PCT Donner Pass to Sierra City, July 2017
The start of the trail
We began by crossing Highway 80: there are two tunnels under the east and west bound sections that you walk through - I'm standing at the entrance to the first one. Having been spoiled by the high Sierra, I didn't have high expectations for the scenery on this trip and I was so wrong - it was very beautiful. I highly recommend it if you're looking for an early season 40-mile trip. (map at the end of this photo essay).
Losing the trail
With the incredible winter snowfall we got, there was still a lot of snow below 8,000 feet in July. We lost the trail in this big snowfield and wandered around for a while before resorting to the Halfmile app to find the trail. As you might imagine, there were footprints everywhere and we just added to the confusion.
Meadows and Mountains
If had to give this section of the PCT a theme, I would give it "Mules Ears." We walked past fields of them for miles and the smell was so intense - a little bit like sagebrush.
Meadows and Mountains
Much of the trail was along ridge lines and we had views to the north and east of beautiful meadows and snow covered peaks.
Lakes
Our views to the west included lush forests and lakes with the Sierra Foothills in the background. We often had cell reception when we could see the foothills, a reminder that we weren't that far from the developed world.
Butterfly and Western Tanager
Most of the wildlife we saw was very small, like this butterfly (left) and Western Tanager (right)
Sweet Note
This note was on a tree stump near the trail. A perfect quote from Dr. Seuss' "Oh the Places You'll Go." And it convinced me that bright yellow paper is the best color paper to bring on the trail if you need to leave a note for someone.
Dam and Fish Ladder on Milton Creek
As we got closer to Sierra City and the Yuba River, we encountered signs of human development, like this dam and fish ladder, and electrical transmission lines. There were several dams along this creek - their purpose puzzled me as the creek didn't have a lot of water, even in this big snowmelt year. And yet, they were there and they had to construct this fish ladder.
Smoky Skies
I woke up at 3 am from the intense smell of smoke in the air and had no idea where it was coming from. We got out of the tent to check if we were in any immediate danger but couldn't see any signs of fire, only the stars above us, so we went back to sleep, although uneasily. The next morning we hiked under hazy skies, breathing smoky air. Later we learned the smoke came from the Detwiler Fire (near Mariposa near Yosemite), 150 miles away as the crow flies.
Sierra City General Store
The general store in Sierra City. The covered porch was lined with PCT hikers checking their phones on the free WiFi.
Trash collected along the way
Rob picks up trash we find along the trail and carries it out. This is the collection from this trip and I decided to document it.
Map of PCT Section from Donner Pass to Sierra City
Miles 1157 - 1195 of the Pacific Crest Trail. We started from a trailhead parking area near Highway 80 and ended at Highway 49 near Sierra City. We hiked 4.5 miles our first day to the Peter Grubb Hut (up 932 ft, down 311 ft). The second day we hiked 11.5 miles to Lacey Creek (up 1709 ft, down 2007 ft). The third day we hiked 17 miles to a campsite next to Milton Creek (up 2197 ft, down 3964 ft). The fourth day we hiked 6 miles to Highway 49 (up 779 ft, down 1744 ft) and had a satisfying breakfast at the Red Moose Cafe in Sierra City.