Day 1: Back to Sierra City

Update: Currently I am in a hotel in Chester, CA having just completed my 8th day of hiking north from Sierra City on the PCT. I am doing well. Tomorrow will be a zero day in Chester – I will resupply, do laundry, take a few showers to get the stink off and post some blogs from the previous eight days. Day 1 follows:

PCT Mile 1195.4 to 1202.4

Miles Hiked = 7.0

Today was a transition day from home to the trail. I was up early to catch a flight to Reno. Then I hired an Uber driver to drive me 70 miles to Sierra City. Since it’s against the law to carry a fuel canister on an airplane I had planned on having the Uber driver take me to the Reno REI to buy one. He was very accommodating but REI was not! They were out of stock! What a surprise! – I’ve never seen an REI out of fuel canisters.

Fuel canister next to Bic lighter

But I had a back up plan. There is a country store in a Sierra City that caters to hikers and luckily they still had inventory. Good for me, now I don’t have to eat cold-soaked freeze-dried meals for the next five nights! I’ll be able to boil the water and enjoy a warm meal with my rationed Jack Daniels. Trail life will be good!

Fuel canister with burner attached

The Uber driver dropped me off a little before 3pm at the trailhead near Sierra City. It was Mile 1195.4 on the PCT. I was hiking a few minutes later.

I was hiking under and then traversing around the Sierra Buttes – prominent craggy peaks that rise above Sierra City.

Sierra Buttes from 2019

Under the Sierra Buttes

It was all uphill for seven miles – I gained about 2800 feet so it was a good first day on the trail – exactly as planned.

I’m camped at little over 7000 feet below the Sierra Buttes.

I also had a visitor in camp. I would try to get close to take her photo and she would run away. A few minutes later she would return and I would try again.

It was also a nice sunset.

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