October 11
52mi/84km
+3300ft/1000m
As expected, it was a cold morning. Our water was slushy, the condensation on the tent walls had frozen, but we were still cozy inside the tent. It was a clear and sunny morning as we descended. My toes were numb and my fingers were achy.
We joined a rail-to-trail path that was also the route of a marathon. Needless to say, there were a lot of people on the trail! We passed through rocky canyons and crossed cool bridges and arrived in the town of Susanville by 10:30. We got some groceries and fast food for lunch. We ran into a guy traveling on a motorcycle from Alaska to Arizona, and he also hiked the PCT. What a coincidence.
After we left town, we realized we’d forgotten to refill water. We rode past a church and decided that would be a good place to look for a spigot, which was easily found. We had a long climb ahead. Our descent this morning was in the volcanic rock of the Cascade range. Our climb this afternoon was into the ancient granite of the Sierra. Steep at first, but then a long gradual accent to just under 7000ft/2100m elevation.
New rocks, new trees, the landscape is noticeably changing. Our climb was rewarded with a long descent and not a single vehicle. We are camped at 5000ft/1500m, at a campground that hasn’t closed, but offers no winter services. This means it is free, but the water is off. It’ll be another cold night tonight, but we are camped in the trees and at the lowest elevation we could. We’ll climb in the morning.
Overall, we are really loving this route, but the dustiness had been rough on the drivetrains. We stopped to clean them a couple times today. We’re ready for some new chains and better chain lube when we get to Reno.
