Ashland – Burney

Total miles 1235.9

Approx 200 miles missed due to fire closures

Day 65 Mon Aug 28th
Ashland
936.5
Zero day – continued

This was a really productive town stop.  We managed to sort out a lot of lingering jobs and left feeling ahead of the game.
Enlightened equipment had kindly sent out a new sleeping bag to Ashland Post office to replace the one I was having issues with. I had been experiencing issues with the down clumping in certain areas, resulting in little or no protection from the cold.

I’ve also arranged for Durston to send out a replacement X Mid Pro tent where both zippers had failed along with a few other issues.

It only seems to take a good nights sleep in a real bed, a shower and good meal to restore you from being a hiker trash hobo to a normal human being once again.
Maybe this is something we all need to think about back in the real world when we walk past a homeless person sitting begging on the streets.

Day 66 Tues Aug 29th
Ashland – Medford – Weed – McCloud
Zero day

Due to the fire closure between the California-Oregon border and Enta, we skipped round the fire and smoke. This involved a day of public transport. We made our way to Medford and spent the afternoon sorting out some last minute food resupply.

We also popped into REI where I arranged for a pair of new Trail runners to be delivered approximately 11 days down the trail to Belden.
Along with other accessories we also picked up some new insoles with the hope that they might resolve some of the shin splint issues that I’ve been experiencing.

Later in the afternoon we caught the Greyhound  bus to a place called Weed.
This was approx a 1.5 hour bus ride away.
Via Facebook we had arranged for a trail angel called Mark to pick us up from the bus stop.
He is part of the network of trail angels that operate in this area providing support to hikers. And he really was one of the most decent trail angels we have come across so far. Rightfully owning the title “King of the Trail Angels”

He kindly waited  whilst we grabbed a quick McDonald’s, before driving us both back to his home in McCloud.

McCloud was a pretty little town with a history of logging. It used to be run by a the McCloud family who owned everything in the area.
The small town had charm and character with a number of old buildings repurposed into modern dwellings.

Mark and Lauri made us feel extremely welcome and at their home. They offered us a camping trailer for the night, which was perfect.

Sarah thought that Mark reminded her of Liam Neeson due to his calm composed deminia.Particularly after he told us he had a military background and used to work in security.
Maybe this should become his trailname?

Day 67 Wed Aug 30th
McCloud – Soda Creek Road – Squaw Valley Creek
1152.9 – 1169.1
Approx.  3957 ft ascent +  3488 ft descent
16.6 Miles

We had a great night’s sleep in the trailer. Mark then took us back to the trailhead,  but beforehand we grabbed a breakfast + sorted out some last minute errands.
Sarah luckily managed to get a new pair of shoes after missing the boat yesterday + Mark kindly offered to post them to Belden to save us any more time off trail.
I also picked up a new fishing licence for California costing me another $150. Let’s hope its worth it as Oregon was a bit of a let down on the fishing front with only 1 fish on the bank and a licence costing 100 bucks!
Mark and Lauri operate on donations only. Although after all the help and hosting we donated $100 without question.  This would help subsidize trail magic for future hikers as well as showing some appreciation for the hospitality they had offered.

During the drive back to trail Mark said how he applauded thru hikers for taking a risk and doing things now rather than putting things off until retirement.

We said our goodbyes at the Soda Creek trail head around 13:30 and it was back into the wild.
Mark had said that he was planning on doing a spot trail magic later on this afternoon at Squaw Valley Creek (around  16 miles away) and we hoped that we might make it as he was making hot dogs.
The next stretch of trail was 2500 ft  straight up, although for the majority it was nice and shaded.  It felt more like Washington, although the plant growth was less advanced. Maybe this is due to the above average snow fall in CA last winter?

Throughout the whole afternoon I only removed my backpack twice. We also didn’t even feel the need to open our food bags, such was the calorie intake over breakfast.

The shin splint pain on my right leg so far doesn’t seem to be a problem. Maybe this is due to the new insoles? Time will tell.

Along the trail there were stretches lined with crispy crunchy dead leaves. These leaves proved to be rather slippy and it was fun watching lizards skidding across the leaf litter out in front of us.

Sarah is really struggling this afternoon complaining her joints are aching. We were told about a fresh outbreak of covid and fingers crossed she is not coming down with it!

