Chester to Burney.

Mile 1,333 to 1,413.

Days 67 to 71.

The massive Dixie Fire burn area continues well past Chester and into Lassen Volcanic National Park. Over twenty miles of the Pacific Crest Trail are within the park boundary. Towards the end of this stretch, hikers tackle Hat Creek Rim – a beautiful but notoriously dry and shadeless bit of trail.

Day 67

I awoke on the outdoor stage in the local park in Chester, CA. I felt refreshed. The stage felt strangely similar to an Appalachian Trail shelter. I found this comforting and slept deeply and restoratively – even though I probably technically wasn’t allowed to sleep there.

I packed up early – before anyone could notice I’d slept in the park and tell me to leave. I headed over to a diner for some coffee. From there, I walked to the Laundromat – where I found many thru-hikers. This seemed to be the place in town for thru-hikers to hang out. It had it all: outlets to charge, a toilet, a pay-shower, protection from the elements, and drinking water from a sink. And no employees around to tell us to leave or make us buy anything to stay. It was truly the perfect place for hikers to loiter.

And I was thankful to find such an ideal place to hang out. With temperatures in the high 80s today, I’d decided not to leave town until the evening, to avoid the worst of the heat. I shared a load of laundry with three other hikers, and then sat around eating food I’d bought from the grocery store, writing, and charging my devices. I also took a shower at the coin operated shower attached to the Laundromat. I hadn’t showered in about a week, and with all the ash in the burn area I was looking and feeling extra grimy.

It was challenging to hang around town for so many hours not hiking, especially once I finished my chores. But this part of California is in a heat advisory for the next several days, with highs in the high 80s and 90s most places. I had to keep reminding myself that it’d be counterproductive, if not dangerous, to head back to the trail midday today.

Around 5 pm, I hitchhiked back to the trail. I got a ride with a man who had just dropped off his teenage son and his friends for their first-ever camping trip. Our chat brought back memories of when I was a teenager and just getting into camping and backpacking.

Back on the trail, I continued hiking through the Burn Area of the Dixie Fire. This burn area is a very challenging part of the trail. Not only is there no shade and ash that gets everywhere, but also tons of thorny brambles growing in the understory that cut up my shins as I walk. I’ll be excited to reach the live forest again soon.

In the evening, the air grew smoky and the sky became hazy. There is a wildfire in this part of California right now. Thankfully, it’s not close by, but the wind is blowing its smoke. The addition of fresh wildfire smoke made walking through the burn area feel all the more apocalyptic.

By dusk, I reached a river in a small patch of live forest within the burn zone. There, I had dinner with AC, 100Grand, and Swish, before continuing a short distance uphill from the river to camp.

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Day 68

Today, I hiked into Lassen Volcanic National Park. Mount Lassen is a large volcano that I’ve seen on the horizon for the past 5 days or so. Though the trail doesn’t get super close to the Volcano, today I got my closest views of it while passing through the large park.

Mount Lassen National Park was heavily impacted by the Dixie Fire. The 20 or so miles of the PCT within the park are mostly burned. Knowing that there’d be little shade in the burn area and that temps would reach the mid-80s today, I opted to wake up early.

My morning miles mostly involved wading through shin-high spiky plants in the burn area once again. Despite the painful plants grabbing at my ankles, I was quite speedy and busted out 17 miles by noon-ish.

I arrived at my planned lunch spot, a small lake with a few living trees, and promptly went swimming to cool off. Then, I ate lunch with 100Grand, AC, and two other thru-hikers that I’ve been seeing on and off over the last week or so. They all had big plans to hike 30+ miles today to reach a restaurant called Old Station, so they peaced out shortly after. I lingered at the lake, opting to take siesta to avoid hiking during the hottest part of the day. With the current heatwave and my hatred for being too hot, I’ve opted to resume my siesta schedule from the desert – at least for now.

While I chilled, Swish arrived at the lake. And around, 4:30 pm, the two of us started hiking together. The evening miles were pleasant and flew by. This section between Chester and Burney is really flat. There is less than 8,000 ft of elevation gain in the entirety of this 80-mile section. A huge contrast from the Sierras, where we easily would do the same amount of climbing in half the distance.

We came upon a small trail family eating dinner next to their tents. We’d recently met this group in Chester, so we stopped to eat dinner with them and chat before setting up camp.

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Day 69

Today was forecast to be yet another hot day. Furthermore, today, I would hike Hat Creek rim – an exposed section of trail known for its limited water sources and scenic clifftop views. I woke up earlier than usual to beat the heat and started down the trail as the sun rose. I enjoyed a brief hour of hiking in relatively cool temperatures. Too soon, I was dripping sweat.

