Day 83

(Originally written on Sunday, July 26)

After yesterday's 30 miles, I was only 5 miles away from Sierra City, my next resupply until Belden, 92 miles away. I'm hoping to get to Belden in 3.5 days, which means high 20's for the next three days. If my feet keep going the way they have been, I should be able to do it. (Thank God for Superfeet insoles!)

Belden is significant because it is the end of Central California, the second longest section on the trail. Soon after reaching Belden--about 42 miles--I'll be halfway to Canada. That is a mile marker that I've really been looking forward to!

Anyway, after a slow five miles into Sierra City (the miles always drag on when you are going into a town), I enjoyed a nice breakfast of French toast with fresh strawberries. While at the cafe, I met up with three other hikers: Double Barrel, Frank, and Skywalker...haven't seen him since Big Bear. After breakfast I went down to the general store and resupplied my pack for the next four days. Mostly food, but some other stuff as well. I was hoping to get in a good 20+ mile day today to make my next few days a little easier. But as is the case all too often in town, it's tough to leave. So I stayed for lunch--thanks to BooBoo's dad for buying!

I finally got on the trail at about 3:30 with a massive climb in front of me. Sierra City lies at about 4500' and the trail was going to take me up over 7000' in seven miles. The rocky terrain made matters slower so that by 6:30, I was just reaching the high point for the day. Or I should say it would have been the high point if I hadn't elected to take a side trip. An old jeep road up to the Sierra Buttes Lookout was at the top of the climb. I had heard about the unobstructed 360 degree views from up there, so I decided to head on up despite my tight schedule. The climb was steep--very steep--but was worth it! The views have been breathtaking because you can see for very long distances in all directions. I liked it so much, in fact, that I decided to make camp up here tonight. So I'm sleeping on a catwalk (fully protected by chain link fence) and enjoying the star-filled sky.

Tomorrow morning I'm planning to be up and ready to go before sunrise, watch the sun come up, then get on the trail and hopefully log a bunch of miles. It'd be great to get a good jump on getting to Belden!