We spent the afternoon climbing switchbacks seeing even larger lizards (approximately six to eight inches long). We also saw one of the largest snakes we’ve seen so far, which made us both jump. It was yellow and black in colour and non venomous.
Later in the afternoon we were shown a photo and video of some rattle snakes that 2 new sobo’s “Chip and Pigeon” had seen in Etna (not far from where we jumped back on trail).
We have also been seeing more evidence of bear activity, with multiple piles of scat along the trail. As we walked through some tall bushes a large animal ran off making a lot of noise, breaking branches as it went.

Once we reached the top of Girade Ridge it was straight down again with no messing.
At the bottom we reached a raging river called Squaw Creek, with cascading deep pools of water.
We had read on Far Out that Mark had been leaving sodas and treats under the 2nd bridge. When we reached it we found some old ammo boxes full of goodies. And a sign saying trail magic with thanks to Fletch and Sarah.
When we reached the trail head at around 19:15 we found Mark’s hot dog setup was all still there + that he would be back shortly.
After setting up our tent next to the raging river, it wasn’t long before Mark returned. He rustled us up some chilli dogs (2 each in fact) and a nice old beer. What a perfect ending to a perfect day. Thank you Mark.

Day 68 Thurs Aug 31st
Squaw Valley Creek – Tent site
1169.1 – 1190.2
Approx.  5545 ft ascent + 3937 ft descent
20.8 Miles

It was nice waking up in the tent once again. The air was cool and filled with the sound of the river raging below.

We started the day with a climb. Rather than the usual switchbacks the trail wound round the mountain like a corkscrew.

After hearing about the rattle snakes yesterday we were a little more cautious today.  When that call of nature came I  gingerly scaled the side of the mountain next to the trail, making sure I tapped my trekking poles on the ground as I went to scare away any snakes that might be hiding. The last thing I want is to get bitten by a snake whilst taking a poop.

Listening to music with both headphones in is also no longer sensible. As we would rather hear a rattle snake’s warning  before we get too close.

Later in the morning we met a lovely elderly hiker called Karen (trailname ‘Elegance’). She was an expert in animal tracks and sign. I showed her some of my pictures of my findings and she helped solve some of the puzzles.  Namely the prints, scat and signs we had seen on trail. She was also very interested in the Coyote – cat story and how it all unfolded. We had been hoping to bump into someone like this and we talked for ages sharing stories.

Fred had warned us about the black flies along this stretch of trail via WhatsApp. They didn’t seem to bite. Instead they would dive bomb and aim for you eyes and ears. Head nets were essential to keep them out, which only helped us overheat even more.

Whilst in Medford we picked up some new additions to trail kitchen from Trader Joes in the form of blueberry bagels (following our pal Sonics breakfast itinery). They go very nicely with laughing cow soft cheese.
Although the trail was well graded and cushy underfoot the constant pounding is making my legs buzz particularly on the downhill. Yesterday’s fresh legs seem like a million miles away.
As we walked back down the mountain towards McCloud River the air is filled with the electrical crackle of crickets.
Both of us double checking anxiously, making sure that this crackle wasnt in fact the sound of a rattlesnake.

We stopped on the bridge that spanned the river. It was chalky in colour and full of sediment.
Exhausted we rolled out Sarah’s sleeping pad and laid down on the bridge for a quick break. As I looked up I could see an Osprey nest on the top of a tall dead tree.

There was a pit toilet just past the bridge.  On Far Out it had said that this was home to a colony of bats. Based on the amount of bat poop all over the floor I think this was accurate.

Mark had told us that once we reached Ash camp then we also would need to be careful to avoid poison oak that could be found either side of the trail.
I have an app installed on my phone called Seek that works offline so we were able to identify this plant easily.
It can cause severe blisters to the skin can be extremely itchy and painful.

We arrived at Centipede Gulch trailhead to find yet more trail magic curtiouscy of Mark. What a guy + thanks again pal. The cold beer he left chilling in the creek went down a treat. Sarah also took some Gatoraid to help power her up the hills.
At this point we had done 14 miles and it was around 5pm. What followed was a 3000ft climb spread over 10 miles. This could be compared to climbing Snowdon, but on very tired legs.

We managed 7 miles before calling it a day.
A couple of miles before we reached camp it had started to spit with rain + we disturbed a large mumma bear and her cub. We heard them crashing off into the woods before we saw their silhouettes in the dwindling light.
We spent the next few miles banging trekking poles together shouting “Hey bear” in case the bear had double backed. The last thing you want to do is startle a mumma bear on trail.
We found the tentsite around 8pm and quickly set the tent up as the spots of rain were starting to get heavier.

