I was able to go camping with my son and his family and so was off grid for a few days. When I came back to civilization, Darrell had messaged me that he once again had to pull off trail and revise his route. He had hiked from Old Station (mile 1371), and he had not seen any PCT through hikers who had made it that far north yet. However, he did meet someone coming southbound who warned him about unsafe snow conditions a few miles ahead. He continued on until he reached where the trail intersects with I5 near Dunsmuir (mile 1499). He was met there by Laura Healy, a friend of a former coworker who enthusiastically volunteered to pick him up and help him out. Once again, Darrell has been on the receiving end of the helpful and encouraging kindness of a stranger. After considering the snowy conditions ahead, he decided to take a train to Sacramento where he was picked up by Nancy Turner, one of my college roommates. She and her husband Shawn housed Darrell as he loaded up the food resupply I had sent him up in Yreka. On Saturday, June 4, Nancy took him back to the trailhead in Sierra City (mile 1194), which is just a little north of Lake Tahoe. He will hike from there back up to Old Station (mile 1371), where I had dropped him off on May 24. I will be picking him up there and taking him back to Independence on June 20 where he left the trail in the high Sierras because of snow. I know it all sounds confusing, but he is determined to hike every part of the Pacific Crest Trail, even if it's not in the right order.
This image of my giant wall map helped me understand a little better what he is planning to do. The red dot on the photo shows where he was dropped off on June 4. He'll be hiking up to where the blue line starts. The red post-it arrow shows the mid-point of the entire PCT trail. It is not his midpoint though, because he skipped several hundred miles and will be hiking them starting June 20.
Again, here he is with that smile on his face that leads me to believe no matter how hard this is for him, he is living his best life right now! I think he must have lost the little plastic thing on his glasses that keeps them resting on his nose comfortably. Otherwise, I can't explain what the band-aid across his nose is all about.
A peak outside Darrell's tent in the morning showing the frost on the ground that appeared overnight. Makes it hard to get up and get started on the day.
After being dropped off back down in Sierra City, he came across a young woman hiker who he had met at mile 200 way back in the beginning. He must be back in the hiker bubble he started with. Which means he'll probably be passed by many of the same people who have been passing him from the start! I know he will be excited to see familiar faces.
Spectacular and majestically beautiful scenery! He has really loved this part of the hike. He told me he wants to come back and hike it next year with me. I think I would be up for that!
During his overnight at Burney Falls he was able to sit in on a ranger program about Bats in the Bathroom. I think that's what he told me; I do better when he texts me the information because I don't always remember what he tells me on the phone. Although it is not quite like Carlsbad Caverns, the bat population is abundant in that area. This is a picture of the actual bats in the bathroom--it's a real thing!
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