Histo and his crew have arrived at Castle Crags State Park, hitting Highway 5 at Castella. It has been really hot but the forests have been nice. The group has had awesome views, first of Lassen Peak, next of Mt. Shasta. The PCT goes through backcountry in Lassen, and Histo saw a beautiful, healthy bear. The bears in Lassen are wild, and campers generally don't see them, though we have found their "hotels" in hikes off the main trails.
Histo's feeling great, excited to be up north and looking forward to Oregon. Of course he is tired and his feet hurt (that's the name of the game). The thru-hikers are pretty spread out; there is a large group several days ahead of Karl's group, and otherwise they've only see a few hikers lately. Caught up with Snausage, whom he hasn't seen since Sierra City. Hoping to meet Mike from Berkeley in Etna and hike with him to Seiad Valley.
Photos going in the mail today, so we should get a new album in a couple of days; it will have lots of pictures--from Soda Springs to Castella! Keep an eye out folks, and keep those comments coming (I report them to Histo, and he will enjoy reading them next time he's on a computer).

This afternoon Lena "randomly" called Karl and he "randomly" had his phone on briefly and they connected! Northern California does not have the cell phone reception so prevalent in Southern California and the ski resorts of the Sierra. Histo is still hiking with Spud, Honey Bear and Oasis; they're looking right at Mt Shasta and "it's getting bigger." Yesterday he picked up his box in Burney Falls, so they are in the mid-1400's of miles north on the trail. Hurray for Histo! Hopefully we'll get some photos one of these days. Happy hiking, all!

After leaving Soda Springs I was fortunate to run into my hiking friends Spud, Oasis, and Honey Bear and hike with them for the past week. The week was full of laughs. In efforts to pass entertain ourselves while hiking we spent hours playing various word games, making up stories, and laughing at Spud's expense. You see Spud had the brilliant idea to create the Nutella challenge. He walked 42 miles over two days from Truckee to Sierra City eating nothing but Nutella and a loaf of bread.  He may have loved Nutella before but by the time he cracked open his second 26 oz jar his heart rate was elevated and he felt terrible. His self-inflicted misery provided much entertainment. 

Our fourth day out of Truckee was a different type of day: a silent day. The four of us were all interested in trying a day with no talking, so that's what we did. To make things even more interesting we planned to hike our first thirty mile day. We spent most of the day around each other and when we ran into other hikers we held up notes we prepared to let them know why we were being awkwardly quiet. I noticed all the sounds of hiking and the woods accentuated. I realized how much I talk to myself and the strange little things I usually comment on.

Of course the day we decide not to talk is the first day, in hundreds of miles, that we crossed a road to find an RV, camp chairs and hikers being treated to trail magic by three trail angels. Another hiker, Three Bears, warned everyone and we silently enjoyed grilled cheese, Beatles' music and rest. We thanked them with a hug and continued our big day of hiking, full and amused. Our day ended with a huge descent to the Middle Fork of the Feather River. Spud and I Swam without talking and we all hit the sack, tired from a thirty-two miles, my longest day yet.

Continuing my tour of California I am visiting Quincy, where Spud's cousin Karen, her husband Craig and their son Leo have welcomed us into their beautiful home and are treating us all like family. A big thanks to them, I am continually impressed by the kindness and generosity of new acquaintances. For Karen's point of view check out her blog post about us.

7/11/12  Soda Springs

I’ve got to start with a big thank you to all of you following along and leaving comments. It is wonderful to have your support while I’m on this trek.

This last stretch was a walk from my mom to my dad through familiar territory. I had a blast hiking out of Highland Lakes campground with my mom and sister. After a difficult goodbye at the top of a pass (Tryon Saddle), from which we could see the Highland Lakes, I was headed North once again. From that point on the trail I hiked through country I had seen over two day hikes with my mom last September from a different Ebbett’s Pass campground (Bloomfield).

Sonora Pass, Ebbett’s Pass, on to Carson Pass and Donner Pass, this section of trail is rich in California History. Climbing to a ridge above Carson Pass afforded my first view of the Big Blue (Lake Tahoe). Three years ago I hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) with my friend Kris. The TRT and PCT overlap for about 35 miles on the western side of the Lake. A day later I hiked into bustling Echo Lake, hiking the morning with Kiros. We chatted about triathlons, physics, yoga and life.

At Echo Lake, after enjoying a chocolate-strawberry milkshake, I ran into Nips and Wildflower. I was stoked to hike with them for the next three days to Donner Summit. The trail traverses several ski resorts that I have spent a lot of time at. They are getting off trail for a few days to attend weddings and I’m not sure when I will get to hike with them next. I received royalty treatment from Nips’ mom, Mary, who picked us up and took us to her condo in King’s beach. I relaxed the night with them; I was meeting my dad the following day in Soda Springs.

