rode with him to the trailhead to look for Hawk & Zaz. Hawk & Zaz came down the hill about 5 minutes later. So we all went to Bill & Molly's home. Hikers at their home are: Ben, Jack, Nova, Shady Tree & Nightingale, Bruce, Hawk & Zaz & me. We had soooooooooooo much to eat for supper (burgers, fish, roast beef, all kinds of fruit, salad, & much more. We all sacked out on the floor to sleep. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-07

Day 77- Fri, July 06 - 20.0/1128.1 miles -start-0645 end-1900 -partly sunny hi-75 -tent 2 miles before Wards Peak maintenance rd -elevation-8180' Up at 0600 & on the trail at 0645. Jack passed Ben & I about 0615 while we were camped. Ben left at 0630. I hiked all morning under the tree cover with no views. I ran into a trail work crew. They had a cross-cut saw & some other tools to clear the trail. At 1115 I came to a creek & I took a break that ended up with me taking a nap. As I was packing up, Nova hiked up. I had last seen him at Woods Creek in the Sierras. He told me that he had taken 7 days off the trail because of exhaustion & dehydration. He left the trail at Tuolemne & went home to the Bay area. He said that he had lost 32 lbs. He is 6'2" & started out at 206 lbs. We hiked on towards forest Rt 3 near Barkers Pass. We are hiking under tree cover with no views. We reached Rt 3 about 1500 & took a break at a picnic. There were 4-wheel ATVs & motorcycles riding on the road & trails. Hawk & Zaz hiked in & joined us. We hiked out about 1550 & we had a 600 ft climb, followed by a 300 ft loss then a 400 ft climb. About 1730 3 women were running up the trail behind us. They stopped & talked with us. They were doing a run around Lake Tahoe (I thought they said 160 miles, maybe 106 miles). They started at Echo Lake at 6am today & will return there.. So up to now they have run 36 miles. We mentioned that we knew an ultra marathorner named Betsy from Tahoe City & they said they knew Betsy (what a small world). We continued on & when reached the ridge we got a view of Lake Tahoe & all the ski runs adjacent to the east shore. We hiked till 1900 & decide go down off the ridge & camp. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-06

Day 76- Thu, July 05 - 18.7/1108.1 miles -start-0935 end-1945 -overcast to partly sunny hi-75 -tent a couple of tenths past the junction where the PCT & TYT splits -elevation-8090' Up at 0545 at the Sundowner Motel in SLT. I must pack my food in my food bag, get breakfast & meet the taxi ride at 0700. Ausable Mike from Roscommon, MI called about 0625 & we chatted for awhile. I sure hope I am able to make another visit to Roscommon this fall. Finished & went next door to Frank's for breakfast. Back to the motel at 0650 to settle the final bill. We walk to Ernie's to meet Joe Moon & Simply Seeking & the taxi. The taxi finally showed up at 0725 & we arrived at Echo Lake at 0750. Smokeless is here, he came in yesterday. It seems Smokeless got a little discombobulated (lost) near Benson Lake. The following left this morning from Echo Lake before me: Bruce, Jack from NH, Simply Seeking & Joe Moon. The following hikers were still at Echo when I left at 0935: Hawk & Zaz, Eaglet, Smokeless. I hiked along Echo Lake until I got to upper Echo Lake & that is where the mosquitoes attacked me. I saw allot of day hikers & weekenders. Lake Aloha was big & nice, I took a break. I hiked by about 10 lakes on the way to Dicks Pass. As I am hiking up to Dicks Pass, Ben from Bend, OR, passed me. Ben is thru-hiker who has been hiking with his girlfriend until July 3 at Hwy 4. His girlfriend went home to go to college. We ate dinner at a flat spot before Dicks Pass. We continued hiking past Velma Lakes until we saw a flat spot 20 ft off the trail. We camped here. The mosquitoes are bad. I am in my tent quickly. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-05

