Section M is 92 miles long and runs from Sierra City to Belden. July 21st - 24th.
Day 76, 24 miles to Nelson Creek.
We set the tent with our feet pointing east so the morning sun blasted through the tent and woke us up. The trail continued along under the Sierra Buttes and I was glad we were in their shadow instead of the blazing sun. We took a break at a campsite near a road junction. There was a 1.5 mile dirt road leading up to a lookout tower perched on the top of the buttes, but that is a lot of elevation and non-trail miles, so we skipped it. We instead took a break at Tamarack Lake where I went for a swim and then we had some snacks. The trail got rerouted recently from there and it was a little confusing whether to follow the old trail markers, the guide app, or a bunch of streamers tied to trees. I was feeling good after a swim and snack, and started to hit high gear but was slowed because the new section had lots of super steep inclines which is quite uncharacteristic for the PCT. I planned to hustle to the top and take the second swim of the day in Summit Lake but got distracted by Deer Lake on the way. I could see it, but it was just a bit too far off trail for me to pull the trigger. So I continued to the top and was very disappointed with Summit Lake; brown and stagnant water surrounded by marshy grass. I stopped for lunch and was soon joined by Sea Lion and then Mousetrap. Mousetrap asked some mountain bikers if they saw us pass by, and they replied "if Space Jam is the guy in the super short shorts, then yes." We followed the ridge and saw numerous beautiful lakes down below and when the trail started to drop down in elevation there was a spring. I pulled over to get water and rest in the shade and was soon joined by a day walker who packed a ton of extra snacks for thru-hikers. My crew again caught up and we all thanked Chris for his generosity and loaded up with tasty treats. Sea Lion and I departed first and started flying down the rest of the descent and then on the attack up the last steep hill. I passed a thru-hiker we've met a few times and he kindly stepped aside for me. Then a couple minutes later when Sea Lion was on his tail, he would turn around to look and then run. Yes, run! His backpack would flop from side to side. After the 4th attempt he finally gave up and stopped to pretend to tie his shoes. Hike your own hike and all, but check your ego! At camp I built a fire and a new friend, Squirtle, joined us for dinner. The crew started to trickle in; Moose and Midge cooked mini pizzas on the fire, Chocolate Chip played some songs on his ukulele while Mousetrap sang, Sea Lion took over fire marshal duties, and I edited some photos.
Sierra Buttes.
Round Lake and Silver Lake.
Rock Lake (back left) Jamisen Lake (right) and Wade's Lake (bottom)
Day 77, 10.8 miles to Quincy-Laporte Road.
We sporadically cleared out of camp but all rendezvoused on a ridge where there was service. Then Moose, Sea Lion, and I all arrived at Whiskey Spring at about the same time and hiked down together. Unfortunately, it is 0.3 off trail but I was pleased to use my pillow for its other use as a slack pack so I could bound down the hill with my trekking poles. We took a short break back up top then Moose took off before us. At a road crossing up ahead I spotted a popup tent in a parking lot which usually means one thing...TRAIL MAGIC! I turn around to give Sea Lion an excited face and then we walked in together. A bunch of locals from the nearby town of La Porte brought up a bunch of beer and watermelon for us. They said that meeting hikers is more interesting than hanging out at the bar, so here they were. We had a great time and they kept restocking our beers until the coolers were empty. Then the bartender brought up her specialty drink called a Tree Smacker which had about 8 types of liquor in it and was served in big mason jars. Sea Lion immediately wanted one and the locals said they would open the bar just for us if we were game to come to town. Since the beers were empty here, we all agreed instantly. We loaded up into the trucks and jeeps and rode down the mountain to La Porte. They literally did open up the bar, turning on lights and taking down bar stools for us at 3pm, since it was closed on Sundays. It was a gem and some other locals came over to enjoy some Sunday Funday. They let us shower and do laundry at a small B&B next door. They told us tales of nearby mines, fights over water rights, and tons of shenanigans involving snowmobiles. We had so much fun and were glad to have been kidnapped at a trail magic. Just before sunset, Harvey drove us back to the parking lot and we saw a stunning sunset while heading up the winding mountain road. They joined us for some more beers in the parking lot and then we made a campfire, enjoyed some more beers, and Orangatang played some ukulele for us. What a day!
Chucky, Space Jam, Sea Lion, Midge, Squirtle, Rawhide, Taco, Moose, Orangatang, Jake and Harvey kneeling in front. Hikers have the Tree Smackers in hand.
Day 78, 25.1 miles to Lookout Rock.
In addition to having beers at the parking lot, some of the guys brought whiskey as well, so it is obvious who left camp last. The next 15 miles were all downhill to the Middle Fork Feather River and I crushed it in four hours. That is including a snack break and water filter at Fowler Creek. I got really excited when I turned a corner and saw the huge 60ft foot bridge over the river. Looking down there were tons of deep blue pools, waterfalls, and bulbous rock formations. I hopped in as the gang began to arrive and started doing depth checks for some cliff jumps. Then I swam around for a bit, scrambled around on the rocks, walked across a huge downed tree, and then found a natural massage chair under a waterfall. I ran around like a child until stopping to have lunch like it was adult swim. I took a quick nap on the river bank and then we went out for dip number two with more jumps, massages, and a not-so-lazy lazy river current. It was hard to leave but we knew we shouldn't do back to back sub-20 mile days. So we began the rough ten mile climb up the other side of the river. There was no breeze for a couple miles. I got real sweaty and undid all the nice clean feelings from swimming. Once we got to the top I was happy we didn't stop because Lookout Rock was beautiful, had camp spots at the edge of the cliff, and a perfect view for sunrise.
Middle Fork Feather River Footbridge.
The view during dinner.
My bed for the night! Glad I don't roll much in my sleep.
Day 79, 26.9 miles to Belden.
My plan worked perfectly and I had a front and center seat for the sunrise. I then scrambled up off of my cliff to join Sea Lion for brekkie and then we joined Moose and Midge to plan the day. We were going to hike an alternate route to Bucks Lake Lodge, where they give hikers a free beer, and then loop back to the trail. Before leaving, I climbed a rock arch and had to reroute since there were more loose rocks. Buck's Lake Lodge left a trail magic (some ice cold Gatorades in a cooler) and I noticed the whole loop was a road walk and the place doesn't open for a few hours so we axed that plan. Instead we were going to high tail it to Belden and arrive before 8 so we can get burgers at the restaurant. The trail between the road crossings was shaded, flat, and pleasant to walk through but the other side was unshaded and plagued with annoying day walkers; blaring music on Bluetooth speakers, not giving uphill hikers the right of way, etc. We all stopped for a break at the Clear Creek Spring and then began the big descent, a 4,000 foot drop over 6.4 miles. It started off in an exposed field with scratchy overgrown bushes impeding the trail but eventually dipped into tree cover. I found cell service and stopped to order a new tripod and fell behind on the rest of the descent. Then I got stuck at the train tracks. Luckily, we had hustled enough throughout the day that I was not in danger of missing my burger. The tiny town, population seven, was starting to gear up for a huge music festival for the upcoming weekend. Some perennial attendees told us it is the best party of the year and we should stick around. We weren't about to take two zero days waiting followed by three zero days partying so we planned to hike on to Chester and maybe hitch back. We went for a quick dip in the river and camped on the sandy bank and talked to some other early festival arrivals who also recommended attending. The halfway point was coming up, my good friend Sam was about to meet up with us, so this might be a perfect halftime break.
Best seat in the house!
Silver Lake.
Before the drop.
The only way in or out of Belden, unless you hike.