We always put our food in bear proof bag called an Ursack at night and tie it to a tree. Tonight we were extra specially careful. We even hung a bear line to make sure anything that didnt fit in the Ursack (like toiletries) were out-of reach.
It seems strange as we haven’t worried too much about bears for a while. But a mumma bear is not to be underestimated.
Also as it was just Sarah and I alone in the woods tonight we will be extra vigalent.
Sarah also requested we just eat a cold soaked rice side without adding any extra chicken + a quick n easy dehydrated meal. Her reasons were that it wouldn’t make too much odour whilst cooking which was sensible.

As you can see from the elevation we have done today over 5000 ft ascent its been a big day and we are both knackered.

We also reinforced our camp spot putting a load of branches around the tent, so if anything comes too close then we should hear it. I think we will be both sleeping with one eye open tonight. Nighty night.

Day 69 Fri Sept 1st
Tent site 3 Miles from top – Wet day Tent site
1190.2 – 1211.1
Approx.  3885 ft ascent + 2835 ft descent
20.8 Miles

We woke up to find that all of our provisions had worked and the bear had not disturbed our camp or found our food supplies.

As we started hiking it started to drizzle, before turning heavy.

We really need to get some hustle in our bussel today. The big man upstairs had an answer for this in the form of a miserable day. This certainly gave motivation to move fast.

As we started the day we disturbed a feeding deer. So close to the trail I could almost reach out and touch it.
An angry squirrel also decided to launch a pinecone at Sarah high up from the safety of a tree, which bounced off her shoulder making her jump. It chattered a warning in response.
As we reached the top of the big climb we saw something attached to one of the trees. It looked like a carving of a buffalo’s head. We can only assume that it was put there are some form of joke. Both agreeing that it would be pretty scary coming across under the light of a head torch.

Sarah has been feeling under the weather and complaining of a headache today along with a few other ailments. 

The top of the mountains were cloaked in cloud and it was a wet cold and miserable. Almost like we were walking in the clouds at times and then the heavens opened.
If it wasn’t enough that it was raining hard on us, the vegetation either side of the trail was laden with cold water that soaked us to the skin as we pushed our way through. This was more like bush wacking and often almost impossible to pass through with the branches tugging at our legs and arms.
We spent most of the day walking along a ridge line. It was covered with tall bushes and vegetation full of berries and acorns (Seek identified them Dicots / part of the black thorn family). More than capable of supporting larger animals like bears. There was also evidence of bear scat all over the trail to back this up.

I think it’s fair to say that Sarah wasn’t in the best frame of mind today + was not happy! It took all my powers to try and cheer her up.
In situations like this there’s not much you can do, but just carry on. If you stay still you get cold and even more miserable.
Like most things in life bad times will pass and as I explained to Sarah this will pass and the sun will return. Just keep on pushing and you’ll warm up

Still I would hear her swearing and cursing behind me as she fought her way through the soaking wet shoulder height vegetation that completely engulfed the trail.

The trail also became saturated and flooded in places which made our wetter shoes even wetter. Replacing water that previously warmed up to body temperature and making our feet even colder.

It got to the point where our clothes underneath our waterproofs also got drenched through.  I stopped to take a break and water was literally running off of me like I was taking a pee.
Luckily earlier we had battened down the hatches and moved all our electrical equipment into dry bags in our rucksacks to prevent any damage.
Sarah had her eyes set on a ramen meal to try and warm us up. Although we simply couldn’t stop to get the stove kit out and boil water, as we would have gotten too cold. I grabbed a couple of handfuls of skittles and a couple of protein bars from my pack and on we trudged.

It was amazing just how a handful of food temporarily seemed to revive our spirits.
The big uphill should have been rewarded with amazing views but instead either side of the ridge was engulfed in cloud and mist.
Sarah “joked” that she wanted to be a contestant in the game “I’m a celebrity get me out of here”.

Then suddenly the sun decided to poke it’s nose through the clouds like a sign from above. Sarah and I basking like two lizards on a rock thankful for this extra warmth.
This arived just in the nick of time as both of us were struggling to keep warm, with clothes soaked through.
We found a rock to sit on and Sarah made us a round of hot chocolates to warm our spirits.
The sky was very dramatic with clouds rolling in and out of the mountains in a battle with the sun. Casting shards of warm light down into the valleys below.

We took the risk to swap out our wet tops hoping for better weather to come. Our shorts and socks remained soaking wet. The feeling in our hands and feet slowly started to return. I think a lot of our energy had just been spent trying to keep our core temperature regulated.

