Sierra City (Tahoe Natl’ Forest) – Buck Lake (Plumas Natl’ Forest) -‐ Chester (Lassen Natl’ Forest) mile 1197 to mile 1310
This weeks email is from Maureen, aka Chief’s wife.
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| My lifesaver. Half mile App. |
At my last “goodbye” at Red’s Meadow, outside of Mammoth, I realized I wouldn’t see Kevin again until I flew to Portland on Aug. 19 to drive out to Timberline Lodge, where I am to meet him for 2 zero days at the Lodge. This was a rather emotional goodbye. Until....Kevin suggested that I do a “road trip” through the Northern Sierra and Southern Oregon section of the trail. I’m off work for the summer and had a dear friend lend me her truck/camper combo, it seemed the right thing to do. It sure is!
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| Great Mtn. Highways |
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| The boys in a BED! |
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| Reunited with Bodie! |
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| Trail Magic from Grandma Pat |
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| Red Moose Inn |
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| Enjoying Pat's Trail Magic |
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| Having mimosa's for breakfast, Day 1! |
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| NEEDS NEW SHOES |
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| NEEDS FOOD |
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| NEEDS UPPERBODY muscles |
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| Hello PCT! |
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| MTA |
Wild Plum Campground – Tahoe Natl’ Forest
Met Chief first night at Sierra City at the Red Moose Inn (trail Angels in Sierra City). It was a great start to my road trip. Got to meet up with about 8 of the thru-‐hikers and had a wonderful evening eating, drinking and chatting with all these amazing people that Kevin has been telling me about for so many miles now. Bill and Margaret, owners of the Inn and Trail Angels extraordinaire were wonderful hosts. Shared some great trail magic from Grandma Pat and Dana at the Inn for all the hikers. They are so grateful for all these “care” packages. We stayed at a FS campground about 1 mile from the Inn along a fork of the Yuba River. It was pristine. Kevin has a zero day the following day and we swam, relaxed, told stories and I continued to feed him lots of food.
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| Red Moose |
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| Closed the Cafe for our Private Party! |
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| All the ribs you can eat - Bill and Margaret |
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| The party |
Dropped him off at the PCT trailhead from Sierra City along with a couple of other hikers, Roger Dodger and Dora. Plan was to meet him in 2 days later at Bucks Lake, outside of Quincy. This is when I heard the news (through cell phone coverage) regarding the Granite Mtn. Hotshot Crew out of Prescott, AZ. It is horrific, awful and unimaginable how something like this could happen. I wasn’t sure where Shane’s crew (Los Padres Hotshots) was and was worried sick for him also. Not to mention our close connection with a member of the Granite Mtn. Crew, Sean Misner. He is a part of our Montecito Fire Department Family, as he is the nephew of Terry McElwee, Division Chief MFD and grandson of former Chief Herb McElwee. We have known this family for over 20 years. I can’t remember when I’ve cried as much as I did that day. I decided to contact Kevin via his satellite locater and tell him the news. I felt it was important for him to know. We somehow were able to communicate that he would meet me on a forest service road that intersects with the PCT in the mtns beyond Quincy. I got there about 2 hours early and hiked the trail with Bodie. It was wonderful to see hikers coming down and letting me know that Chief was not far behind them. Most of them know Bodie now and he is the greatest greeter when he sees a hiker! When we met it was very emotional. He had heard some of the news from Whistler, who carries a portable radio, but was not aware that Sean was part of the crew. After hiking together for a few more miles, we decided it was best for Kevin to stay on the trail and continue his hike. The trail is a magical place and very suited for mourning this loss in one’s own space. Our hearts go out to the McElwee/Misner family and especially his wife and unborn child. Words are not enough to convey our heavy hearts.
Saying goodbye after a couple of hours, he was back on the trail and put in a 31-‐mile
day. Walking seemed the only way to manage his emotions. When he arrived at the
Feather River that evening he was exhausted, but greeted by his fellow hikers, they
all sat and talked about what had happened. Somehow this was the right place to
be.
Whitehorse Campground – Buck’s Lake, Plumas Natl’ Forest
Picked up Kevin in the late afternoon at the trailhead near Buck’s Lake. Made lots of food and had lots of beer, snickers, cookies, ice cream, chips, hotdogs !!! Things we would not eat at home!! JULY 4! Drove to the summit to get cell coverage so Kevin could talk to Shane. That is what he really needed at this time. Shane told us about MFD donation at the Pancake Breakfast for the Arizona Crew and how they made the front page of the New’s Press. I’m so proud to be a part of such a great Fire family. Thank you Montecito Fire.
Belden Town – Caribou crossing campground/RV park, Plumas Natl’ Forest
Wow. Let me tell you about Belden Town! RAVE party every weekend along the little 1⁄2 block that is Belden Town. It runs along the north fork of the Feather River. Many years ago Kevin was on a fire here and remembered it as a Resort. Well, no more. It’s a RAVE party weekend getaway. The PCT drops right down into the little haven of craziness. I was lucky enough to see naked, hula-‐hoop dancers along with music at 5am this morning as I dropped Kevin back off on the trail. Interesting. Wow. Love the mountains, but there are some interesting things going on up here?
