PCT Day 78

Bushcamp to Bushcamp

33.3 miles

Mile 1253.0

At midnight I woke to bright lights and loud music as a Jeep rumbled down the dirt road adjacent to our campsite. Momentarily annoyed, I fell back asleep only to wake 4 hours later to raindrops bouncing off my forehead.

Surprised, I sat up looking at the starless cloud covered night sky wishing I’d pitched my tent the night before. For a moment I thought my prayers had been answered when the drizzle came to a stop, but the short reprieve was followed by a full on deluge.

Grumbling, Spikes and I frantically packed up our gear before hitting the trail by 5:30. The rain stopped shortly after, so I guess Mother Nature just wanted us to eat miles for breakfast.

The morning gloom stuck around until midday, which caused me to move quick without resting to stay warm.

I finally took a break at Whiskey Springs, turns out it’s just water…

The side trail I took to get to the spring had allowed Spikes and Guardian time to pass me, so it was my turn to play catch-up.

By noon I’d caught up to Spikes and the sun had begun breaking the clouds up a bit.

While hiking together we ran into some old friends, Four Eyes and River, who were heading south after skipping up from Bishop to dodge the Sierra. It was a nice reunion, having been over a month since we’d last seen them. Spikes also saw her friends Peter Pan and Hobbit, a couple she had spent time camping with early on.

After everyone was caught up, we pushed on, beginning the 6 mile 3000 ft descent down to the Middle Fork Feather River. The landscape and flora changed drastically as we descended, changing from pine forest to a dense jungle like forest where sunlight barely worked its way through the canopy.

When I finally reached the bottom I was blown away by the river before me. Carrying twice as much water as any other river in the Sierra, it’s easy to see why it received National Wild and Scenic River statue.

After a short break, I began the three mile climb that would lead me to Bear Creek, our campground for the night.

An hour later I had arrived. I found a neat camping spot nestled in the thicket beside the creek.

Spikes arrived shortly after I did. We decided to pitch our tents since it was sprinkling a bit and the skeeters were out in full force. We ate dinner around a small fire Spikes made before crashing hard from the long day of hiking.

Cheers!