Sierra City at mile 1198

Things are winding down now that the excitement of the sierras is becoming more of a memory.  A week ago we spend the day around 8 to 9,000 feet and now the ridges are at 7,000.  The temperatures down in the valleys are reaching 100 degrees and the elevation is keeping our experience a little cooler for the time being.  The few snow patches that are hanging onto northern faces are becoming less common and the tree-less rocky ridges are becoming more rounded and covered in vegetation.  The various varieties of blood sucking insects are becoming more varied, prevalent, and aggressive.  And the actual trail is more soft dirt and pine needles than ankle twisting cobbles.  We are all sad to see the sierras go but equally eager to continue our hike northward and slowly yet surely work on our goal, Canada.  Our legs are strong, our gear is well used, and our stride is confident.  It is truly a beautiful time to be walking in the woods.

Of course we are not the only residents of the forest.  I have seen one cinnamon colored black bear who was super cute.  I got to watch him for a couple seconds as he strolled down the trail in my direction before he realized I was there and ran away.  Of course the whole thing happened so fast I barely got the zipper open on my camera case let alone able to take a picture.  Last night was also a night to remember.  Not long after dusk I was awoken buy one of the loudest noises I've even heard in the woods.  It was insane.  I can only describe it as a crashing and snapping sound that could have only been caused by a very large animal, most likely a bear but possibly a Sasquatch.  Bears can often make quite a ruckus tearing apart trees and logs looking for grubs but this was simply a whole other level of destructive sounding behavior.  The only thing that separated me from this beast was a thin wall of my tent and a hope he was finding what he was looking for.  Through the entire event, that only lasted maybe a minute, I was never able to get him in the light of my headlamp.  I guess I'll never know how close I really came to seeing a Squatch!

One of the best parts of the trail are the people I meet and the little trail towns that welcome hikers with open arms.  Sometimes there are people that make an extra effort to helping hikers and they become an important part of our community, and our family.  We call them "Trail Angels".  Here in Sierra City (no more than 2 blocks long) there is a wonderful couple, Margaret and Bill, who own the Red Moose Inn and invite hikers to camp in their back yard, take a shower, do laundry, and rest in the air conditioning all for free.  They cook a family style dinner for a reasonable price, serve breakfast early so we can leave and try to beat the heat up the hill, and have strict rules against helping around the house.  Our job is to rest and relax, a hiker's dream.  These angels are well known in the guidebook and we looks forward to visiting days ahead of actually getting here.  There are a few more to come but they tend to be more spread out the further north we get.  It is always a treat to enjoy a historic mountain town and not have to pay lots of $ for a room like a tourist.  Many of the businesses still benefit from our presence in other ways like food and ice cream (it's own food group of course).


Peace, Love, and Happy Trails
~Beads

sunrise over Lake Tahoe