Day 85 – Friday, July 4

Happy 4th of July to all! I’m in Chester, CA right now and I decided yesterday afternoon to take a zero here today and just enjoy what’s going on in small town America on the 4th. They’ve already had a big parade today down Main Street and I understand a nice firework show is scheduled over Lake Almanor this evening.

My shin issue seems to be getting well after about three weeks of some pretty tough times, pain, and a doctor visit while in Tahoe. I feel fortunate that it appears to be getting better every day while still covering lots of trail miles.

I crossed a huge milestone yesterday, the PCT midpoint, which gave me flash backs of when I hit the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail and caused me to remember how fast the second half of that journey went by. It’s kind of scary.

Since leaving Bridgeport, I’ve been pretty much hiking out of the Sierras into Northern California and visiting towns like Tahoe, Truckee, Sierra City and Belden. It seems like I’ve hiked through every ski resort north of Tahoe. I even camped one night under the chair lifts in Squaw Valley.

Just before Carson Pass, I ran into Steady and her hiking partner Cliffhanger slack packing south and heading back towards the Sierras. Steve, Steady’s husband, was at Carson Pass with trail magic. That Subway sandwich went down great! It was fun to catch up with Steve and Steady since I last saw them some 900 miles back. Also at Carson Pass, I met back up with Roi & Sarit. They are the couple from Israel that I began the trail with in Mexico.

I stayed in one of the only huts along the PCT, Peter Grubbs Hut, shortly after Donner Pass. It was also the first evening that I’ve seen rain since leaving the Mexico border. It’s pretty cool how that worked out. I enjoyed not having to take down a tent in the rain!

Below are a few additional photos from the past couple of weeks.

Best swimming hole so far – Middle Fork of the Feather River.

Moving on towards Mt. Shasta.