Day 88 – From Middle Fork Feather River to tentsite, mile 1273

July 17.

Slept ok probably also thanks to the Ibuprofen, but woke up all sweaty from my 5am alarm. Turned around one more time, finally got up at 5.15am.

Keep thinking about that I just have to make it to Belden… Today about 25, tomorrow another 10-15 miles. Then I can reassess my cold and decide what to do…

Today is gonna be tough. A climb from 3000 to 6000 feet altitude – probably again around 30 degrees Celsius and that cold or flu.

Left camp 6.45am. Around 10am I had close to 9 miles done. Not too shabby considering.

Reached the top at 6000 feet around 10.45am.

The horizon was hazy with smoke. We met some dayhikers who confirmed that there are forest fires further west causing the smoke. But we should be fine considering that we continue to head North, the PCT is not affected.

We kept hiking but I had trouble pushing it to 25 miles. Considering that we would have just 10-15 miles tomorrow, we settled for 23 miles today and pitched our tents at mile 1273.

I got into my tent quickly, trying to get as much rest as possible. Ibuprofen to help sleep. Feels like the cold is getting worse.

Day 87 – From tentsite to Middle Fork Feather River, mile 1250

July 16.

Alarm woke me at 5am, started walking at 6.20am.

My cold got worse just as I was afraid it would. It got into my throat. Not much I can do. I need to keep pushing 25 miles a day to make it with the food I have to the next town Belden – then I will see what to do.

Lunch at 15 miles at 12.30pm at mile 1241.

We came across the 2000km marker. Crazy. Time and miles (or kilometers) are passing so quickly now. Feels like just some time ago that we passed the 1000km marker.

My longest trail was the Kungsleden in North Sweden so far. Considering that this was just 440km – I have just hiked 4.5 times that far. And this is not half way of the PCT yet…

Since we didn’t have a good shower or laundry since too long, we were eager to camp next to a bigger creek. The Middle Fork Feather River was perfect – we camped right next to the river at mile 1250 and did some laundry. The girls took a dip in the rather warm river – I refrained with my cold from that.

Took 1000mg Ibuprofen – will hopefully help with sleep and recovery. Not feeling so good. Hiking 20+ miles in the heat with fever is not ideal.

Day 86 – From tentsite to tentsite, mile 1227

July 15.

Started 6.30am. We came along a new section of the PCT. The new trail is actually 2.5 miles longer than the old trail. It messed up a bit our mile counting – and my HikerBot app was confused too. 😂

Morning break at mile 1210 at 10am. Considering the detour/new PCT, this is actually 1212 – so 9 miles this morning. Not too shabby.

Lunch break at mile 1217 at the A Tree Spring, 1pm. 17 miles done at lunch – Nice. Just 8 left for today, no need to overdo it.

Pitched our tents early, this was a good day regarding the hiking. But I feel like I caught a cold. Hope it doesn’t get worse.

Day 85 – From Sierra City to tentsite, mile 1203

July 14.

Slept until 7.30am, it was a hot night. Sierra City is located on a much lower altitude than the trail – that made the heat even worse.

Tinkle and I had resupply packages waiting for us in the post office – Cactass had a care package from a friend waiting as well. Since the post office only opens from 10.30am to 12.30pm, we had a lazy morning with breakfast in town.

Tinkle also got a package from her family full of Swiss chocolate!

Tinkle’s chocolate package has a long story. She had expected it first in Kennedy Meadows at mile 700. It didn’t arrive in time and the tracking later and attempts to forward never worked. I had given up the hope for that chocolate already… Maybe there never was chocolate? 😂 Today proved me wrong. Thank you for sharing!

The heat got worse during the day and after we had resupply completed from the packages and the general store, we still hung out in the shade before facing the 2500 feet ascend out of town.

When we got to the trail head, another hiker had his parents offering trail magic with sodas and fruits.

You never pass on trail magic…

We were finally on trail at 3pm. The ascend was not so steep after all. We covered the 5 miles to the 1200 miles marker quickly.

We found a tentsite soon after and camped with just 8 miles done on today’s nero. But tomorrow will be a full 25 miles day again.

Day 84 – From Lacey Creek to Sierra City, 1195

July 13.

Got an early start at 6.20am – good. Rested enough for another long day. We will be aiming for 10 before 10am, 15 by 1pm and as early as possible 23 miles to hit Sierra City before the store and restaurants close.

We made 9.8 at 10am – not bad. The morning took us over some hills with amazing views again – this wide open landscape doesn’t stop to amaze.

Fitting soundtrack for today:

Holocene – Bon Iver

We completed 15 miles by 12.45pm – check. 👍🏻😁

Came into town/general store 5.35pm, the general store was still open but their burgers were not available anymore – they had closed the kitchen at 5.30pm – what a disappointment.

Sierra City – General store and post office

Bought snacks and realized that the little town was completely booked out. No room, no shower, no laundry?

We camped next to the church with twenty other hikers – a very crowded spot that night. There was a public bathroom with a cold shower available – I skipped. 😂

Ok – with all that frustration we spend quite some money on a decent dinner with wine.

Probably the best dinner since months…