Sierra city – Truckee

Total miles = 1500.7

Minus approx 200 miles missed due to fire closures

Day 84 Sat Sept 16th
Sierra city – Tent site 5 after climb out of HWY 49 trailhead access to Sierra city
1458.7 -1467.1
Approx. 2392  ft ascent + 512 ft descent
8.4 Miles

It was great to have a room to ourselves, although I didn’t get the best night sleep.
My mind whirring about the next resupply strategy through the remote Sierras.
We have heard Reds Meadow campgroumd and Vermillion Valley Resort have just closed down for the season which is going to make resupply much harder than normal.
Hikers can send boxes to these resorts at a fee. But the simple fact that they are closed also means there will be no campers visiting and hence no hitching to larger towns like Bishop and Mamouth.
Waking at 06:00 we spent most of the morning researching  resupply options and trying to formulate a plan. There are a number of Facebook groups and trail angels that may be able to help.

There was no laundry at the hotel and we were also not allowed to wash our clothes in the sink. That didn’t deter Sarah and she was rather creative using a plastic waste paper bin instead. There was no mention we couldn’t do that now was there.

As it was the day of the classic car show there was a lot of activity down on the street below. With loud music playing and old vintage cars all lining the street.

Sarah’s has been arranging some logistics with her pal superstar Liz. Who has kindly agreed to bring us our winter gear at Sonora pass.

Next up we visited the Post Office and sent back our faulty Dursten tent to Canada. We had been carrying 2 tents since Quincy as I wanted to be sure the new 1 was road worthy. So it was a relief to see the back of faulty 1 that Sarah has been kindly carrying.

Last night we picked up a load of packages from the store. Including my shiny new trail runners as well as some dehydrated food and bars.
It was a bitter sweet moment saying goodbye to my old Altra Lone peaks as
they have been a loyal companion.
Covering over 733.8 miles.

Although I think the pain I have been experiencing over the last few days / weeks is a sign that these shoes were well and truly worn out.
The new ones are also Teal Green with a purple sole so I am feeling pretty snazzy n fresh.

We also forwarded the Peak dehydrated meals and Range Meal bars to Sorona pass.
We figured they would be more useful when we hit the Sierra and want to be as light as possible due to the increase in difficulty in terrain.
You also need to carry a bear cannister through the Sierra from Kenedy Meadows North. This plastic container adds about 3 extra pounds onto your base weight. So again anything we can do to reduce our base weight is important.
Before we left the hotel we talked with a guy a trail name “Pilot” about his time in the Sierras and got some good intel.
He advised that we should easily get through in approx 10 days. And that we should only worry about resuppling at Mamouth. Even if that means carrying extra food.

He also showed me how to use a new gadget that I purchased on Amazon.
It allows propane fuel to be extracted from a 1/2 used gas canister, depositing it in my gas can. Thus saving a ton of money when it comes to constantly buying new gas cans. It also avoids leaving behind 1/2 used canisters that may not last the next section.

Before we hitched back to the trail we picked up a couple of huge 1/4lb pounders burgers from the store, along with a few snacks to keep us tided over until we get to Truckee.

Sierra City was heaving what with the car show and it was relatively easy to get a ride back to the trail. Within minutes we were picked up by a couple of mountain biker dudes and their girlfriends.

Getting back on trail in the heat of the day around 2pm was not sensible. Particularly after the beer that the mountain bikers gave us as we sat in the back of their cab on the way at the mountain.

Whilst in town we found a spare piece of foam in the hiker box. Sarah is now using it to help cushion the shoulder straps on her backpack. I think she looks like a superhero with the shiny silver padding underneath each strap.

It’s 38 miles to Truckee and we figure we can easily shave off arond 10 miles this afternoon.

As we left the trailhead the sky became grey and overcast. Thunder rumbled  overhead and we battened down the hatches in case the heavens opened.