What a difference to yesterday.  Not sure what’s worse dive bombing bugs and extreme heat, or today’s awful weather. I think I know what Sarah’s view on this will be.

We noticed that some of the other sobos had decided to call it early + had tents pitched by mid afternoon.
We hiked on to 19:30.
We found that water had made its way through our back packs. Although luckily we had double bagged most of our gear in dry bags and liner bags.
One casualty was some paperwork including my PCT permit. Although I rescued some family photos and a pic of Rooi. Managing to dry them out by putting them underneath my sleeping bag.

We rustled up a couple of bowls of instant mash and chicken in gravy and ate it in our tent with sleeping bags wrapped round our feet to keep warm.
Let’s hope tomorrow has better weather + we are both not looking forward to putting on wet clothes and trail runners. But at least we are all snuggled up for tonight.

As we cleaned our teeth before bed there is almost a perfect full moon illuminating the clouds beneath. This kind of dramatic cloud light effect often follows bad weather and almost made up for 20 miles of hiking in the rain…

Day 70 Sat Sept 2nd
Wet day Tent site to unmarked Ten site past Rock Creek
1211.1 – 1231.3
Approx. 2264 ft ascent +  4400 ft descent
20.3 Miles

What  difference a day makes….

We left camp a little later than planned. Putting on wet clothes and packing away a wet tent was a real test of morale.
Sarah insisting on making a hot chocolate before we left.

As we started hiking steam rose from the vegetation as it was bathed in the sunlight.
Hopefully it won’t take long for all the bushes to dry as currently we’re still getting soaked.

Not long into the day we met up with Paige aka “Storm”. We had passed her last night and hadn’t caught up for a couple of nights.

She told tales of how she was stalked by a large cat whilst she was setting up camp. Its eyes reflecting back underneath the light of her head torch.
She attempted to scare it away by shaking her tent like a sail (making her outline look bigger). It jumped and ran off temporarily.
Later it returned walking around her tent and bushes close by. 
She heard some camotion and thought it may have caught some prey. Where it then proceeded to eat whatever it had captured nearby. Scary stuff indeed!

Without going into too much detail I think I’ve learnt the lesson of not eating too many protein bars in one day. My stomach was not good this morning!

I have never really been that interested in tree biology, but…
Hiking past hundreds of thousands if not millions of trees, you observe all the subtle differences. Bark patterns almost seem to be like finger prints. Ponderosa pines have a puzzle bark pattern like the pattern on a giraffe’s skin.

Yesterday I noticed how the branches connect to the main trunk on a tree that had been split in half. Something I have not seen before. The branches seem to harpoon the trunk of the tree with a spiral conical pattern similar to a kind of drilling or boring machine.

You also get to observe trees in different states of decay and decomposition, which is also very interesting.

We stopped around 11am for a quick bite, although this turned into a two-hour lunch break. Where we decided to dry out all our gear.
This is quite important as the tent was saturated where it had been all folded up.
This meant that if we were to put it back up later tonight it would be wet on the inside as well. Resulting in our precious sleeping gear also getting wet, which we must avoid at all costs.
We fashioned a washing line to hang clothes and sleeping bags and put the tent up and sat back and waited for it to dry in the sunshine.

The next stretch involved walking through alot of brush once again. Although this time it wasn’t soaked with rain water and was much more pleasant.

By 3pm we realised we’ve only done 10.5 miles which is not ideal.
Cloud rolled in and it looked like rain again. Although fortunately we only had a few spots to deal and the remainder of the afternoon was very pleasant.
We are now heading towards Burney Falls  which is another highlight of the PCT.

Back in heavy woodland we spotted a couple of very fresh piles of bear scat.
On inspection with my trekking pole we could see this was the case. We could even make out footprints in the sandy trail where it had walked earlier. We estimated that it must have either happened this morning or maybe last night.

We were very quiet for the next couple of miles and hoped that we might see the bear round every corner. It was very exciting and Nor Cal was starting to look up.

It’s amazing how quickly things dry out.  Towards the end of the afternoon most of our clothes are now fully dry. Even our backpacks, shoes and stinky socks.

Parts of the trail resemble English woodland where we are seeing more oak trees. The ground was covered in leaf litter and felt very familar.

The next water supply was at Rock Creek.
This was an amazing series of waterfalls running 90 degrees to one another.
We collected two litres of water each and then headed on.

As afternoon turned into early evening it was almost like being in another country and the landscape was changing once again.
With lime green lichen hanging from the deciduous oak trees contrasting against arid reddish sand underneath our feet.
Either side of the trail was also lined with scrubland featuring sharp prickly bushes.

