PNT Day 32 – Cookies
Mile 528.3 to mile 534.9
A great rumbling truck rolls to a stop in front of Bookworm, Starman and I. Our hitchhikers’ chariot has arrived in the form of an elderly couple in a well-loved vintage truck. After we toss our bags in the bed and climb in the extended cab we are immediately offered chocolate chip, butterscotch chip and heath cookies. The woman then gently admonishes herself for not being able to offer us milk. Exclaiming, “what kind of grandma am I if I serve cookies without milk?!” I’m delighted, they are delightful. He is grumbly and respectful, she is bubbly and talkative, together they are curious and amazed by our journey. The conversation passes easily on the seven mile drive to the trailhead. And when they our paths diverge it is without ever having learned their names.
PNT Day 33 – Prime Time
Mile 534.9 to mile 551.4
There’s only 14 miles and 1,600 feet of gain to prime rib dinner and we are moving slow. Stopping on the side of the trail to snack on huckleberries and thimble berries ripe and warmed from the sun. Today the mileage comes easy thanks to the limited gain and the promise of dinner at the Bonaparte Lake Resort. By the time we roll up to the resort it’s only 2:30pm and I’ve barely cracked a sweat. This last section was brutal for everybody and I’m grateful that we’re taking it easy this time around. Right now all I’ve got to do is sit by Lake Bonaparte and try not to let my hiker hunger overwhelm me before dinner.
PNT Day 34 – Applesauce in the Shade
Mile 551.4 to mile 575.2
The day starts with a climb through the trees, the trail a dusty strip of ash from some long-ago fire as we climb towards Bonaparte Mountain just to turn down and slide off it’s shoulders into the valley below. As we drop the temperature rises and the call of an oasis whispers in our ears. The Havillah Lutheran church is yet another instance of trail angels being far too kind to us hikers and when Starman and I arrive it’s to find Bookworm already there. I flop down in the shade and am told there are popsicles and mini burritos and ice cold applesauce in the fridge. We snack and wait out the worst of the afternoon heat before pressing on another six miles towards camp. Tomorrow we’ll reach Oroville and our next zero, only the fourth we’ve had in over a month of hiking.
PNT Day 35 – Getting Ready
Mile 575.2 to mile 591.2, Oroville
I am, at best, unenthusiastic when my alarm rings at 5:40am but it’s also a town day and so I roll over and whisper to Starman, “you’re not going to like this but it’s time to get up.” He too is unenthusiastic but reluctantly begins to rise and pack away the tent.
Today we are rolling into Oroville, the official halfway point of the PNT and we’ve got 16 almost entirely downhill miles into town. My body is aching and my brain is fried from so many consecutive days on trail. The plan for today is to complete all the chores that need to be done, laundry, resupply, cleaning and packing, so that tomorrow I can vegetate so hard that even a zucchini would be jealous.
PNT Day 36 – Zero
Zero, no hiking – mile 591.2, Oroville
The plan for today is to do as close to nothing as possible. The chores are done, the bags are packed, the AC is blasting in our room at the Camaray Motel in Oroville and I am bed bound scrolling aimlessly on my phone. Tomorrow we enter the Pasayten Wilderness, a remote eight day section known for an absurd amount of elevation gain and being some of the most isolated miles on the trail. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Over the next eight days our hiker strength will be tested as will our resilience. This will be our heaviest food carry on the trip by about three days and each calorie and snack has been counted and accounted for. But for now I have a few precious hours in which I can vegetate, pretending that tomorrow is simply another day instead of the start of something epic.
Day 33. Great to see a section of trail with all the dead fall moved off the trail. If 16 miles is an easy day, I guess you’re getting into pretty good shape.