Day 75- Wed, July 04 - 0/1089.4 miles -start- end- -cloudy hi- -Motel 6 /Sundowner Motel in South Lake Tahoe -elevation-????' Got a phone call at 0620 this morning from Bear (Earl Townes) & Nimblewill Nomad. Earl lives in Andover, ME. We chatted about the hike & Nimblewill gave me some wisdom concerning Ecotrin. My side is still sore from my fall 2 days ago but I believe it a muscle or cartilage injury rather than a rib injury. Bruce & I went to breakfast at a restaurant next door to Motel 6. We are going to an outfitter shortly. I need new gators & new socks (Smartwool). I trimmed my beard around my lip & plan to cut my hair & clean up my beard when I reach Bill & Molly Person's home near Donner Pass. My hair clippers are in my bounce box & I mailed it to Bill's home. BTW, if anyone is interested in my e-mail device, here are the details: Ia m using a Sharp TM-20 device, $120 from an office product store & the I pay $15 a month for unlimited 800 calls to check & receive e-mail from Pocketmail - http://www.pocketmail.com . Disadvantages of the device are: 1) limited space, 1/2 MB 2) 4000 bytes per msg limit 3) have trouble getting a good connection using some payphones. Advantages: 1) works with all phones (note payphone troubles) 2) simply to use 3) can store addresses & broadcast lists 4) light 5) easy on the batteries 6) has a backlight. Talk with u after we move to the other motel this afternoon. Bruce rode the bus down to an outfitter near the casinos. Marc & I rode the bus to an outfitter & grocery store at the intersection of Rt 50 & SLT Blvd. I got 2 pairs of Smartwool socks & food for 3 days. I will be stopping at Pooh's Corner (61 trail miles away) on Sat or Sunday. Marc & I walked 1/2 mile to the Sundowner Motel & checked in. We are in Room #4, phone: 530-541-2282. No air-conditioning, no remote control & no tub, how will we survive? We bought a bus pass ($2) good for all day, so we will leave soon for the beach area so we can cruise (be a tourist) around until the fireworks at 2145. We have to walk 1/2 mile to catch bus then will catch it back between 2300 & 2400. It is 1300 & we expect Bruce to be here in the next 1/2 hr. Marc & I left about 1500 to catch the bus to the casinos. We planned to see a movie. We went to the 1645 movie, "The Fast & the Furious", it was OK. Then we went to the 18th floor of Harrah's to check out their buffet but we decided $17 was a bit much when we weren't that hungry. We ended up stopping at Subway for dinner. It rained while we were in the movie. At about 2020 I caught the bus back to the motel & Marc decided to stay at the beach for the fireworks. I fell asleep & was awaken about 2130 by a phone call from Joe Moon. He wanted to know if we wanted to share a cab in morning back to Echo Lake. I told him yes. So he will get the cab to pick us up at 0700 at Ernie's coffee shop. Bruce returned from dinner about 2145. It is now 2230, good nite. Pics from 2001-07-04

Day 74- Tue, July 03 - 10.5/1089.4 miles -start-0605 end-1030 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-85 -Motel 6 in South Lake Tahoe -elevation-????' Up at 0330 to finish journal for yesterday, back to sleep at 0440. Up again at 0530 & on the trail at 0605. The trail today is generally downhill to Echo Lake. Of course, there are enough little ups to test your lungs. At about 0830 I took a break & Joe Moon & Simply Seeking walked, haven't seen them since 1 day north of Tuolumne. Most of the hiking in under tree cover. As I am coming down towards Echo Lake (within 5 miles), Hawk & Zaz come up on me as I am taking a short sit down break. So I hiked the rest of the way down being pulled & pushed by Hawk & Zaz. When I reached Echo Lake, I found the following hikers there: Rufus, Earthsurfer, Puff, Eaglelet, Hawk & Zaz, Joe Moon & Simply Seeking, Adam, Brice from San Diego,. Jon & Jocelyn came in from SLT (South Lake Tahoe) where they had taken 4 days off. They are hiking north today. Rufus, Earthsurfer, Puff & Adam headed for Tahoe City & got a ride before they left the parking lot (look out Ann they are coming). Joe Moon, Simply Seeking, Bruce, Eaglelet & I got a taxi ride to SLT & Bruce, Eaglelet & I got a room for tonite at the Motel 6 (Rm224 - 530-542-1400). Tomorrow nite we are staying at the Sundowner Motel - 530-541-2282 no room number yet, room is under David Atkinson. It is now 1500 & I am going to eat as soon as laundry is done. Till later......Bruce, Marc (Eaglet) & I went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant (not AYCE). After dinner we stopped by a drug store & I got new batteries for my Photon II lights, check out http://www.photonlight.com . Also, for u in Northern VA, u may buy these lights at Appalachian Outfitters in Oakton, tell Charley and Greg, I said hi. The lights are $14.95 there instead of the $19.95 on the website. I forgot to mention, my brother Tom called from work (that 4 letter word) in Chapel Hill, NC. He said that he will not be able to make it to CA to hike with me. After returning to the room we surfed the TV until 2200 or so & then conked out. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-03