We hiked past a potential camp spot amongst the scrubland. In the sandy ground you could see prints.
We could make out familar deer prints and something much more interesting.  Mountain lion footprints running straight through the site.  The distance between the front and rear paws approx 4-5 feet. It couldn’t of been anything else + we figured it must have been stalking or chasing the deer.

After speaking to Karan the other day, she helped me identify the difference between canine – coyote and lion footprints. The latter are much more rounded taking into account the pad and toes, whereas a canine – coyote print is more elliptical.

We took some photos and decided to move on. Partly because the ground wasn’t particularly flat, but more so because we didn’t want to sleep on an active game trail.

As dusk fell the night sky was filled with insects. Much more like what you might hear in a tropical country. Much louder than before and simply beautiful.

We pitched our tent amongst the leaf litter.
As we ate our dinner listening to the evening chorus, it was music to our ears in contrast to the cold and wet of yesterday.

Day 71 Sun Sept 3rd
Unmarked Tent site – Burney Church – Word of light
1231.3. – 1235.9
Approx. 548 ft ascent +   673 ft descent
4.1 Miles

We both slept well and it was nice to wake up warm and dry. The tent had also dried out with no condensation and our sleeping bags were also dry on the outside.
We spent the first part of our day playing bear detectives walking in the footprints of these nocturnal visitors. It was the most exciting morning in a long while. We walked in silence only whispering to one another, hoping to witness the owner(s) of these prints (obviously at safe distance).

The prints were easily the size of my palm and we can clearly see them walking down the trail in a regular spaced pattern.
It’s amazing how this sandy soil reveals all of the secrets of the forest. Where as before some of these clues were just not visible.

There were again fresh piles of scat littered with half digested Dicots / black thorn berries. This seemed to be a popular choice on the bears menu + I think the abundance of berries here is why we’re seeing so much bear activity.

We put our hands a few inches above the scat (obviously without touching it) to see if it was still warm to try and work out how close we were.

We hiked on towards Burney Falls without any sightings, but we’re both happy we had witnessed something special.
Getting up early and being first on trail not only makes the miles come easier. It also means you get closer to the wildlife,  before animal prints are replaced with human footprints. Being this close to nature is something we both really enjoy.

In our haste to gets to Burney Falls we missed the side trail and ended up reaching the campsite and highway.
We back tracked along the Headwaters trail.  Bright green vibrant vegetation lined the bottom of the creek + the river was pristine and crystal clear.  Something that I can remember as a boy back in England. Although sadly many of our rivers and waterways back home are a former shadow of what they used to be.

Burney Falls was spectacular and as a result was extremely popular. It was also the day before labour day, which is a public holiday in the US.
It was a stark contrast walking down to the falls amongst so many people. All smelling and looking super clean. It’s amazing how your sense of smell changes when you spend so much time in the woods that you really notice the smell of aftershave, perfume or laundry detergent on people as you hike past them.

We grabbed a milkshake and hot dog from the visitors centre. Then took a much needed shower, after 4 days on the trail with no means of washing ourselves clean.
We then loitered charging battery packs and electronics for a couple of hours, before hitching into Burney. This proved to be a tricky hitch as many of the park visitors seemed to have no regard for thru hikers.

Burney was a little run down town, but had everything we needed for a quick resupply and also had a laundromat.
We popped into an outfitters and the owner Lorrenzo insisted on giving me a new T-shirt free of charge to replace my holey old merino one. What a nice guy!
The kindness also didn’t stop there either!
We had heard about a church that hosted hikers called the Word of Life Assembly of God. The place seemed all closed up, but after contacting Mark he told us there was a building behind the church were all the hikers can stay.
This place was amazing and didn’t seem remotely “churchy”. It was more like a sports hall than a church. We were made to feel very welcome and there were some familar faces already there.
We also met an incredible man called Dennis. He was another trail angel that Mark had told us about.  He had been waiting for us to arrive in Burney and had made me some hand made fly fishing flys.
My mind was blown by the kindness he offered and workmanship involved in tieing these flys. We spent an hour or so talking and he gave me some great advice for the future + let’s hope I can do it justice and catch some fish!
Sarah and I then picked up some food from Safeway – lobster mac n cheese and some fried chicken. Which we heated in the microwave back at the church kitchen.

Bellies full we laid out our sleeping pads on the stage behind the basket ball court with basketball hoops above our heads.
This place was truly memorable and one of the most different and interesting town stays on the trail so far. Made even more special by our new pal Dennis.