Backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail and Beyond
Day 108: Above Summit Lake (Mile 1624.5)-Grider Creek (Mile 1650); 25.5 miles
The Marble Mountain Wilderness featured hillsides of wildflower-filled meadows topped by peaks of jagged rock.
We certainly didn’t object to a morning jaunt through that! Neither did the local cows, which at one point blocked the trail. We clacked our trekking poles together and hollered at the cows. They reluctantly lumbered off the trail and up the hill, cowbells clanking madly.
Hello! I’m Becky, Chri- er, Shutterbug’s sister and special guest blogger. North Star and Shutterbug were generous enough to slow down their breakneck hiking pace for a bit so that North Star’s friend Karin and I could join them on the trail and get a little taste of their ongoing adventure. I suggested I might write a post about it, and they were game, so here it is.
Half of Day 101: Castella (Mile 1506.5)-Tributary to Sulphur Creek (Mile 1512.5); 6 miles
Karin and I chose to meet Shutterbug and North Star at Castle Crags State Park. We woke up early and drove to the trail head, waiting just a few minutes before our intrepid hikers emerged from the wilderness right on schedule. They were a bit skinnier and dirtier than I’d remembered them, but as cheerful and energetic as always. It was great to see them again! Not so great to smell them. (Just kidding! They smelled fine.)
Day 94: Drakesbad Guest Ranch (Mile 1353.5)-Badger Mountain (Mile 1371); 17.5 miles
After a hearty breakfast at the Drakesbad Guest Ranch, we set out northward on the Pacific Crest Trail. The trail was mostly flat and the weather pleasant, with a few puffy clouds forming over Lower Twin Lake.
We walked through a spacious pine forest. Wildflowers and small clusters of grass grew where gaps in the tree canopy allowed light to reach the ground.
Wandering the Wild 