When we came to the Canadian border we had some friends who were ready to be done with the PCT and others who were not. We found it to be rather serendipitous that we belonged to the latter group AND we had some more of the trail to hike! The place in Northern California we got to go back to was not a favorite place among hikers due to heat and a long waterless stretch but we got to be here in the fall which made it feel like a COMPLETELY different place!
So after a few days exploring in Vancouver, British Columbia and visiting friends in Seattle we were excited to get back to Northern California. The last time we were there the whole region seemed to be covered in wildfire smoke and there is A LOT to be seen from Chester to Castella, CA!
Terminal Geyser in Lassen Volcanic National Park. If you look to the left of the steam you can see Almost Awesome posing for the cover of Volcanic Monthly! This place was really fascinating to see as a boiling creek flowed from the rocks the quiet roar of superheated water filled our ears and the sulphur-rich steam filled our noses. Standing near the geyser, there was quite an increase in the air temperature and when the wind would stop it felt like we were in a sauna. Pretty cool!
Boiling Springs Lake is NOT a place to take a dip.....
....unless you want to end up like this kid!
And nobody wants that.
This is Mt. Lassen trying to wear a cloud as a toupee...
... and Lassen au natural! Soooo much better. Lassen is the start of the Cascade Mountain Range which we followed all the way into Canada.
Hiking along the PCT there were subtle environmental changes as we gradually walked from desert to rainforest but going back to Lassen NP from Washington was drastic! Lush and steep climbs to dry and relatively flat was a brain shakeup for us.
A.A. with the north face of Mt. Lassen in the background. This is on the Hat Creek Rim section of the trail. Some people call this the 2nd desert because it is a HOT 30 mile waterless stretch, with very little rainfall, and is pretty exposed. Most thru-hikers hike this in July where the temperature is commonly over 100.
But for us it was a little different. We stayed in a motel the night before because a storm was blowing through that dropped 3" of rain in a nearby town and the temperature dropped to the mid-30's. We didn't want to be the first PCT thru-hikers to get hypothermia on Hat Creek Rim. Our hike on Hat Creek Rim was so beautiful with temperatures in the 60's, blue skies, no dust (due to the rain), and LOTS of views!
Looking down into the valley from Hat Creek Rim.
We could see how the rim could get pretty toasty in July!
Going from lush Washington to chaparral in Northern California was fun mainly because the weather was so beautiful!
AA soaking in the rays!
Possum enjoying the views of Hat Creek Rim. We took a lot of photos here because A. It was really beautiful and B. We walked on the edge of the rim for about 21 miles and that's all we saw.
Thank goodness the sun is coming up because it was a little chilly. We loved watching the sun rise every morning.
Almost Awesome MIGHT be on the PCT or on the Serengeti.
We got "awe-stuck" here for a while! This picture does not even begin to catch the beauty of the rainbow in front of Mt. Shasta as the sun rose behind us... It was 360 degrees of AWESOME!
It can get rough out here! Almost Awesome just had to take a picture with it but I think it was so that she could check to see if there was any meat left on it. She has REALLY embraced carnivorism.
Possum is keeping an eye out for cool stuff.....
... like this ( Burney Falls)...
... and this...
... and this! Mt. Shasta without clouds was elusive for us but we tricked her one morning and got this great pic!
Too bad this was our last few days because had he have known, Possum would have ridden this guy the entire trail
On our second-to-last night out we had these amazing views of range after range after range of mountains as far as the eye could see. This view was like the ocean going on and on. Ridge after ridge, valley after valley. We soaked it up, so greatful that we were able to walk day after day in mountains as far as we could see! What an amazing experience. It was definitely a change in perspective.
Dang! That would have been tough to climb over.
These ferns loved the scrub oaks and would cover almost their entire trunks like a fancy coat.
What a beautiful day!
Here is the drawback of hiking this section in the fall. Resupply. On our final leg of this trip we resupplied out of Burney Falls State Park camp store. It looked to be a great location to buy food in season, unfortunately we arrived 3 days before it closed for the season. Only remnants remained for us to resupply from. Our lunch consisted of hot dog buns filled with the sweetest peanut butter we had ever eaten, topped off with caramel popcorn, and a side of candy bar. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Sugar coma!
On the left is Castle Crags State Park with Shasta to the right.
Our finish point! What a journey. We were together 24/7 for 4+ months and it is a good thing that we like each other so much, hiker stink and all. We are a so grateful for this time.
Two thousand six hundred and sixty-three miles, 25 national forests, 7 national parks, and a spectacular way to see the western three states at 3 miles per hour.
Start at Campo 1332 mile midpoint
Terminus in BC. Final miles in NoCal
It was crazy to be on the road in our car (thanks to Trail Angels Emory and Joann) later that night headed East...headed to rehab!
Can not believe it is over. I am both happy and sad at the same time. What an incredible journey for you all! I have loved watching it from my crazy house in E TN. Can't wait to see u all...u have been missed!
ReplyDeleteWAHAHAAAA!!! So thankful you two will get some much needed rehab. Bodily noises are just not as acceptable out here in the "real world" i'm afraid. Can't even tell you two how grateful we are to have been invited along on this adventure of a lifetime!!!
ReplyDeleteBIG BIG BLESSINGS on the next chapter of your beautiful, fun lives!!! We love you, C&B