Entries RSS(Editor’s Note: Kristin is able to send us her blog entries when she comes to a town with internet access. As a result, the entries are published as they are received rather than on the day the events actually took place.)
When you live out in the wild you do not get to watch the evening news, go on the internet, or skim the newspaper. When you live in the wild you have no idea what is going on in the outside world. Your world is a quiet trail and a dream of the North. So, when I saw the haze by Carson Pass I assumed it was humidity but then the next day it was thicker and had an oppressive taste and smell. When I went into town to re-supply I heard about the fires- people were being evacuated from their homes and the air was thick with smoke. I soon found out that over 100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail had been closed from Quincy- LaPorte Road all the way to Chester. There is a bus that goes from Quincy to Chester. The two hour ride costs only $3.00. But what do you do when your goal is to walk from Mexico to Canada?
You watch the Bus drive away at 55MPH and you start road walking. The route was simple enough. Turn right on Quincy-LaPorte Road, left on RT 89, left on RT 36 and eventually you will be back on the PCT north of Chester, that is, of course, if you can manage to endure the smoke-filled air, 100 degree heat and dodge the speeding logging trucks. At first the shoulder was so wide it was like I had my own lane, but after Quincy as the road wound upwards the shoulder begin to shrink and soon I had little more than a few inches of white line to walk on. Some of the logging trucks were going back and forth between the fire and a lumber yard and passed me so many times, they started waving. There were trucks and buses of fire fighters going by too.
When I finally reached Chester I saw the fire camps. The towns High School and Junior Highs’ fields were packed with tents where the fire fighters slept. Signs lined the roads saying “Thank You” to the men and women who have come from all over the country to help put out the fires.
After having lived in the woods for two months, walking around so many cars was a little stressful and I was very relieved to get back to the real PCT. A few days later a moment I had been hoping for since the beginning of my trip occurred. I saw a bear. At first I thought it was a dog, but then it flew up a tree. When I took a step closer, it ran right back down the tree and off into the bushes. It was small but looked incredibly powerful.
Later that evening as I was trying to find a flat spot to camp I heard noises coming from the bushes, I turned the corner to see another furry brown behind- two Bears in one day- I could not believe it. I continued quietly surprised by the size of the animal towering over the bushes. Then I realized it was a cow.
