Mileage Breakdown: 1.4 mile road walk from Sierra City to PCT + 3.3 miles on PCT = 4.7 miles total.
My foot felt much better this morning after having cleaned it up last night. Today my goal was to let the blister air out as much as possible, with hopes that a the old skin would stiffen and create a strong natural band-aid over the new skin.
Sierra City is a wonderful town, filled with lots of life from both residents and car travelers. The majority of the commotion in town came from the PCT hikers who have been allowed to set up camp at the local church yard on all days but Sunday. Next to the church was a nice restroom with a shower. Though the water was cold, the temperature outside was in the high 90's which made the water more welcoming that it could have been.
One of the properties in town has access to a large swimming hole. It was a little walk down a small trail, but once there it was worth every step. Skinny Thor (ST) and I hung out there for a short period before heading back to the General Store. I would eat three large meals from the restaurant, two of which were burgers and one was a gigantic breakfast burrito. I surprised myself when I finished the burrito. I guess my body is telling me something about my eating habits. NOT ENOUGH! But really it's nearly impossible to eat enough.
As mid afternoon arrived, I started to contemplate leaving town today. Skinny Thor chose to wait for Back-Track (she started the PCT with ST) who should be arriving tomorrow. He wanted to discuss each others strategies for the rest of the trail. I got the sense that ST wanted to walk faster and further each day than his friend. Most people who started the trail with someone found staying together a challenge in itself.
Finally having made up my mind, I left town around 7:00 pm which gave me 2 hours of light to hike in. I decided to walk the road back to the trail, as I wasn't in the mood to try hitching and it was only 1.4 miles back to the trail.
My pace was slow from having eaten so much, but I kept it steady. I was unsure what the camping situation would be, but the maps indicated there were some open campsites before starting the exposed climb out of the Sierra City Valley.
Tonight's camp was in the top 10 campsites along the trail. The lens on my phone's camera was dirty and I didn't realize it. The pictures don't do the site justice at all!
There was one other person in camp, I would later find out it was Simon, a section hiker I met while in Sierra City. His friend had decided the trail wasn't for him and he was going back to his home in Switzerland. I say again, getting to Sierra City was tough for a lot of hikers.
As I was setting up my tent, Simon unzipped his tent (it was dark as the sun had already set), looked out and yelled, "HEY". I didn't know what it was all about, but he later told me he thought I was a bear.