My dad and I hung out at a ski cabin he is a member of and went out to dinner in Truckee. I couldn’t resist the all “you can eat” option at Java Sushi. I had at least eight sushi rolls and some miso soup, it was hard to keep track. Though my thru-hiker stomach was put to shame by the skinny blonde woman sitting to my right who ate about the same amount of food in less time than I. I’ve been on the trail for 76 days, I wonder where her appetite came from.

I’m on to Northern California where they say the trail is softer and the elevation change less severe, time to bust out some miles.

(Dad Insert)  Histo (Karl) and I met up for an awesome get together.  I found him strong, healthy and mature both in body and soul.  He knows what he is doing and where he is headed.  I got to experience hiking a little bit of the PCT. I hiked a couple of hours with him as he continued.  However going from my sailing adventure (sea level) to starting at 6800 ft above sea level did slow me down.  It was difficult parting for both of us but we knew the PCT was calling.   I got to also experience some of the “loneliness” of the trail he mentioned, when not hiking with others. On my return hike, I met few hikers on the trail.  However one can really tell the day hikers from the thru-hikers.. I admire you all for your internal strength to continue.  Whenever I stopped to rest, the trail seemed to pull me along urging me to continue.  See you down the trail.

(Note from Mom July 16: just spent the past weekend working with the PCTA and Trail Center--see Karl's intro for information about them--on the trail north of Ebbetts Pass through gorgeous Raymond Meadows. Karl probably got his legs scratched on this stretch of trail, but no one else will for a few years, as we lopped and pick-mattocked our way from forest edge to forest edge. I carried "mini-magic" for thru-hikers, providing a cookie treat to 38 over three days. Several knew Histo, but hadn't seen him for awhile, since he's 8-10 days ahead of them. More great trail names, including Snow White, Mismatch, Pocahontas, Trooper, Caveman, Jungle cookie, Not-so-bad, Lunchbox, and Uhaul, who says Hi to Histo!)

Hi from the Red Moose Inn in Sierra City. This was an unplanned stop but there are amazing trail angels here, Bill and Margret.

Kearsarge to Ebbetts Pass July 3, 2012

Two days ago a hiking friend named Sunday and I left the PCT briefly to climb up Levitt peak (11,500'). We were sad that the trail would soon drop below 10,000 feet for the remainder of the trail.

After climbing back to the PCT over Kearsarge Pass (11,845') I continued through the High Sierra. This section of the trail follows the John Muir Trail up to the headwaters of a major drainage and then over a pass to the headwaters of another, and down to the canyons.

As sure as the trail undulates I found my emotions did as well. Team Straight Edge was separated, and while I spent time with some other hikers and made new friends, I spent more time hiking alone in the grandness of the High Sierra than previously on the hike.

Awhile back I received advice from a friend who said that sometimes you just have to ride the emotional roller coaster. Well, maybe it's because I've been looking at the trail for 1000 miles or I've adopted a more active outlook, but I say you've got HIKE the emotion trail.

I feel more relaxed on trail. I know I will see my friends again--I caught them in Mammoth--or make new ones. It's just interesting to spend the entire morning alone, and come around a corner to find a friend hanging out snacking. I'm pretty content to hike alone and ecstatic to hike with others. But it's NO fun to battle the mosquitoes alone.

So I had a blast in Mammoth Lakes; we cruised to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite, hung out for the afternoon, and I set out ahead of the gang to get to Ebbetts Pass where I would meet my mom and sister (who had dropped me at the border 1000 miles back).

After traversing an amazingly exposed section of the Pacific Crest, where Sunday and I climbed Levitt Peak, and crossing Sonora Pass, I was dazzled by fields of glorious wildflowers. The early spring makes for a spectacular color show. And cruising down the trail I see my mom and sister.

It's awesome to get to share this experience with them. I spend a day hanging out in camp with them, 2.5 miles off the PCT at Highland Lakes, about 6 miles south of Ebbetts Pass. Several hiking buddies stopped by and we celebrated the 4th with a pasta feast and a trout that Nips caught in the lake.

(Insert from Mom: Lena and I camped at gorgeous Highland Lakes for five days, meeting Histo-Karl on July 3 and hiking with him to the pass above Noble Lake on July 5--those are Highland lakes over my shoulder in the photo above. We had visitors on the 3rd (Spud, Honey Bear, Oasis, Snausage); we had more visitors on the 4th (Snausage had to stay because he's the designated chef, Sunday, Nips, Wildflower, Mayo and Pieman). Snausage made a major amount of spaghetti for our dinner on the 4th. Hiking to meet Histo on the 3rd, and hiking him north on the 5th, Lena and I met a number of other through hikers: Spork, Chimp, Shepard, Elderly Ellen, Yeah-But, Three Bears, Willin' and Duck with 2 dogs, Damsel with one dog. )

Now on to Tahoe where I get to see my dad. The adventure continues.

Check out the new album, with photos from Kearsarge Pass to Highland Lakes, through Mammoth, Tuolumne Meadows and Sonora Pass.