Hannibal's Pacific Crest Trail Chronicle

Well, first things first. I have to confess to wimping out on the Seiad Valley Pancake Challenge. Just the thought of eating 5 pounds of fried pancake batter, butter and syrup was enough to make me want a 4 egg "everything" omelet, home fries, bacon, juice, coffee and one pancake on the side. I have shamed the name thru-hiker (not to mention my family name and our reputation for having "good forks"), but at least I was able to make the 4500 foot ascent out of the valley without ejecting my stomach contents, as another unfortunate hiker did.

As you can tell from the title of this post, I have left California -- finally -- after 1700 miles. I am now in, as one local called it, Oregonation...whatever that means. One-third complete in state terms...but more importantly, two-thirds finished in mileage. A word about Northern California: Amazing! I knew the Sierra would be beautiful, and the Tahoe area, but was not expecting the rugged gorgeousness of No. Cal. Unpeopled and unspoiled. It kept getting better and better. Even the smoke from the several wildfires burning nearby could not detract from the scenery. And wildlife...much more to be seen and heard here than elsewhere, so far, on the Trail. I will be back.

And speaking of wildlife...let me relate a very exciting sighting. A couple of days ago, just outside Seiad Valley in the Marble Mountain Wilderness (called that because the mountains are made of marble, as you might have guessed) I found myself hiking after dark. I do this occasionally when the moonlight is good. And on that night, while the moon was still early in its cycle it provided enough light to hike by, particularly when reflecting off the marble. There were lots of owls flying around (think of R2-D2 from Star Wars with wings) and plenty of toads hopping out of my way as I went along the Trail. I found a meadow in which to camp at 10:30, shouted a hello to a couple of campers whose headlamps I saw a little way off, and started to lay my sleeping bag out on the ground...when I heard a soft "thump". The kind of noise a cat makes jumping from the dining room table onto the floor...which is exactly what it was. My light was in my teeth as I turned around at the noise. Even before its beam hit the animal I knew it was a mountain lion. Too short to be a deer, too quiet to be a bear, too big to be a bobcat or coyote. And then my light hit it...15 feet away, 5 feet long not including the tail and 2.5 feet high at the shoulder, with piercing cat's-eyes reflected in my light. It was big. We stared at each other for about 10 seconds, although it felt longer, before I made the first move (incidentally, my heart rate at this moment was about 5000 beats per minute). I took a step away, at an angle so I could keep the cat in my peripheral vision and then another slow step. The cougar, deciding I did not look, walk or smell like a deer scampered off in the opposite direction. Whew! and Wow! were my simultaneous reactions. It had apparently stalked me as I came into the meadow and crept along an enormous fallen tree before jumping off the trunk to get a closer look.

I decided to drag my gear closer to the other campers. While making my introduction to the others the lion made a circle around the three of us, apparently concluding we were not the prey it was looking for. Very exciting. And since I am able to write this, an amazing experience.

By the way, Happy Birthday Mom!