We got back on the trail after our hiatus on July 11, but I would be lying if I said it was easy to go back. Your head gets out of the game for too long, and it's no small feat to go back on trail knowing how hard it will be, how dirty you'll get, and how tired you'll feel, but we did it. That said, we had arranged before leaving Tahoe that my mom would come meet us in Truckee, so we only had 4 days of hiking before our next trail visitor!
The first day back on trail left me with a huge sense of dread, but when we got to Echo Lake I was comforted by it's beauty and it's familiarity, having hiked around there just two years ago. The subsequent lakes we saw this day were equally impressive and definitely calmed any heavy hearts. We slept this night at Susie Lake, a beautiful spot to have called home for a night.
The next morning we were on trail by 8:00, and were headed towards Dick's Pass. We were greeted by snow up here, but it was actually a gorgeous pass and it had been a while since we had been in snow, so it was all fine and dandy. We cruised through the afternoon this day, and called it quits at the beautiful Richardson Lake. This particular evening we met another hiker who was taking karaoke requests, so that was entertaining.
Wednesday morning we were up early and headed towards McKinney Bay, which provided spectacular views of Lake Tahoe from up high! This day was actually one of the most beautiful on trail because of the continual views of Lake Tahoe that we kept getting. This day was also rounded out with a campfire and knowing we would be in town the following day!
Waking up on Thursday knowing we would be in town was very motivating! We climbed up to Tinker Knob this day, which was brutal in the sun and heat, but worth the still views of Tahoe that we got to have for lunch. We then followed the ridge line all the way down to Donner Pass, where we popped over to the ski ranch to get our free drink. Then was into Truckee to meet up with my mom! It's always so comforting to see family after this long, and this was no exception ☺️
So after making some hard decisions, we realized that we weren't going to be on track to finish the trail on time due to the time we had taken off and not getting up to bigger miles as quickly as we would have liked. After mulling over our move, we decided to skip ahead in California so as to get to Oregon sooner, as the logic was that we wanted to do all of the miles in Oregon and Washington. The timing worked out that mom could drive us up some of the way, so that's how we spent this next day, was making our way to Redding. We spent the evening hanging out in Redding and indulging in a bizarre Olive Garden craving and seeing Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates.
The next day, mom drove us up to Dunsmuir, a very cute town as it were, where we had a good lunch. Then it was already time to say goodbye to mom, and goodbyes are the worst 😕 But off she went, and from here Casey and I made our way to Seiad Valley, where we reconnected with the PCT. We went just over a mile and a half on to the trail this night and pitched our tents. Thanks mama for being our trail angel, and I'm sorry I didn't snap any photos with you while you were here 💚
A day and a half was all that separated us from Oregon, so we were excited on Sunday to get those miles done and be in Oregon on Monday. But first, we had a hellish climb out of Seiad Valley, 8 steep miles in the heat to be exact. The only relief in these miles were beautiful views of Mount Shasta. The highlight of this afternoon was hearing a rattlesnake again, it'd been too long. I also started hiking and listening to an audiobook this day, which if you haven't read Modern Romance I highly encourage you to do so!
We woke up Monday with the motivation that we would be in Oregon by the day's end! We cruised through the morning and had a nice lunch break by a river this day. After lunch was only 4.5 miles to the border, and on the way we passed cows in the field, which made for a tranquil sound of cowbells in the distance. As I approached the border I got very emotional. It was so surreal to finally be at this junction, one that we had been day dreaming about for literally 3 months. I was grateful to arrive alone and have a few moments to let what I had just accomplished sink in, and simultaneously think about what lies ahead. We snapped some pictures, signed the trail log, and walked not even a mile before we got trail magic. Another hiker's dad had come out to do trail magic for his son, and invited us for food, so naturally we said yes. What a great start to Oregon!
And so was the final hurrah in California. I don't even know how to begin to even try and recap three months of memories into a concise paragraph of thought, but I'll try. Basically, it was a roller coaster of emotions and scenery. From desert, to snow capped mountains, to lakes, forests, and everything in between, we sure saw a lot of ecological gems. Then you couple that scenery with learning how to thru-hike, relearning the definition of exhausted and smelly, how to eat enough calories to stay healthy, and meeting so many interesting people from all over the world, and that just begins to scrape the tip of the iceberg of these first months. These first months set the tone for the final part of the trail, the Pacific Northwest. I'd been day dreaming of the day we would arrive in Oregon, and it was crazy when it finally arrived. It's always hard to close chapters, but sometimes opening a new one is exactly what needs to happen. Au revoir, California, thank you for everything that you had to share, and Oregon we sure were glad to see you.
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