As the afternoon rumbled on so did the thunder and the rain got progressively worse.
We put our sun umbrellas to good use to deflect the raindrops. These are 1 of our favourite bits of gear as they work equally well deflecting the sun as they do with the rain.
Wearing water proofs whilst hiking also means you quickly overheat. The umbrellas also keeps the cold rain off and also prevent our packs from becoming saturated and heavier.
Although I wouldn’t use the umbrellas if we were above tree line or exposed.

Luckily the bad weather didn’t last long and we started to see blue skies in the distance

We ended up catching up with 1 of our new sobo pals. Trailname “Rain”.
I asked him why this was his trailname.  He replied on the Appalchian trail whenever he would turn up the rain would follow. 

Sarah and I had found ourselves an awesome place to pitch our tent. Looking over the valleys below you could see the rain clouds moving off into the distance.
I politely told “Rain man” that the rain can follow him tonight as we are pretty exposed and wouldn’t want to be caught up here in a storm.

Day 85 Sun Sept 17th
Tent site 5 after climb out of HWY 49 trsilhead access to Sierra city – Peter Grubb Hut
1467.1 – 1493.4
Approx. 5039 ft ascent + 3661 ft descent
26.3 Miles

We woke late at 06:15 after sleeping through our alarms. I was up late lat night typing up the blog notes. Burning the candle once again.
I could hear something mooching around the tent and suspect it was a foraging deer.

During the first part of the day we walked through an active logging area. It was clear heavy machinery had been through as the soil was freshly excavated and there were large tyre tracks in the dirt.

We heard a loud crack from somewhere in the woods as a large branch had fallen to the ground. Maybe the rain yesterday had been a factor and we are on high alert keeping our eyes peeled.

Even though the signs of logging activity were brutal and the scars deep there was a lovely fresh smell of pine in the forest.

We met a section hiker called Ted trailname “Houdini” camped in the middle of the logging road.

He told us how he got the name Houdini.
Somehow he managed to keep overtaking  a hiker with one leg through a difficult section of trail where there was a lot of scrambling. The 1 legged hiker couldn’t believe how “Houdini” kept appearing in front of him and thought it was a fitting name.

He gave you some great advice on where we should pick up a bear canister. Suggesting Truckee or Lake Tahoe. He  lived on the west coast and had been section hiking the PCT for some years so was familar with the area and logistics.

He also advised that we remove all excess packaging from any dehydrated meals and put the food in ziplock bags to optimise the amount of space taken up.

For reference a bear canister is a plastic screw top container about 1 ft in diameter and about 2 ft tall.
This is mandatory through the Sierras and the preferred option versus the Kevlar lined Ursack that we’ve been using so far.
This is because bears have become accustomed to human activity in this the area and have been targeting campers and hikers food.
The high-sided bear canister it’s much heavier and more cumbersome to carry, but offers a safest solution of storing food overnight and can also be used as a table or a seat.

Houdini said that over the last 10 days he had seen sobo numbers saw diminishing from 35/day down to 5/day and that we were towards the back of the pack.
We said that there are still other behind and that we are happy being towards the back of the pack. We chose to do the sobo and wanted more of a solitary experience with less hustle and bustle.
The last few weeks have been perfect and we have pretty much had the place to ourselves.
That said we do need to get our skates on before the weather turns colder.

Houdini also informed us that the storm that hit about a month ago dumped a ton of rain on the west coast.  So hopefully there’s going to be more water available as we move further south into the desert.
This is something that often becomes a problem for sobo hikers as water sources often dry out towards the end of the season.

At 10:20 we took a quick break and sampled one of our new Range Meal bars.
The flavour was chocolate peanut butter and coffee and at 700 calories and only
165 grams was not to be sniffed at.
I’ll keep you posted and how much energy this gives us and whether it improves our performance.

We stopped at Mules Ear creek at 11:30. Aptly named after all the plants we had seen in the area.
By this time we’d covered 7.8 miles and this was a good start to the day.
I encouraged Sarah to be speedy with our pit stop so not to waste too much time.