By 10 am, I’d completed 10 cruise-y downhill miles to the road. The road is where some hikers take a brief detour to the restaurant and convenience store at Old Station. Right when Swish and I arrived at the road, 100Grand, Jukebox, and AC appeared. They’d made it to Old Station last night, and were just arriving back on the trail – each hauling a six-pack of beer for the climb up to Hat Creek Rim. These guys are insane: the water one needs to carry for this hot, dry stretch is heavy enough – without adding the weight of more alcoholic liquids.

Before starting the climb, the five of us took a brief detour on a side trail to a lava tube. A lava tube is a huge underground tunnel like a cave, but created by air bubbles in lava that later solidify into rock. They’re found in areas with a history of volcanic activity like this.

We put on our headlamps and headed down. The lava tube was longer and colder than I expected, and open at both ends. We ended up walking back and forth a few times, enjoying this unique area. When we finally emerged back on the surface, it was hotter than before. I quickly started back up the trail, eager to reach my siesta spot before the worst of the midday heat.

My siesta spot today was a creek/spring, 0.3 miles and 400 feet downhill. It was an annoyingly steep side trip, but worth it to bice-coldice cold groundwater coming straight out of the rocks! There were plenty of big shrubs for shade in the riparian corridor – which created a highway for butterflies and other insects out of the hot sun. It was the perfect spot for a long, lazy, restful afternoon.

Around 4:30 pm, I dipped my dress and hat in the creek before heading back up the switchbacks to the PCT. I enjoyed the view off of Hat Creek Rim – including Mt Shasta in the far distance. This area is beautiful, but as the evening went on, smoky haze from a nearby fire blew in, obscuring all but the closest ridge from view.

I reached a water cache around dinner time. There, I found AC, Jukebox, and 100Grand lying on their camping mats on the ground and looking disheveled. Presumably, they were nursing hangovers after drinking a 6-pack each while hiking 16 miles in 85 degree heat. I ate dinner with them before continuing a short distance to find a campsite.

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Day 70

Today was the worst day of the hot spell. The temperatures were predicted to soar into the high 90s and low 100s. Despite having hiked into the evening the day before, I woke promptly when my alarm went off. Fueled by my fear of extreme heat, I packed quickly and was hiking by 6 am.

I flew down the trail with one goal in mind – reaching town before the heat grew too intense. I only had 16 miles to get to a road where I’d hitch to the small town of Burney, CA. Around 8 am, I arrived at a dirt road. There, I found a small water cache, and a woman doing trail magic out of the back of her truck! Despite my desire to get to an air-conditioned environment as quickly as possible, I decided to stop. I took a seat in one of her camp chairs and enjoyed her homemade zucchini bread and a Gatorade.

I arrived at the road before 11 am, and it was already scorching hot. 100Grand, Swish, and I tried to hitch together. It ended up taking us half an hour to get a ride – making this the longest I think I’ve ever waited for a hitch. All the guys rolled their eyes when I told them that. They are used to waiting much, much longer in some cases.

Once in town, I got brunch at a Mexican restaurant and headed over to a church, where they let hikers shower and sleep in the gymnasium. The un-airconditioned gym wasn’t the vibe I had in mind for my rest day. Swish and I decided to splurge and split a motel room, ditching the rest of our friends in the overheated gym. As I checked in, the thermometer behind the motel’s front desk read 103 degrees. If ever there was a time to splurge on an air conditioned motel, it was today!

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Day 71

I awoke disoriented, to the sound of my phone ringing. Who was calling me at 5:56 am? I looked at my screen. It was GTA! A thru-hiker I traveled almost 400 miles with in the desert, but haven’t seen since she got off trail temporarily for her graduation in late May.

GTA sounded a bit distraught. She’d been up all night traveling back to the trail after getting off the trail again for a family vacation. Upon arriving in town, disoriented and sleep deprived, she attempted to sleep on a park bench and at a halfway house. She was kicked out of both. Now, she was hoping to crash on my motel room floor. I gave her the name of the motel and room number. “I might be there sooner than you think” was her only response.

Sure enough, I only had time to eat three doughnuts before GTA was knocking on my door. It was a groggy but joyful reunion with my friend I hadn’t seen since just past Agua Dulce. Soon, we were both asleep.

I managed to sleep in until 9 am – which must be a record for me on this trail since usually I’m awake with the sun no matter how tired I am. I headed to the office for the free breakfast – hoping for eggs and bacon and maybe juice. It turned out to be just honeybuns and other pre-packaged pastries. The same type that I eat while on trail. But at least there was hot coffee!

It was already hot by the time I finished breakfast. Today, the temperatures were forecast to be almost as hot as yesterday – 102 degrees. I opted to zero in Burney and wait out the worst of the hot spell – just like did in Tehatchapi.

It was a very lazy zero day. I caught up on my writing, which I’d fallen behind on. I also had lunch with GTA and Swish at the Mexican restaurant and hung out at the church gymnasium with the hikers staying there. Lots of folks are also waiting out the heat, either hiking out tonight or tomorrow morning.