Another freezing cold morning, tent frozen, bottled water frozen and crisp air, clear sky and frozen ground. The cold hastened us along the trail. After about 10 miles we entered Mt Lassen National Park which is a volcanic area.

We passed side trails that led to geysers and boiling springs. After 15 miles we saw the sign to Drakesbad Lodge where we were headed for lunch. A few spots of snow fell but mostly it remained clear but very cold.

Lunch was an ‘all you can eat’ buffet with lamb soup, roast beef, veges, salad, bread and cookies, lemonade and hot drinks. Unfortunately accommodation is not such good value – US$400 for 2 of us in a cabin for one night – so we will stay in our tent back at the trail for just $16 and suffer the cold. We were able to use the shower and keep warm for the afternoon in the lounge. Now we are having a hot dinner and watching the snow falling heavily outside knowing that we will be out there in it soon to walk the 0.3 mile back to our tents at the nearby Forest campground.

Tomorrow is our last hiking day – 27 miles, likely in snow/rain.

STOP PRESS!

The people at the resort have taken pity on us and let us stay in a room in the lodge for two nights free, because it is forecast to snow till tomorrow 4pm. So we will get to zero for a day and try for our last miles on Tuesday which is forecast to be fine.

Although it didn’t rain overnight, when we woke we found that we were immersed in cloud which turned to misty rain as we hiked. Around 3-4 hours later the cloud lifted and we were able to catch views of Mt Lassen with some snow at the top.

As the path was good, not too steep or rocky, we planned to hike a good distance while the weather held up. We passed a couple of south bound hikers and learned from a German girl that the lodge at Lassen National Park was open and hiker-friendly so we now hope to go there at least for a hot meal tomorrow.

Mid afternoon we passed a sign marking the halfway point on the PCT. For us, though, we have only about 42 miles to go to complete our hike.

About half an hour from our campsite it started snowing and we can still hear it outside – a pretty sight but not a welcome one.

We hiked 26.9 miles today. Tomorrow we have about 15 miles to get to the Drakesbad Lodge and the following day a big 27 miles to finish. Both days have rain / snow forecast.

Looking at what we still have to do to finish, we had a number of challenges for the final section:

– a 14 mile ascent out of Belden

– a forecast of rain, below freezing temperatures, possible snow over the next 3-4 days

– because of the requirement to put all food in a bear container if camping in Lassen National Park we have to hike right through from the campground to our finish point – 27 miles – on the last day when we will likely be wet and cold and it is forecast to be snowing.

However, today the weather remained fine although the chill has set in tonight. On our way we enjoyed once more the pleasures of the PCT. Three deer – one looked back to us from further along the track; a large grey squirrel bounced across the trail; lots of beautiful orange, brown and black butterflies were on our path and we are still finding the occasional cluster of wildflowers that are late blooming. There is plenty of evidence of bears on the path but we didn’t see one today.

Also there were lots of creeks to cross, some by jumping from rock to rock and others by balancing on logs. We were extra careful not to wet our feet as we will probably have wet feet from rain and snow in the days ahead.

Lunch stop

Another fine warm day, and although the scenery was not spectacular it was pleasant hiking along, finishing with a big descent into the tiny town of Belden.

We had booked a cabin for the night and also sent a resupply box to the Belden Resort, which is a bit shabby but gave us laundry, a shower and a bed.

We hiked 19.1 miles today bringing our remaining distance to 90 miles to go.

The night was the warmest we have experienced for some time and it wasn’t long in the morning before we were shedding layers in the heat as we hiked. The trail took us down to a fork of the Feather River and as we crossed over the bridge we could see some people with rafts camped on the edge.

Except when a light breeze was blowing, we were besieged by tiny flies or gnats that swarmed in front of our faces and repeatedly flew into my eyes. Putting glasses on at least stopped them getting right in and it was good to eventually say goodbye to them when we reached a higher altitude at the end of a 7 mile climb.

The path was soft and often cushioned with pine needles or yellow and brown leaves. At one such spot I was stopped short when a small snake crossed the trail right at my feet. It was a harmless garter snake but I was glad to have my glasses on and looked more carefully as I hiked on.

Rob’s leg continued to give him trouble today despite panadol and ibuprofen but hopefully another restful night will help. Tomorrow will be a long climb down to the highway and to the town of Belden and downhill seems to make the leg pain worse.

We are counting down the days and the miles to our finish point and although we are keen to hike as many miles as we can each day, we are limited a little more by the shortening daylight hours and various aches and pains. Our bodies seem to be telling us that it is time to finish.

The trail has been really quite good – rocky in parts but no prolonged steep sections and my ankle seems to be almost better but Rob has developed a muscular pain in his left thigh that really bothered him this afternoon. We are hoping that a night’s rest and ibuprofen tomorrow will allow him to keep up the pace.

We did 25.6 miles today.

After a comfortable night in Sierra City we woke to the alarm at 6:15. Since we had the offer of a 7 am lift to the trailhead, we decided to forego the hot brekkie and have a quick cold breakfast so we were waiting at the car park in good time. Unfortunately the driver didn’t show up but a day hiker with a car kindly dropped us off at the start.

First was a long 7 mile gradual ascent, then we had a path undulating but maintaining the altitude. As we walked through sparse forest and low bushes in the morning, Rob heard and then saw a lack bear. With a few bounds it was out of sight and I missed out on seeing it. There are still some thimble berries by the trail so I guess the bear was berry hunting.

Despite the later start we managed 21.9 miles and the temperature is cold but at least it has remained fine. We are a little worried about a forecast of 3 days of rain at the end of the week.

Today was an easy 11 miles down to Sierra City. By the way, it is not a city!Nearly all the shops are closed today and tomorrow, including the general store, where we had posted a resupply box. This was potentially a major problem because there was no where else to buy the 4 days of food that we need for the next section.Thanks to the good efforts of Cindy (owner of the motel we are staying at) she managed to find a key to the General Store whose owner is out of town for two or three days. She retrieved our box and we should now be right to leave tomorrow morning as planned.

With a wood burning stove inside, we stayed warm in the Sierra Club Hut and still managed to head out around 6:30 am. The trail has been well graded and easy on the feet which was good as Ros has a sore swollen ankle from the previous recent rocky path. Ibuprofen settled the soreness and it didn’t affect our progress today.In the afternoon we noticed an increase in the air temperature and welcomed the warm afternoon. As we have in the last few days, we had more hiking along ridges with views either side.We managed just under 24 miles and were able to set up camp while it was still light and not too cold. We have less than 200 miles to go! Tomorrow we plan to get to Sierra City for lunch and a night off trail.