Day 73- Mon, July 02 - 21.8/1078.9 miles -start-0650 end-2040 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-85 -tent at Showers Lake -elevation-8620' Up at 0200 & finished yesterday's journal at 0330. Back to sleep. Around 0500 I awoke to hear the guy next to me packing up. I tried to get up but I was just too tired. Up at 0610 & on trail at 0650. I start walking in forest between lakes & the mosquitoes are terrible but I am using DEET & it works. About 0830 I take a snack break & along comes Hawk & Zaz. They had camped just north of me last nite. We chatted & they continued on. I am hiking in & out of allot of rocks as gain elevation, of course, I am in the forest of pines most of the time. BTW, since Hwy 108 (Saturday morning), the number of blow downs has been extremely high. It appears that there is not much horse traffic in this section so that may account for the seemingly lack of urgency in clearing the blow downs. U must remember, allot of the trail is a great distance from roads & the horse people are usually the only ones able to carry in the equipment to clear the trail. I continued hiking across Blue Lakes Rd, a heavily traveled dirt rd, and I am now going hiking up to place where I have a view back to Ebbetts Pass as well as down on Lower & Upper Blue Lakes. I hiked about 2 miles w/o tree cover & it was hot but the views were great. As I was descending to Lost Lake, I had to walk a 10 yd patch of snow, yep it is still here. While walking up from Lost Lake I meet 2 couples day hiking. One of the couples is from Hanover, NH and the wife has heard of Baltimore Jack. We briefly discuss Bill Bryson's book & I continue up the hill. The hiking is not that difficult but as always I stop on the uphill parts to rest, just don't seem to be able to get enough oxygen to my legs. When I finally (1615) reach Hwy 88, 16 miles of hiking, I sit down at a picnic table & see Hawk & Zaz in the parking lot. I am now at Carson Pass. Hawk & Zaz have yogied some food & drink & they help me get some grapes from a lady that I was talking with. At 1645 I was throwing away my trash near the front door of the closed visitor center and a lady came out the front door so I asked about where was the closest restaurant & she said about 5 miles west on Hwy 88. I asked her for a ride & she said yes. So at a little after 1700 I was sitting at a bar eating a bacon cheeseburger & fries. At 1840 I was hiking again after hitching back up to the trail. It was a little cooler now but the trail was not that well marked & was on jeep roads across a meadow so I was constantly checking the guidebook for the route description. I hiked to Showers Lake, about 5 miles, and arrived at 2040 & called it a day. I forgot to mention that at 1439 Hawk saw Rufus, Puff & Earthsurfer in the parking lot at Hwy 88 but he didn't get a chance to speak to them as they were leaving. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-02

Day 72- Sun, July 01 - 27/1057 miles -start-0715 end-2100 -sunny w/ few clouds hi-85 to 90 -tent at a tributary of Pleasant Valley Creek -elevation-7860' Up at 0610 & on the trail at 0715. I forgot to mention this incident at KM Store: A lady asked me, "are u the guy hiking from Mexico?" I answered, "Yes, but I am one of many doing this hike." She said, well my 13yr old daughter, Lauren Johnson, wants your autograph. I said, "u are kidding', right?" She said no, so I signed a card she had. I hope this may spur Lauren's interest in hiking. 

Lauren, here are 2 sites u can visit: 

    1) http://www.appalachiantrail.org

    2) http://www.pcta.org

Back to today's hike. I am hoping to see a thru-hiker today since I did not see one on the trail yesterday. I have noticed that this section (Section J) only has ascents & descents of a maximum of 800 ft. Back in Section I, the climbs sometimes were over 1000 ft. By 0930 I have walked 5 miles & it seems that we have very few switchbacks today. The trail is just following the contours, i.e., to climb we just angle up the side of the mtn, gradually going from one contour line to another. As I stepped down into a creek I slipped & my left leg buckled under me & all the weight of my backpack caused my upper to go to the left & I felt a sharp pain in my left side. I think I strained a muscle or maybe cartilage between my ribs. I took 2 Ecotrin cause I know my side will be sore tomorrow. It seems so weird to be taking breaks & not having anyone to talk with. The trail has allot of loose gravel & dirt which makes slipping & falling a constant possibility. Your shoes kinda slide on the small rocks which causes u to lose your balance & fall. I have not described the scenery cause it has not impressed me much. As I approach 15 miles hiked today, I am climbing & then descending to a road pass. This pass is Ebbetts Pass on Hwy 4. I have seem about 20 day hikers coming from Hwy 4, many of them with dogs. I reach Hwy 4 at 1405 & take a 30 minute break. BTW, the PCT does not go down to Ebbetts Pass trailhead parking lot so I don't do any yogiing. As I hike north from Hwy 4, I am seeing some amazing rock formations. The mtns are still made from volcanic activity but it seems to be many more rock formations that are are slender & pointed. I am taking many pics trying to show these formations. I will be mailing the pics home in about a week so there should be on the web by about July 15 or so. I stop to talk with a SOBO hiker & he says he has seem 16 thru-hikers in the last 2 days. About 1650 I stop & have dinner, a freeze-dried seafood chowder & it is good. I bought some freeze-dried meals at Yosemite Valley cause I was getting sick of eating Liptons meals (rice or noodles). Freeze-dried is kinda pricey but i like it. At 1830 I stop to talk with a SOBO fisherman from St George, Utah. He is visiting his wife's family & decided to hike in about 11 miles to fish at Lake Raymond, this a dedicated fisherman. He seems interested in the thru-hike so I give a little card with my website, name, address & e-mail. I made up these little cards back in Lone Pine so I could easier give out my website name. As it gets closer to dusk I am hiking on a very narrow path that has a steep drop off below. This path has allot of loose gravel & dirt so slipping & falling is a real possibility. Thank goodness there is no snow on this part of the trail. A little after 2030 I begin to descend the final mile of the day to a campsite near a stream. The mosquitoes have been a non-factor for the last days but just as it is getting dark, they are attacking me. I arrive at the campsite at 2100, by was this a long day but I did hike 27 miles so I am closer to Tahoe City, which I hope to reach on midday Wednesday (4th of July). There are 2 fellas tented here. They are doing a 200 mile SOBO hike from near Tahoe City to Yosemite Valley. I have to put on Deet to be able to put up my tent, the mosquitoes are terrible. I hope to get on the trail early tomorrow so I can 25+ miles. Good nite. Pics from 2001-07-01