July 3

1184-1206

We haven’t showered since Lake Tahoe, and we are absolutely disgusting. In the morning we hike next to our first major northern California river- the Yuba. The river has deep enough swimming holes underneath a bridge that we can rinse the last week of sweat and grime off in relative privacy. The water is very cold.

We have transitioned to lower elevations and with that comes hotter temperatures and thicker forests. The lush area around the Yuba river was one of the most densely populated native American areas in California.

They lived off of acorns as their staple crop, and supplemented that with the abundant salmon runs that the river provided.

Gold fever brought large numbers of European and American settlers to the area, and with them came diseases that wiped out the local population. To this day the fish caught in the Yuba are under an unsafe eating advisory due to the heavy metals and mercury leached from the innumerable gold mines that pocked the riverside.

The trail crosses state route 49 and passes closely by the tiny community of Sierra City (pop. 225) so we walk the short distance into town.

It is a 1 block town, with an exceedingly welcoming atmosphere. We get in town in time for an early lunch, and learn the entire area is now under a heat advisory. Temperatures will exceed 100 degrees for the foreseeable future. Leaving Sierra City requires a 3,000 foot climb, so we devise a plan to laze around town until dusk and hike a few hours into the evening when temperatures have cooled. The town has a public bathroom with a free cold shower, so we rinse ourselves and our clothes off. We dry off nearly instantly in the heat of the day. It is a rare two bath day.

The general store has no prices on any of its items, and we need a few days of food until we arrive in our next town. I bring my selections up to the counter and hope for the best. Protein bars and packets of instant potatoes ring up for 5$ each on the cash register. 20$ beef jerky. 7$ peanut butter. Are the prices set or is the worker entering in whatever they want per item? My bill climbs to a horrifying total. Supply and demand.

After a few hours of laying in the shade at the local park, temperatures have dropped slightly and we start our hike out of town with “Papa bear”- a very experienced east coast hiker from New Hampshire and “Personal Sherpa” and wine importer from Maryland. It is nice to chat with them as we labor up the slopes of the Sierra Buttes. The sunrise is dramatic and red painted from fires burning north of us.

At dusk we pass the 1200 mile mark, and continue on a few hours Into the dark.

We stop hiking at 11pm.