Date: 2014-07-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 120 ¢ Thursday, 10 July 2014 Sierra City and Trail Magic!I thought Seiad Valley and Belden were off the beaten paths, but Sierra City was off several paths that were off the beaten path! We couldn¢t even follow the road map any more. We HAD to rely on directions from Google Maps ¢ a scary thought sometimes! That¢s what these adventures are all about! But like all adventures with a Dam Safety Engineer, we got to see and drive over a dam ¢ New Bullards Bar Dam, somewhere between Dobbins and Camptonville. We also got a chuckle out of Moonshine Road, and soon after, Dark Day Road. I wondered, ¢Do those two roads, and thus their names, have something to do with each other?¢We got into Sierra City soon after 1pm from the west and immediately saw our lodging ¢ Herrington¢s Sierra Pines Resort. We continued on since check-in started at 2pm. We drove through town, On Point checking out thru-hikers for some he knew, heading to where the PCT crosses CA-49 on the other side of town.A nice shady area welcomed us, although further up was a roped-off trail and ¢No Trespassing¢ signs. That¢s OK. The PCT was clearly visible, coming and going. We decided to set up and wait for hikers, planning an afternoon of Trail Magic. Soon after we started pulling stuff out of the car and throwing a blanket on the ground, a hiker Zissuse (sp?) came up from the road. He must have done the road walk out of town after we left Sierra City because we did not see him. Although he wasn¢t interested in food, ¢I just came from town!¢ he did enjoy a cup of lemonade before disappearing into the woods heading north.A little while later, a young couple emerged from the woods across the road. Boom Box and Glitter Bug did join us for some peach cobbler, lemon glaze pound cake and soda. (Wish I had gotten fresh fruit once we were in California!) They sat and chatted for a while, telling us they were from Portland. We told them about Buffalo doing the PCT last year with a couple young ladies from Portland. They didn¢t recognize the names Scones and Doodles but asked if Buffalo knew Hot Tub. I remember the name but, for purposes of this journal entry, could not readily find a PCT entry that mentioned Hot Tub.Boom Box mentioned that he works with disadvantaged youth, taking them out backpacking and hiking. He got a 2-year degree in Outdoor Leadership. That certainly might be something that Buffalo would be interested in.Boom Box said they were going into Sierra City, they have a box to pick up and resupply, but that they were not going to stay the night. When they were ready to go, FAHthur took them to town.As FAHthur was turning into the area where we were on his return, On Point and I saw other people in the car. Two women got out with English accents. Emu and Moxie were from Australia!¢How did you decide to hike the PCT?¢Emu spoke up, ¢We were going to take a road trip, but I suggested we also do some hiking along the way to keep in shape. That¢s when I found out about the Pacific Crest Trail. Why don¢t we do that?!¢Moxie blurted, ¢I signed up for a ROAD trip!¢But here they are, and they¢ve hiked all the way from Campo! Also coming from town, they weren¢t interested in food or drink. We wished them well, and off they went.We stayed about another hour, until about 5pm, then went back to check into our lodging. The rooms are in clusters of 2, 3, and 4, built down the hillside. On Point¢s room was on the top level, while ours was the second level down. We parked the car below the rooms and hiked up a short but somewhat steep trail. Way down below was a creek that added quite a bit of white noise during the night! Thanks, On Point for helping to carry everything up to our room. Since there was no refrigerator, we brought both coolers up to rearrange their content and put ice in them.The Herrington had a nice looking restaurant, but the menu was heavy with various cuts of animal and seafood. We decided to drive through town and see what else was available. As we were heading west out of town, we saw Glitter Bug and Boom Box hitching back to the trail. ¢Pile in! We¢re headed that way!¢Back in town, we parked and checked out where to eat.¢The Buckhorn. Isn¢t that were Buffalo ate?¢ I asked.¢That¢s where he asked about buying a whole pie and they only make one pie a day,¢ On Point commented. (See Buffalo¢s 2013 PCT journal for July 14. Sierra City is where I remember Buffalo calling to tell us his ¢new¢ camera, that we sent there, didn¢t take photos ¢ his July 15, 2013 PCT entry!)Unfortunately, the Buckhorn looked closed, abandoned. We went across the street to The Red Moose. They were having a private party but directed us to the Old Hotel down the street. The guy there said they were open but only serving drumsticks - a one item menu. Ended up going back to the Herrington for dinner.   They were able to make a pasta dish for us. Even On Point had the vegetarian dish. ¢I¢m not a ¢gourmet¢ meat eater!¢ he told us.We decided to skip dessert at the restaurant and On Point joined us in our room for dessert: peach cobbler, walnut roll, and pound cake with lime glaze. We sat on our deck, overlooking the stream below and the waterfalls.¢The information at the restaurant said that the waterfalls are lighted at night, ¢for your viewing pleasure,¢¢ On Point told us. As we sat there, we did see the trees and bushes start to light up below, then as it got darker, the area around the falls got brighter.A fun day, helping out five hikers with varying levels of Trail Magic and seeing Sierra City, although disappointed that the Buckhorn wasn¢t open.Tomorrow, we all head north. On Point will hit the dusty trail, and we¢ll Yellow Blaze once again! (¢Yellow Blazing¢ didn¢t seem to be a term on the PCT like it is on the AT. A lot more towns dot the AT so I guess that makes it easier to Yellow Blaze the trail.) Another trail adventure swiftly coming to a close for FAHthur and me. Thanks for staying tuned! The Mum and.....