Chester – Hwy 36, Child’s Meadow RV park, Lassen Natl’ Forest
Left Belden after dropping Kevin off at 5am to start his BIG climb out of Belden. It is a 5000 ft climb with no shade, due to a recent fire. For all you locals, that’s like doing Little Pine twice in the heat! Or climbing out of the Grand Canyon... And it’s hot here. High 90’s, dropped about 10 degrees from a few days ago. He’s hoping to do a regular 24-‐mile day and then a second 24-‐mile day tomorrow where I will pick him up at Hwy 36, where the PCT crosses. I’m staying about 18 miles south of Lassen in a beautiful meadow RV/campground. Took Bodie on a 6-‐mile hike today where we were in the constant “WOW” factor. Huge meadows with thousands of Shasta daisy’s, waterfalls, creeks, big forests, just gorgeous. This is definitely riding country and I so miss my horse. There are public pastures all around with very few riders to be seen.
Will stay here for a couple of days until I am able to pick up Kevin again. He will spend the night and then off to Drakesbad, mile 1353....the unofficial HALFWAY point. Rumor has it there is a great party there for just that reason!
I am so grateful to be able to do this. I love the PCT community. The hikers are
more than amazing. It is so great to be able to pick up hitchhikers that I have met
Whitehorse Campground – Buck’s Lake, Plumas Natl’ Forest
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| Bucks Summit |
Picked up Kevin in the late afternoon at the trailhead near Buck’s Lake. Made lots of food and had lots of beer, snickers, cookies, ice cream, chips, hotdogs !!! Things we would not eat at home!! JULY 4! Drove to the summit to get cell coverage so Kevin could talk to Shane. That is what he really needed at this time. Shane told us about MFD donation at the Pancake Breakfast for the Arizona Crew and how they made the front page of the New’s Press. I’m so proud to be a part of such a great Fire family. Thank you Montecito Fire.
Belden Town – Caribou crossing campground/RV park, Plumas Natl’ Forest
Wow. Let me tell you about Belden Town! RAVE party every weekend along the little 1⁄2 block that is Belden Town. It runs along the north fork of the Feather River. Many years ago Kevin was on a fire here and remembered it as a Resort. Well, no more. It’s a RAVE party weekend getaway. The PCT drops right down into the little haven of craziness. I was lucky enough to see naked, hula-‐hoop dancers along with music at 5am this morning as I dropped Kevin back off on the trail. Interesting. Wow. Love the mountains, but there are some interesting things going on up here?
Chester – Hwy 36, Child’s Meadow RV park, Lassen Natl’ Forest
Left Belden after dropping Kevin off at 5am to start his BIG climb out of Belden. It is a 5000 ft climb with no shade, due to a recent fire. For all you locals, that’s like doing Little Pine twice in the heat! Or climbing out of the Grand Canyon... And it’s hot here. High 90’s, dropped about 10 degrees from a few days ago. He’s hoping to do a regular 24-‐mile day and then a second 24-‐mile day tomorrow where I will pick him up at Hwy 36, where the PCT crosses. I’m staying about 18 miles south of Lassen in a beautiful meadow RV/campground. Took Bodie on a 6-‐mile hike today where we were in the constant “WOW” factor. Huge meadows with thousands of Shasta daisy’s, waterfalls, creeks, big forests, just gorgeous. This is definitely riding country and I so miss my horse. There are public pastures all around with very few riders to be seen.
Will stay here for a couple of days until I am able to pick up Kevin again. He will spend the night and then off to Drakesbad, mile 1353....the unofficial HALFWAY point. Rumor has it there is a great party there for just that reason!
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| The Belden Bridge |
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| Our happy little mobile home |
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| A proper meal with a soft cushion to sit on |
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| Leaving for a few days of walking |
along the way. It’s so hard for them to get into towns to pick up their resupply
boxes at the Post Offices. Most of the time, people tend to believe they are homeless
bums, or vagabonds, etc. That is the hardest thing about the PCT. The idea’s one
makes about the hikers. Truthfully, I have to say that I would never pick up a
hitchhiker around SB carrying a backpack and looking like they’ve lived on the trail
a bit too long. This time of the year, most of the local folks in trail towns are familiar
with the thru hikers and will help out in many ways, but still not easy. I need to live
near the PCT so I can be a Trail Angel for a couple of months every year.
This trip is like a huge scavenger hunt. I love trying to find him along the way. Where will that, oh so familiar, PCT placard be? Thank goodness for my iphone and my handy, Half Mile App. It just gets you right where you need to be. My life has slowed way down. Very simple...find Chief, feed Chief. And the bonus is I get to see a beautiful part of our country and get to see my walking man every few days!
Many, many thanks to Jeanette for trusting us with her camper. We are ever so grateful and I so wish you could hear Kevin say, “Thank You Jeanette,” every time he gets to sit on a soft bench or sleep in a bed or shower with warm water and soap.
Maureen
Aka “Chief’s wife”
This trip is like a huge scavenger hunt. I love trying to find him along the way. Where will that, oh so familiar, PCT placard be? Thank goodness for my iphone and my handy, Half Mile App. It just gets you right where you need to be. My life has slowed way down. Very simple...find Chief, feed Chief. And the bonus is I get to see a beautiful part of our country and get to see my walking man every few days!
Many, many thanks to Jeanette for trusting us with her camper. We are ever so grateful and I so wish you could hear Kevin say, “Thank You Jeanette,” every time he gets to sit on a soft bench or sleep in a bed or shower with warm water and soap.
Maureen
Aka “Chief’s wife”
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| Some little critter had a good time with Chief's hat |
