Day 77 – Wednesday, Aug. 9

PCT Mile 1185.6 to PCT Mile 1203.4
Day Total: 17.8 Miles

We saw a rattlesnake today on the first hiking day in a month that we didn't walk on any snow.

And it was hot with few streams.

Things are changing.

We're in Northern California now.

We hiked 10 fast, downhill miles this morning to U.S. 49, where we hitched the mile and a half into Sierra City to pick up a package. A huge thanks to our friends for their thoughtful and funny care package! We noticed you used a box that was labeled for Squirrel Poop. You guys rock.

We ate lunch at the Red Moose Cafe, where we were waited on by a young guy who said his family has been in Sierra City since the gold rush era in the 1850s.

We each ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's in the shade behind the Sierra City Country Store where hikers gather. The church in town had public showers, so we took advantage of those as well.

We met several hikers we hadn't met before in town, including a crew that seemed to just be skipping from town to town.

Leaving Sierra City, we knew we had a big climb. We gained 2,500 feet as we climbed eight mostly exposed miles up to the Sierra Buttes. The views of the tree-filled valley below were pretty.

Fortunately, the temperatures were pleasant because we hiked this stretch in the evening, getting into camp just as the sunset around 8:30.

We camped with Moe and Toe again, plus a girl named Roadrunner who was hiking a section that she had missed during her 2015 thru-hike. It was interesting to talk to her about her mostly snow-free experience in the Sierras two years ago.