It’s a nicer temperature today and there’s more cloud in the sky which I think is helping us move faster.

As I look back down the mountain I can see our new pal “Rain” in hot pursuit.
I joked again about the sudden appearance of dark clouds in the sky.

Today we’re gonna hit 8,000 feet.
As we ascend there are seas green vegetaion called Mules ears either side of the trail. They seem to favour his elevation and terrain.
The contrast of the green landscape against the moody looking clouds gives a really dynamic effect.

In exposed areas many of the Mules Ears are starting to turn brown and crispy and you can see remnants of where they have flowered.
The ones that remained are still green and almost leathery to touch with tatty yellow flowers.
We both feel if we had walked through a couple of months ago they would have been vibrant green with yellow flowers.

As we climbed we could see pockets of snow nestled in patches on north facing slopes of the mountains.

We stopped and sampled another Range meal bar. This time the flavour was ginger and seasalt.  I thought it was delicious and it reminded me at my mum’s ginger cake.

Sarah is complaining her new Lone peak trail runners are giving her knee problems and the pain she experienced before starting the trail is back.
The bones in my left foot leading back from my toes are also very sore. It’s okay when I’m moving , but starting up it’s painful and results in me hobbling for the first few miles whilst I warm up.
Both of us have taken ibuprofen to help manage the pain and keep us moving.

By around 2:30 we’ve covered 14.7 miles and we stop for lunch. The miles seem to be coming more easily this morning.
For lunch we had tuna + mayo in flour tortillas, 1 litre of Gatorade and a couple of handfuls of Skittles.
Starting back after lunch is never easy with a full belly followed by an uphill climb.

We spent the afternoon hiking through lush green meadows full of vibrant flowers lilac and yellow in colour.

We noticed the number of mosquitos had increasd today due to the amount of water in these meadows running through small creeks.

Just up from White Rock Creek looking over Paradise Valley we found a rocky outcrop and couldnt resist scrambling up to the top.
At the top nestled in between the boulders were some ancient looking trees trees that resemble giant bonsai. Their trunks and branches twisted and weathered.

The views up here with spectacular and you could imagine the cowboy camping here, protected by the rocks.

Large cotton wool like clouds poked over the horizon right above us contrasting  against the bluebird sky.

We are heading towards the Peter Grub mountain hut which is around 5 miles away.
Although it appears a number of other hikers we’ve met this afternoon also heading this way.

I’m tempted to try and push on to Truckee. The cabin it’s 26 miles away from where we started this morning and Truckee is another 7 miles. Totalling 33 miles.
I’m trying to twist Sarah’s arm as this would set us up nicely for tomorrow.

The last climb of the day involved a 1,500 foot climb up to Basin peak. This was spread over 4 miles and really kicked the last bits of energy out of us.

As we reach the top birds scatter left and right across the trail hiding in the lush green vegetation.
The sun moves closer and closer to the horizon before setting. It’s light is warm and has an orangey tinge. This goes on to create an epic sunset against the clouds, where the sky almost burns pink and ornage like a lava lamp.
As we make our way to the cabin the temperature plummets and we put on our puffy jackets and warm clothes. It’s noticeably colder at this elevation.
When we reach the cabin we find a very rustic looking building. It’s more like a bothy you might find in the Scottish Highlands.
Sarah whipped up a rice side and refried beans supper which went down a treat.
There’s 1 other hiker here and as I type this he is snoring loudly up on the mezzanine balcony above us.
We also have a mouse for company running round the stone floor between outer feet.
We have hung our back packs and food way off the floor, so hopefully that’ll keep it safe n sound.

Day 86 Mon Sept 18th
Peter Grubb Hut – Truckee – Tensite just up from Doner pass
1493.4 – 1501.4
Approx.  1010 ft ascent + 1494 ft descent
8.1 Miles

We were both glad to have found the cabin and slept on mezzanie floor platform with just one other hiker for company -Trailname “Cringe”
Despite sleeping underneath a roof and 4 walls our sleep is broken and we were either too hot or too cold. I also had some strange dreams something that often happens when I sleep in strange places.

