July 26, 2017
Mile 1187 to Sierra City
Sierra City to Mile 1198.7
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike: Day 82
Stopped in Sierra City and holyshit got everything done we were supposed to. Got our old packs back and it feels like a million bucks putting my Circuit on my back. Then we spent 8 hours with Benny and Chill drinking beer and hanging out at the picnic tables. The two girls working the store were killing it. They are slammed and yet kept it all moving and shaking. We basically drank all day and then climbed up half the 4,000 foot ridge in the dark.
There was a guy, River, who is a local and has no teeth, that seems to be sort of hiking the PCT, but I would consider him more one of those guys who assimilates homelessness into hiker culture. He wanted to hike up the ridge with us so we said sure, come along. He fell behind pretty quickly as he wandered off to talk to someone who lived on the road out of town, and we figured he’d end up staying in town for another day or two (if not indefinitely).
Then, after we had laid under the stars at the top of the ridge, talking about the universe with Benny and Chill, we climbed back into our tents. As soon as we had zipped up to go to sleep, we heard a huffing, puffing, and a whole lot of swearing. River! That guy made it to the top! I could hardly believe it, but he hauled his butt all the way up that 2,000 foot climb and joined us on the ridge.
It has been awesome getting to hang out with Benny and Chill, and spending the town day doing nothing except chatting to them for hours and hours just solidified how much I love these two people.
Also! Sam was in Quincy today, so now I know how far ahead he is! That’s only 66.7 miles from here. We maybe bought half a day on him because we are resupplying only a mile off trail instead of going into Quincy.
We saw Vice and Boathouse, too! They’ve been taking zero days like crazy, visiting family and friends, so here we are, all hiking out on the same day.
We met Opi and the German girl; Opi is interviewing people on the trail for his master thesis and it’s interesting to get to know these things about others on the trail through the questions he asks them. Why we’re all out here, what we’ve learned so far, how hiking has been good for our mental health, for our lives.
Main street Sierra City, Photo Credit: Papa Oats/Otis Bray