Bucks Summit

I descended to the Middle Fork Feather River first thing this morning. I got there at 9am and it was already hot enough to take advantage of the swimming holes under the bridge. I only went in the shallow ones since I was alone. The large, deep one looked iffy since I’d have to swim back through a strong current to get out again. The water felt amazing.

The climb back up from the river had a fair amount of poison oak next to the trail but I don’t believe I touched any. There is supposed to be a lot of it throughout the rest of Northern California.

After Bear Creek, there was a seven mile long, very hot climb. I had wanted to wait for lunch until I reached Lookout Rock at the top, but I was seriously lacking energy and stopped early to eat. After a rest and a meal, the remainder of the climb wasn’t bad, and Lookout Rock had some great views.

Thunder started in the distance and dark clouds were getting closer so I started hiking again. I did actually get rained on this time, although just lightly. The rain and thunder slowly faded after an hour or so.

I reached the road at Bucks Summit and found a bunch of bananas sitting next to a sign post. As I was eating one, a guy in a truck across the street yelled over, asking if I wanted a cold drink. Of course I did!

Trail Angel ADD soon brought out a chair, a soda, cookies, fruit, chips, salad, corn on the cob, and sandwich makings for me. He was incredibly generous! A few more hikers came in and we decided to just camp at the road. I get to sleep on a lounge chair.

23.4 miles today.