For breakfast I heated water to make coffee and oatmeal, this is the first time we’ve done this on trail. A sign that things are getting colder.
The hike down towards the highway leaving to Truckee was pretty easy and mainly downhill. The silence broken by the sound of a busy highway.

We are very pleased with the mileage yesterday and feel this was mainly down to the cooler temperatures.
Its been a hard couple of weeks and I think the fact it’s been very hot is really halted our progress.

We spent the morning walking through a granite playground of huge boulders reminding us of Yosemite.

Just before we got onto the road we met a couple of gnarly climbing dudes called Isaac and Daryl who gave us the lowdown on Truckee.
Apparently there’s a 40 ounce beer waiting for us at Donor Ski Ranch and Resort and it sounds like Truckee has everything we need to get ship shape again.

We got a ride down to Truckee by a girl called Becky that worked up at the resort. She knew the area well and gave us some decent intel for re everything Truckee had to offer as well as the Sierras.
Once in Truckee we found a McDonald’s to get WiFi to work out where everything was and a plan of attack.
Next up was an overdue visit to the Laundromat. Getting changed out of our dirty hiking clothes behind some wheelie bins + feeling like a homeless bum in the process.
Whilst doing our laundry we also took the liberty of using the restroom to clean up. Needs must as there weren’t many options for getting a shower. Also putting on clean clothes and not being clean doesn’t make any sense.

We then had a long list of errands to do.
First up a long walk to a UPS store to return a T-shirt I had bought on Amazon.
As we did this it started raining and hailing we were caught in a thunder storm.
Initially we had used our sun umbrellas to deflect the hail stones, but due to the close proximity of the storm we decided this wasn’t the safest thing to do.

The hail stones were the size of chickpeas and it wasn’t long before it started raining hard and the roads became flooded.
We still had a mile to walk in this between shops. We took refuge in a few shop doorways and luckily escaped with only really wet feet.

One of our priorities is to visit a T-mobile store and sort out our phones, as even in towns like this we have little or no data and coverage is poor.
We later visited the T-mobile store and it was found out due to our phones only being 4G, nothing could be done. So we cancelled our contracts.
Whilst in the phone store a kind customer called Ned overheard our woes and offered to give us an old iPhone if we picked it up from his house.

We also visited a Tahoe Mountain Sports where we picked up some new rain pants as ours were held together by Duck tape and had seen better days.
We picked up some other winter bit n bobs + some new liner gloves with touch screen capability so we don’t have to take our gloves off when using our phones for the Far Out App or taking pics etc.
One of my trekking pole carbon tips had also failed so I also got this replaced.
This is important as I will need them to dig into the granite rocks in the Sierras.

On resupplying in Safeway we met a guy called David (ex PCT hiker) that offered to take us to to downtown to meet up with Ned to sort the phone.
This took a bit of running about but we managed to find the block of flats and met up with Ned. Another very kind gesture of goodwill + we are very thankful.
Hopefully this means we can use an AT&T sim in this unlocked phone and have better coverage.

Following this we went for pizza with David. Things started out OK, but during the meal things started to turn a little weird and we both felt a little uncomfortable in his presence.
After finishing eating we made our excuses and parted company.
I’m sure this guy was ok but our spidy senses were tingling again and we both thought that maybe he had taken something or had been drinking and was acting strange.
Sarah had kept the guys that worked in the pizza joint informed of the developing situation and they kept a eye on us whilst we got our back packs form his car and said our goodbyes.

We then waited in the pizza joint until a guy that worked there called Reed gave us a ride back to Donner Pass.

We got back to the trailhead and started hiking in the pitch black. Luckily after a couple of miles we found a sweet dry spot to camp. We were both relieved to be back on the safety of the trail.