June 6th, 2022 by Jon
When we woke up in the morning, I had to peel off my sleeping bag that had gotten pretty damp overnight again. Of course, it never really had a chance to dry much anyway, but still, it was a bummer. We stuffed away our wet things, ate breakfast, and we were on the trail by 6:00. We got up slightly early so we could try to get a little extra time in town. We had camped on the dirt road only about 50 feet from where the PCT crossed it, so we got back on and continued hiking along the burnt ridge for a few miles. A one point I rested my trekking poles against a burnt tree and the crispy sound the bark made was surprising. We walked up and down small hills, working our way around to another face of the mountain we were on before beginning a large number of long switchbacks.
The burnt trees and the green bushes that grew among the black dirt made an interesting contrast of colors. We kept hiking down further and further into what we realized was an extremely deep canyon. At the bottom, we saw signs indicating that the river we now hiked along all the way down was the middle fork of the Feather River, which runs out of the mountains, joins the other forks, and then the actual Feather River joins the Sacramento River. We hiked about 200 feet above the river, watching it rage downstream from the rocks above. Eventually, we turned a corner to see a massive bridge over the river. It’s crazy to think about how much work it was to build it, but it saved us a big climb down to the water and from having to cross it, which was nice.
We took a break on the other side of the bridge and had our first snack of the day. After we started again, we had a steep 3-mile climb to get up and over part of a ridge and then down to a different creek with yet another bridge over it. The canyons are incredibly lush, and the creeks are huge at the bottom of them. After crossing the second bridge, we began the steep climb up out of the canyon. It was 7 miles long and an absolute GRIND to get all the way up. Biscuit and I both said we were the most sweaty we have ever been. The trail was basically just switchbacks through the forest, almost the whole way up.
When we got to the top, we filled our water up at a spring, then pushed another quarter-mile to the very top, had lunch on lookout rock, and had spectacular views of the valley we had just climbed out of. We really enjoyed being there and had the chance to dry out our things on the rock, which was also nice. From there, we had 8ish miles to the road where we are meeting some relatives of relatives who will give us a ride into Quincy. The trail was pretty flat for those 8 miles; we passed over several dirt roads and walked through shaded ridges full of trees. Singsong and I walked together for this section and had a good time goofing around while we hiked.
When we got to the road, we found Biscuit waiting for us, and after a brief wait, Keevin and Christina came and picked us up! They drove us down into town and we picked up some burgers to go and took them back to their house to eat. They also let us do laundry and take showers at their house, which was absolutely amazing. They also let us soak our feet in an Epsom salt bath and use their foot massaging machine; we couldn’t believe our good fortune! As we were getting ready to leave, they even let us borrow their car while we were here. Their kindness was so, so appreciated.
Unfortunately, when we got back to the hotel, I started to feel pretty bad. I think I picked up a stomach bug somewhere on trail. The night was not very fun, and after throwing up a couple of times, we decided we were going to take a zero tomorrow. Unplanned, but needed.
