July 18, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Wild Plum Campground, Sierra City
Miles: 16

Adrian:
So here's the fire deal. The trail is closed from the Quincy-La Porte Road north to Highway 36 just west of Chester. This amounts to around 100 trail miles. Most hikers are catching a ride from Sierra City to Chester, skipping a 38-mile section of the open PCT, and more than 100 miles of closed trail. Ridiculously, some hikers are even hitching from South Lake Tahoe to Quincy, skipping even more open trail miles. The group of two speed record seekers have ignored the closure. A few hardy souls are road walking about 84 miles to assure a continuous hike...a noble cause.

A group of two hikers, with the help of previous PCT thru-hiker Frodo, have decided to ride bikes around the closure. These two enterprising hikers are Cuddles and Moonpie.

Liking the idea, Kirsten worked hard to contact Frodo and organize the bikes for our use after Moonpie and Cuddles finished with them. Against all odds it appears, Frodo and Kirsten managed to git'r'dun. We may have bikes waiting for us in or around Quincy! Thanks Frodo!!

As we emerged from the trail and hit the 1.5-mile road walk to Sierra City we were pleasantly surprised to see Chuck Norris across the street dropping off Low Bridge at the trail northbound. We caught a ride to town and since all motels were fully booked, we slept at the local campground. I'm glad we did, as it was much fun hanging out with other hikers.

Sierra City is a nice town with a rich gold mining history. Good times were had by all.

Kirsten:
I was thinking how great it would be to get a trail magic ride into town. And then as I rounded the corner Chuck Norris was standing near the trailhead. I'm always ready to do the roadwalks into town. Rides into town are just a bonus.

In the first month of this trip I would've been disappointed to roll into a town and find every motel booked out. These days - and y'all probably won't believe this - I find my z-rest more comfortable than most motel/hotel beds.

Sierra City is my type of town - one road, a couple of restaurants, a saloon, a damn good swimming hole and a general store with the best stoop on the block. I tend to prefer these towns because they're uncomplicated and people in places like this generally seem to come equipped with a friendly quirkiness Garrison Keilor would appreciate.

A word about the fire. I'm not roadwalking so I really can't say jack shit. But I will because I'm mouthy. I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about the closure and the ease or difficulty of hitching from places like Sierra City or Quincy-La Porte Road. It's easy to be swayed by people's opinions especially if you think they know what they're talking about. It's happened to me and I've seen it in action with others as well. I've also seen how a group of hikers can shape the choices of others in good and bad ways. It just depends on whom you're hanging out with at the time and what mood is drifting amongst the group. With those caveats laid out before you, I'll say this: It's the unplanned bumps in the road and how you handle them that define your adventure and character. Sometimes we rise to the occasion, take the tougher path and are rewarded for it. Other times we do what seems right at the time and get punished. And just because I make the right decision today, doesn't mean I won't screw it all up making a horrible choice tomorrow. So, all I can do is focus on my choices. And today my choice is to hike to the official closure, bike through the closed section and start hiking where the trail resumes.