I found the trail in the morning, walking past several groups of rock climbers scaling the granite slabs between Donner Pass Road and I-80. What looked like a giant storm drain led me under the freeway, and on the other side I stopped at a highway rest stop to refill my water and use the facilities. In the span of a few minutes several drivers approached me to ask excitedly if I was hiking the PCT and about my journey. Their infectious enthusiasm began to dispel some of my dark thoughts from the previous night.
Getting back on the trail I crossed paths with a hiker named Vick (trail name: Snooze), who would end up giving me my own trail name several days later. On the gentle ascent up to Castle Pass I began to notice a few tiny orange butterflies fluttering amidst the surrounding pine forest. The trickle of insects soon became a flood as thousands of the bright creatures continued to emerge out of the trees ahead. Walking through this spiraling orange cloud to the top of the pass I ran into a group of local hikers who told me the butterflies appear here every seven years as part of a migration cycle. Feeling lucky to witness this rare event and lost in its natural magic, I strolled slowly on as the little insects fluttered past me on their own journey to an unknown destination.
Russell on the Road 