pct days 56 - 60 - 06/30/13 thru 07/04/13

i decided to group these five days simply because they have been like one long unbelievably great day.

day 56 - from deer lake it was a long day of hiking thru the woods. i actually found it to be quite wonderful as it reminded me so much of the east coast. after 30 miles, we found an interesting camp spot, and a multitude of bumblebees not abiding by personal space requirements. we also experienced a scary moment when my stove malfunctioned and i almost started a forest fire. quick reaction time by marie saved the day. we got in our tents and then hooligan rolled up and extended the night with an excellent camp fire. 30 miles from deer lake to just past bald mtn trail. 1240 miles total.

day 57 - such an awesome day! it was a long down hill to the middle fork of the feather river. such an incredible swimming spot. here is me from the bridge up above . . .



from there, and i was very, very, very tempted to stay, we climbed for nearly 14 miles. i decided to go really fast and it was great to have hooligan right behind me, pushing me forward. we made it up to lookout rock - here is a pic of the three of us . . .



here is me on the edge . . .



on the way up we passed a sign posted by some trail angels and decided to call. nancy and terry turned out to be the most welcoming trail angels i have met thus far on the trail. they offered the most amazing meal, great company, a shower, laundry and then an incredible breakfast. such generosity of spirit really opened my heart. i totally felt like i was home. here is terry and nancy and then all of us in the morning before we left . . .






25 miles from bald mtn trail to bucks lake road. 1265 miles total.

day 58 - we have had some crazy climbs recently. we keep dropping to 2000 ft and then climbing back up to 7000! this was one of those days, but it was so great cuz the company was wonderful. skeeter, the woman on the right in the photo above, joined us for the hike. we climbed down in to the town of beldon just as a major thunderstorm rolled in. btw, beldon is super creepy. unfortunately there has been a history of raves and major drug use and there is just a darkness to the town. beldon has now become my substitute adjective for creepy. we had a quick swim because it has been incredibly humid and then ate dinner. then we called some local trail angels and they picked us up and we spent a nice dry evening at their house. there were three other thru hikers there and it was great to meet them. 25 miles from bucks lake road to beldon at highway 70.

day 59 - from beldon it was another 5000 ft climb up. i hiked with longlegs, his sister, and tr and had a great lunch. there really are amazing souls that i get to meet every day. after lunch marie and i decided to do more miles so that the next day would be easy in to town. we hiked thru a thunderstorm, which we discovered dropped some moth ball sized hail just ahead of where we were. it was a great lesson in not letting one's fear get the best of you. it was easier, of course, to have a hiking partner to check in with. 31 miles from beldon to carter meadow trailhead. 1621 miles total.

day 60 - the halfway point. the actual halfway is roughly the town of chester, where we are resuppling, but there is also a monument. here is the monument . . .

and here is marie and i at the monument . . .



here is my halfway journal entry. thank you pct for reminding me of this and thank you shankara for the lesson . . .



we got in to chester by noon and found ourselves in the midst of quite a contrast to the trail as the 4th of july parade was happening. whoa! happy 4th all. 14 miles from carter trail to highway 36. 1335 miles total.

- tribhu (tree-boo)