The section from Donner Pass to Highway 36, just south of Mt. Lassen, has eluded me the last 2 years. Last year the death of my mother and an early snow fall forced me off the trail and August of this year my plans were canceled due to the heavy smoke from fires. Now on September 28, almost 2 months later, the smoke had cleared, and on a beautiful fall day I took off from Donner Pass. Mark would be my support team, resupplying me along the way, allowing me at some points to pick up my resupply, have lunch, then continue on my way.

After driving down from Alaska, we stopped for 2 nights at our home in Port Townsend, picked up my hiking gear and food, and took off for Donner Pass. Along the way we stopped in Sierra City to check out the campground Mark would be staying at when I arrived 4 days later. Then Mark dropped me off at Donner Pass trailhead and I was off.

The weather was crisp and cool, my preferred hiking conditions. But that came with very gusty winds making sections along open ridges an effort. I managed to find campsites out of the wind though I could hear the wind howling at night above the tree tops.

I had set up my camp the second night when a hiker came into camp asking about water. Unfortunately neither of us could find the "always water" site. The hiker, trail name Lightning Rod, was from Maine and was hiking from Walker Pass, CA to Ashland, OR. He had absolutely no water so I gave him some of the my last quart of water. Six miles down the trail in the morning was a reliable water source. He had the strange habit of keeping his watch set to EST and not changing to PST. He would start out at 4:00 am, but as the the days got shorter he would spend more of his mornings in the dark!

I arrived at the Sierra City campground on time, had lunch, picked up my resupply and was back on the trail in 2 hours. That afternoon I climbed the 6 miles up to Sierra Buttes and was lucky to find a camp site at the only water source in 5 miles. Just as dusk was approaching an older gentleman, Richard, who I had passed early in the climb, arrived and, since it was almost dark, I offered him to share my camp. I showed him where the water was and settled in.

In the morning I expected to leave camp early and be on my way. But he got up early too and tagged along for the first 2 miles of the new reroute through the Sierra Buttes. Once the trail began to climb he couldn't keep up and I didn't see him again. Somehow I missed the next 2 water sources and had to push further than I had planned. Fortunately The Tree Spring was great water and I was able to find a place to camp close by.

This was hunting season and I bacame very aware of hunters in the area. My pack rain cover is bright orange so I felt somewhat safe. Unfortunately my experience with hunters in this part of California has not given me a lot of confidence. There are many dirt roads and I would encounter truck loads of hunters zipping around. But I was encouraged early in the morning 4 days later when I ran into a father and 2 young sons. They had hiked in and were very respectful, dad having taught them well.

My next roundevous with Mark was on the Quincy-LaPort Road, 22 miles on a very steep, winding road west of Quincy. I was a day early and had planned to call him when I got to the road. He was staying at a motel in Quincy. It had started raining at mid-day and looking like it was a series of showers, I had found trees to wait out the showers. My concern was that if I couldn't get a cell to call Mark I could either try to hitch-hike into Quincy on a road that doesn't see much traffic or spend the night at the road and meet Mark the next day as planned. I hiked as fast as I could so as to have as much time to hitch-hike before dark, and I was checking at every high spot for a cell but found none. It was my lucky day as I got a ride within 20 minutes of reaching the road from a young contract logger. And he graciously gave me a ride to the motel. Mark wasn't that surprised to see me.

I was glad to be indoors as it rained that night, the next day and night. Not being in a hurry I stayed in Quincy 2 nights instead of the one planned, getting laundry done, showers and eating. Two days later I was back on the trail. Next resupply stop Belden 1 day and 1 night later.

Belden is a place that's hard to describe. The population in the 2010 census was 22, and the median age was 46 years old. It hosts music festivals such as For the Funk, and the Stilldream Festival to name a few. It has a Post Office, resort lodging, bar, restaurant, and auto repair shop. It's popular with weekend bikers and old hippies.

I arrived in Belden at 10:00 am and immediately laid out my tent, wet from the rain the night before, and ordered a big breakfast. Mark, who was camped 2 miles away, was to meet me by noon but arrived at 11:00 am with my resupply. I was back on the trail at 1:00 pm. The trail immediately climbs out of the river gorge and I camped after about 5 miles. I was eating my dinner when someone came up behind me, it was Lightning Rod. He got stuck in Sierra City waiting for the store to open - it doesn't have a set schedule. He also met Richard, the older gentlemen I camped with. Apparently Richard's gear got completely wet during the rain I avoided while in Quincy. He got off the trail and hitched to La Porte, and it was not known if he continued the trail.

The strangest thing happened that night. About 2:00 am I started hearing rifle shots, echoing off the canyon walls. The shots would continue periodically until about 4:00 am, the last one sounding very close. Hunting at night? I was concerned for Lightning Rod who was on the trail just after the last shot.

The nights were getting colder, into the 30's, and days cooler, though sunny. I was beginning to get views of Mt. Lassen, a sign my hike was coming to a close. My last night I camped as close to Hwy 36 as possible and was able to meet Mark at 10:00 am. I finally completed this section.

Now I only have from Castle Crags to Ashland to be finished with both California and Oregon. Only 375 miles and I've accomplished the completion of the PCT! I wanted to save the section from Rainy Pass to the Canadian border for the last but it will be best to complete Washington in August 2019 before any early snow and then finish California in September when the temperatures are cooler.