September 26:Lot of Down; Lots of Up

We began our day knowing that it would be a unique day of hiking- not unique for the trail, but for most sections outside of the High Sierras. We would spend most of the morning descending 3000 or so feet down to the Middle Fork Feather River, and then climb back up 3300 ft and into the Bucks Lake Wilderness. There wasn't much variance outside of down, down, down...up, up, up.

It was a rather dry section, so we hauled 2-3 liters most of the day; it has been so dry that we could never be sure water would be where we were told it would be. Springs would be dry or just a wet mud spot on the trail; creeks would be nothing more than a rocky hollow we walk over. This has made the walking feel more like the SoCal desert, and we end up with water-heavy packs.

Not only did the descent take us back into poison oak territory, but there was also this unfriendly phenomena of tiny little flies that would hover around your face and kamikaze dive bomb your mouth, nose, and eyes. We quickly decided the headnet was worth it, and dug them from the recesses of our packs (ah, the good ol' days!). The headnet comes through again! Luckily they didn't bite; they were more annoying than anything. The other bonus is that since it's almost October, the poison oak was very dry and somewhat sparse. It was wierd to have it appear just over 4000 ft. I had gotten so used to it showing up at 1000 ft or so in Washington.

We hit the Middle Fork around lunch time and took a break on some rocks on the bank of the river. It was a nice respite from the face flies since they had no desire to follow us down to the water from the trail. The trail actually stays a little ways above the river and walks you across what the guidebook says is the "biggest equestrian (and hiker) bridge on the PCT." It's a pretty cool bridge, but in order to enjoy the water, you have to scramble down some rocks on a makeshift trail.

We began the climb up in the hot afternoon sun, cursing the weight of the water on our backs. It was a long, sometimes steep, cluimb up, and by the time we hit the top of the climb, just around dusk, we were beat. I didn't want to do anything but sleep- not eat, not journal, nada. So I didn't. I tried to eat my spaghetti, but after a couple bites, put it away and fell asleep pretty quickly, only waking up to roll over or throw out the ant that had crawled, not just into my sleeping bag, but into my shirt and up my arm. It's a creepy feeling when you're half asleep!

Total Miles:1262.5
Miles Today:24.7
Camp 143:Top-O-the-Climb

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