July 16. Day 76.

Mile 1162.25 to 1191.75.

Miles hiked: 29.5.

There was a nice warm breeze starting around 1 this morning so everything was plenty dry when I got up, even the bottom of my ground cloth. For the first 5 or 6 miles today the trail traversed a series of finger ridges sticking west off the main north-south spine of the range, climbing up through sage and mules ears then dropping down through forested canyons in between with little streams running through meadows. We passed through the first harvested forests of the trip (at least contemporary harvest), but these were just areas that had been thinned, not clear-cut. Then the trail climbed another ridge just like the several before it, but on the other side was a steep cliffy drop off of some sort of volcanic rim rock, plunging several hundred feet to a verdant meadow below. The trail made a hard left (luckily) and traced along the gently downward-sloping top of this ridge for a few more miles. I was leapfrogging with Pinenut most of the morning (all day, really), and once we got off this ridge we chatted about bike tours and filter options while we filtered water. 

Nothing but low hills to the north.

We then climbed back up onto another several-mile ridge walk. The trail seems to be clutching at every last bit of higher elevation as the Sierras dip lower and lower the farther north we go. From the high point of this ridge the view north was nothing but low, dark green rolling hills, with the jagged Sierra Butte (I think) the only bare rock jutting above the uniform forest. I strained and strained and finally with the polarization of my sunglasses to cut the haze and the magnification of the Hubble to close the distance, I could just barely make out the faint outline of what must be Lassen Peak almost 200 trail miles to the north. Looking back south I could still see the higher country around Tahoe, and I took some comfort in knowing that I could at least see tall peaks in both directions, even if I would be traversing some low hot country over the next week or so. I flushed a Mountain Bluebird and a Cassin's Finch from the same little tree; I suppose they were probably debating the relative merits of blue vs. red.

More exciting weather.

Luckily today, there was a nice cloud overhead for much of the time I was out of the forest on what would have been hot sunny ridge tops. But then, when I was stopped for more water and catching up with Tent Talker, who I haven't seen since I was still in Yosemite NP, and Vengo (or maybe it's Van Go), not seen since somewhere around Devils Postpile, we heard rain coming toward us. We could hear drops hitting the miles ear a few hundred yards away on the other side of the canyon, and did what we needed to do to prepare for a possible dousing. I quickly finished my filtering and put on my pack cover as a rain/hail combo overtook us, and got back on the trail. It was entry warm, not like the storms before Tahoe, and before long I had actually walked far enough out from under the cloud to be out of the precipitation.

The trail now made a long gentle descent through more harvested forest and along exposed ridges. The thunder booming just in back of me made me happy to not be a few miles back on the higher balder ridge. In time we walked above Jackson Meadows Reservoir, with a loud motorboat down there doing laps, and after a couple miles came to a paved road with a bridge over a creek. I climbed down under the bridge and found a spot where I could put my feet in the cool water while I finished the last of my sweaty cheese and crumbly crackers. 

Heading down into Milton Creek.

Feet feeling better, I re-shoed and got back on the trail. Pinenut was close behind me and as we climbed up and over a low ridge I got to show her a White-headed Woodpecker and Western Tanager. I stopped to look at what I'm calling a Hammond's Flycatcher and she continued on (not as exciting as the woodpecker or tanager). Up and over the ridge then dropping down down down toward Milton Creek which will eventually lead to the Yuba River and Sierra City tomorrow. Down into Incense Cedars and some Sugar Pines and a couple Big Leaf Maples and then eventually down in to Black Oaks mixed in with the firs. At the first crossing of Milton Creek the camping looked OK but I figured I'd continue to the next o e 0.8 miles further so that the morning walk to town would be a bit shorter. But then the camping at the second bridge wasn't that great, with jus a small flat path right off the bridge, so j filled my water by and kept going a bit more. After just a half mile or so I came to a flat place with he remains of an old log cabin slowly rotting back into the forest. There were just a couple logs left for each wall, and the shattered remains of the old wood stove arranged alon one log. I quickly set up the bug net against the mosquitoes the had a quick dip in the stream, sharing a waist-deep whole with a few small salmonids, then ate another spicy dinner so satisfied to be inside the net while the mosquitoes are outside.

Old cabin.

Birds:

Oregon Junco 

White-crowned Sparrow 

Yellow-rumped Warbler 

Red-breasted Nuthatch 

Mountain Chickadee 

Pine Grosbeak 

Hermit Thrush 

Brown Creeper 

Pacific Wren 

Steller's Jay 

Wilson's Warbler 

Western Wood-pewee 

Red-breasted Sapsucker 

Olive-sided Flycatcher 

Hammond's Flycatcher 

Green-tailed Towhee 

Lazuli Bunting 

Clark's Nutcracker 

Pine Siskin 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 

Mountain Bluebird 

Cassin's Finch 

Warbling Vireo 

White-headed Woodpecker 

Western Tanager