Start point
Summit Lake Junction, mile 1619.6
End point
Tent sites at dirt road, mile 1642.8
Miles hiked
23.2
Wilderness area
Klamath National Forest
Marble Mountain Wilderness
The day on trail
It was such a pretty day. The morning was chilly and sunny, there was little condensation on my stuff. It was kind of one of those perfect mornings. I woke up ready to go, and I’m feeling good.
At the beginning of my hike I saw this animal track. I’ve no idea what it is.
It’s probably some dog or something, but I haven’t seen anyone out here with dogs or any other evidence of them, so who knows? It seemed a bit large for a coyote, but it might be one.
I soon came across this trail sign whose base had been so destroyed it was placed in the middle of a giant rock pile to hold it up. I can’t even call it a cairn; it really is just a pile of rock.
After the rock pile sign, there was an old forest service cabin with some deer hanging around it.
There was a gentle sloping climb which brought me to a meadow. G
And then, a few miles after the meadow, is when bunch of wildflowers started popping out with some butterfly friends!
It wasn’t at the same intensity as the superbloom earlier this year in the desert, but it’s always a joy to see flowers. The colors and patterns always make me happy. Plus, each of them out here have such different shapes and there’s so many types I’ve never seen.
I came across a trail sign with an elk or deer skull and a forgotten trekking pole.
Along with some evidence of a worn down section of trail. Tiny drainage crossings falling apart, fallen trees with markers, informational signs and message boards that had long been empty of information and fallen.
There were some thimbleberries with very few ripe ones growing, and a couple white bark raspberries. More evidence of how far North we’re getting in California. It’s starting to get really exciting to be almost crossing into Oregon.
There was a massive blowdown on the trail where someone hadn’t even cut through the tree. Rather, they cut a walkway into the tree.
I saw a final mushroom growing in a fallen tree.
And a caterpillar of some sort.
After that I got to camp. There were two spots to set up tents. One had room to space apart 4-5 tents, another had room for 5-6. These two areas were about a one minute walk from each other and along a river with beautiful water. The second site had a bunch of tree segments you could use as chairs and a table for cooking. I chose the second site!
Angry Dane, Flamethrower, and Cookie were at the first site. I hadn’t seen Nonny all day and she wasn’t at camp. The others hadn’t seen her either. We checked both sites and there was no sign of her, and it was starting to get to the point where sunlight was going to be at a premium.
I know Nonny is a capable hiker, but I was getting worried. She’d left camp an hour or two before me and, since I hadn’t seen her all day, I had no idea where she was. I sent her a message and didn’t hear back.
I went over to the site with the others to hang out with them and eat dinner. It’s nice to be with friendly faces on trail.
Finally, about 20 minutes into the sun going down, and an hour or so after I sent the message, Nonny responded. She’d ended up taking a nap and was heading into camp. I was just glad to hear she was safe.
Nonny got to camp around 9pm. It was becoming dusk. She set up her tent and immediately started dinner. She filled me in on her day and epic nap.
We’re all excited to get to Seiad tomorrow. It’s the last stop of California. After that, the next trail town is in Oregon, and we’re officially done with the first state of the PCT.