PCT 2015 Day 84: Old Station

• Start: 1,351.4
• End: 1,374.5
• Miles: 23.1
• Camp: Old Station

The day started with a couple of moderate climbs, and again I noticed the high number of trail signs pointing out other parts of the National Park. The morning was uneventful though, and I spent most of it inside my head. Between the forests and the thick vegetation there was little to see, and the hiking was easy.

In the afternoon, we arrived at Twin Lakes, where the number of day hikers suddenly increased dramatically. The terrain was easy and the trail was flat or slightly downhill for a long while. I was glad to walk through a burn area, which made a change from the dense forest and allowed a clear view out to Lassen peak.

Later in the day the trail started sharply downwards as we hit the boundary of the National Park and reentered the Lassen National Forest. We were on our way to town, always a downhill! We had sent boxes to the gas station, and heard it closed at 7pm, so we needed to make decent time. As we descended we hit thick, sandy trails and a lot of dust which slowed us down and made breathing difficult, but we had plenty of water from Hat Creek just four miles before the road which helped.

When we arrived at the road, the shop and deli at the RV park and resort were closed, and there was no way to book or check into a motel room so I was glad I hadn’t had service to book one earlier! We did manage to get a ride to the Old Station Fill-Up, the gas station around 3 miles down the road, to pick up our food box before it closed. The new owners are great people, super nice to hikers and very helpful. They pointed out the camping spaces in the backyard and we decided to pitch there for the night given the proximity to the breakfast cafe, JJs. There’s nowhere else to eat breakfast here, and the shop at the RV park doesn’t open until 8am with the post office not open until 11am so we are better off at this end of the tiny town until tomorrow.