Tag: Sierra City

Day 43: Sierra City to Deer Lake

Having rolled off my sleeping pad into the dirt of the open lot where I had slept among a group of fellow thru-hikers, I woke up early and decided to get going before the heat of the August day set in. I took a very cold shower in the public bathroom and followed up with a hot breakfast at the Red Moose, a B&B in town. After grabbing a few food items at the small store (the shelves were mostly empty except for pop-tarts) I walked back up the road and began the hot, steep climb out of the valley. The mountainside was mostly exposed manzanita bushes with little tree cover, and I was glad when I came across a tiny trickle of water to refill my bottles.

My friend Jason had recommend taking the short detour to the fire lookout on top of Sierra Buttes, so I took his advice and headed up the wide fire road to the summit 5000 feet above Sierra City. It was a brutal climb, the late morning sun beating down as I slowly made my way up a road so steep I’m not sure how vehicles could drive it. Eventually I reached the peak, where a series of metal stairways (also steep) scaled the rock to the lookout itself. The panorama spilled over lakes and rolling mountains into the cloudy distance. The wind was strong and I ate lunch in the shelter of the rocks, chatting with some travelers who had made the ascent from a much saner starting point.

By the time I made my way down from the Buttes I was very much feeling the combined effects of the sun, the climb, and the previous night’s beer and taco party. Needing a pick-me-up, I detoured from the trail again to visit the Packer Lake Lodge, where a chicken pot pie and ice-cold Sprite helped rejuvenate my spirits. I camped on a bluff above Deer Lake, watching the red rays of the setting sun fade over the craggy Buttes.

Day 42: Mount Lacey to Sierra City

The path to Sierra City wound down along a tree-studded hillside to a large bridge over the North Yuba River. After enjoying the view of some small waterfalls, I climbed up to the highway where I discovered my first piece of trail magic: a small cooler filled with chips, beer, and Gatorade (trail magic is a term for the generous gifts, often food, drinks or a fortuitous ride into town, given to thru-hikers by people along the trail, themselves known as trail angels). As I quenched my thirst in the afternoon heat, pondering whether I had enough food left to skip Sierra City and continue on toward the next town, an older couple walked by on their way to see the falls. It happened to be a Tuesday, and they told me the local bar in town had a $2 taco special going.

My mind decided and my stomach rumbling, I quickly walked the 1 1/2 miles along the road into town. Sierra “City” consists of a few main buildings set along the highway, including a small store, post office, library, a couple of hotels, and of course my destination: the Buckhorn Bar and Mountain Creek Restaurant. I had just sat down in a wooden chair on the porch out front when Snooze appeared, and together we went inside to order food and drinks. We soon discovered the backyard patio where Ashes’ hiking group sat at a table listening to a local band belt out country ballads. Joining them, we took full advantage of the taco bar and beer selection, eventually closing the place down around 8pm. The town provided a large dirt area for hikers to camp, so I rolled out my sleeping pad and slept cowboy-style under the open sky.