Day 74: PCT mile 1172.3 to 1191.6, 19.3 miles
Day 75: PCT mile 1191.6 to 1202.6, 11 miles
Day 76: PCT mile 1202.6 to 1224.1, 21.5 miles
Day 77: PCT mile 1224.1 to 1247.2, 23.1 miles
Day 74 started off a bit slow; I was feeling tired, and our hike quickly brought us up to a windy ridge. It took us awhile to find a sheltered spot to have second breakfast, and by the time we did I was definitely ready for a break. After the break, we headed downhill with hopes of reaching the river by lunch. A couple hours later I was surprised we hadn’t made it to the river yet, and started to get discouraged- but then, I saw two day hikers who offered me a cold Gatorade and said I should take another one when I hit the cooler they left by the river in about a mile. It totally boosted my spirits, and the last mile went quickly. They had left behind lawn chairs for hikers to sit in, so Garrett and I enjoyed our second Gatorades and lunch in comfy chairs for a change.
The rest of the day came easy, and we camped next to Milton Creek in enough time to wash-up before dinner; always a treat! We also saw a big green slug (I think slugs are pretty neat!). I tried to take a picture with my hand for reference as to how big it was, and I accidentally touched the slug- I think both the slug and I screamed a bit.
Day 75 we headed a short 4.9 miles to Route 49, past a river gorge, where we started a 1.5 mile walk into the town of Sierra City.
We walked but a minute before a pick-up truck stopped, and a friendly man asked if we needed a lift into town. We hopped in, and soon after we were seated at the Red Moose Cafe for second breakfast. When we were done, the general store opened, and we got our packages. My mom sent us a care package with a new water filter for me, Sarris candy, and my Mimi’s cookies; it was a welcome gift from home, and helped ease the distance between us. There wasn’t any cell phone service, but the wifi was fast enough for once that we could video chat my parents; which was really nice!
After lunch we hiked up Sierra Buttes; it was supposed to be a long climb, as we gained 3000ft elevation in 6 miles; but it came easy, and it was a beautiful hike (plus, we’re used to the White Mountains where we’re used to gaining the same elevation in half the distance)!
Day 76 was mostly rolling, and we had a nice view of many lakes brought it the day. We had dinner on the side of a trail, and a deer kept us company as she cautiously ate dinner herself 10 feet away. We walked a couple more miles before making camp by a creek.
On day 77 we lost all of the elevation we gained a few days before, and then some, as towards be end of the day we dropped way down into a canyon. As we descended down the forest changed dramatically from all large old softwoods (with huge pine cones!) to mixed forest, and finally mostly hardwoods. At the bottom we crossed a bridge over the middle fork of the Feather River, and camped nearby. We went swimming, rinsed normalize clothes, then crawled into our tent as the sun went down.
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