Category: Section Hike

PCTA Trail Skills College

Ian

Saturday-Sunday, July 13-14, 2024

To start off my section hike, I participated in a two day trail maintenance course put on by the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA). This was a great way to get into the hiking world again, acclimate a bit to the higher elevation I would be hiking at on this trip, and make some new friends who are just as into the trail as I am.

We camped for three nights at Hobart Work Center (a forest service campground) just a few minutes north of Truckee.

The way I got to this location was a bit serendipitous, as I met my trail angel Rayna outside of Wrigley Field back when I went to Chicago for my birthday in June. She was visiting a friend in Chicago and we randomly shared a table with her at the bar outside center field. When she discovered I would be hiking the PCT in July near her home, she offered to pick me up at the Reno airport and drive me out to the campground.

Rayna – Trail Angel!

I got my tent set up and hung out with the other volunteers and PCTA crew for the evening. We then woke up, ate breakfast, made lunch for later, and headed to the trail.

Tent set up
Got my own hardhat!
Spencer (PCTA) cooking breakfast
Making lunch to pack into the trail

We hit the trail with loppers and other tools to start clearing some brush that was encroaching on the trail near Donner Pass Ski Ranch. Incidentally, this is where my hike would take me on the first day.

The views were beautiful and the people were great to work with. The first day was mostly manual labor, but I think they do that on purpose to break people in. Trail maintenance isn’t easy, but it’s very rewarding and all of us hikers appreciate the volunteers that do it. Interestingly, I would say the majority of the volunteers don’t ever really use the trail. They aren’t hikers. They just like to give back.

View of Donner Lake

The second day we learned a bit more about trail construction techniques and water drainages. We hiked north on the PCT, past I-80 (my official starting point for my section hike), and cleared out some of the drainages along the way.

Walking under I-80
Matt (PCTA) explaining drainage techniques
Trail Tools

After we got back to camp, I got a ride with my new buddies (Abel and Kevin) into Truckee for dinner and a quick soak of the feet in the local reservoir. I was very happy I attended this course, as it got me in a great headspace, even if I did end up getting sick from it (more on that later). I got some good sleep and was ready to hit the trail to start my section hike the next morning.

Packing Up For Tahoe

Ian

July 11, 2024

I spent today packing up my gear and laying out my food for the next week that I will be spending in the Lake Tahoe area. My plan is to take two days on Friday and Saturday participating in a Trail Maintenance course near Truckee, put on by the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), and then hike Section K of the PCT starting on Monday morning.

For those who don’t know, the PCT is divided into sections in each state. A, B, C, etc, going from south to north. I am going southbound (Sobo) this time, but I incidentally picked a start and end point that are exactly the boundaries of Section K in California. For me, that means Donner Peak (Interstate 80) near Truckee down to Echo Summit (near South Lake Tahoe). Total mileage is right at about 65 miles.

There is a fire about 12 miles to the west of the beginning of my trail right now (Royal Fire), but the US Forest Service and firefighters have done a phenomenal job so far of keeping it contained to only a couple of hundred acres. Hoping that the wind and weather cooperate over the weekend and the PCT stays unaffected. Worst case scenario, I could probably pivot and hike part of the Tahoe Rim Trail going east, but we’ll get to that if need be.

As I said, I went over inventory and laid out my food plans today. This section of the trail requires a bear canister, by law. Basically, it’s a big plastic can filled with your food that you place a couple hundred yards from your tent when you sleep at night, instead of keeping it all in your tent like in non-bear country (debateable).

Ubiquitous hiker food layout shot

I’m guessing it’s actually a bit too much food, but we shall see. Very excited about those Walking Tamales. It’s a different thing having to fit everything into a bear canister at night and you also have to put in any toiletries, sunblock, lip balm, etc. Anything that has a scent.

So here’s my bear canister, minus a couple of items I will buy in Truckee that will make up most of my dinners (tortillas, salami, and cheese). 8.13 pounds, so far. I’m going stove-less this hike and am very excited to not have to worry about the excruciating minutiae of dealing with cooking at the end of a long day. I will eat my bars and tortillas and trail mix and be very happy.

I am typing this as I wait for my final load of laundry to be done (I won’t have a shower for 7 days after tomorrow morning) and then it’s into the mountains! It will be interesting going solo, knowing it’s only going to be for 5 days this time. I am looking forward to seeing how I react mentally. I’m going to try and only average 10-13 miles a day, so I should be able to take my time.

I will do my best to blog from the trail, but if nothing else, I will get everything up when I get back next weekend. I’m also going to try and video a lot.

Hike on!