July 12th
At the Buckhorn restaurant we had one of the best breakfasts of the trail. Since we were planning on leaving early afternoon for a half day of hiking, we took our time at breakfast reading the newspaper, a rare treat and getting caught up on correspondence.
The grocery/general store in Sierra City has reopened and was well stocked. Having been able to go to a large grocery in Truckee just a couple days ago we didn’t need much. Best of all, the store still makes the best microwaved cheeseburger ever.
The post office provided another stroll down memory trail with PCT registers going back to 1987. Our boxes sorted, laundry down and other chores complete we headed back up to the trail, getting a ride after less than a half hour wait. Phoenix and Peaches came through while we were at the trailhead and we set out together to tackle the climb.
Since we are now in the land of endless ridges and canyons, and since the towns are in the canyons, leaving town means climbing back up to the level of the ridgetop/mountain plateaus. Leaving Sierra City there is a 2,700-foot climb, very steady and unrelenting, spread out over 7 miles. The first few miles are through forests, then the top opens up and the trail is very exposed, surrounded by chaparral.
As the trail levels off, a possible side trip is available to the Sierra Buttes fire tower. We decided against the opportunity to climb another 1,400 feet as it was getting late in the day.
Pressing on to a nearby spring we made a quick dinner of ramen noodles and tortillas. After dinner we hiked for another couple hours along the roller coaster crest with the setting sun lighting up the buttes behind us. With darkness fast approaching we made camp at a saddle where we would get some morning sun. Not a trace of a cloud in the sky and only a handful of mossies about, so we were able to spread out sleeping bags under the stars and enjoy some hot chocolate before nodding off……..
