{"id":3094,"date":"2016-06-24T20:11:50","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T20:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cncadventures.com\/?p=3094"},"modified":"2016-08-01T20:13:09","modified_gmt":"2016-08-01T20:13:09","slug":"infamous-sierra-buttes-climb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cncadventures.com\/?p=3094","title":{"rendered":"Infamous Sierra Buttes Climb"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the last two days, we have been hearing about the tough climb out of Sierra City up to the Sierra Buttes. The rock formation is readily visible way up above the town. Today, we tackle it for ourselves.<\/p>\n

We get a ride from Lila’s husband, to the trail after having breakfast at the Red Moose. We are on the trail at 0820. We immediately start our climb but much to our pleasant surprise it is in the shade of the forest. The grade is steady but not overbearing and we hike for 1.5 hours before taking our first break. We have gone 3.2 miles and are at an elevation of 5900 feet. Pretty good since we started at 4585 feet.<\/p>\n

\"Pit<\/a>

Pit Stop on the Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

Shortly after our break, we come out of the forest and have great views of the Sierra Buttes. This is very beautiful country. We continue climbing, now in the sun, however there is a cool breeze which is making it quite pleasant. We can see Sierra City directly below us as we walk along a steep ridge. We make it to 7000 feet and are still climbing. The trail switchbacks around some steep slide areas and is more rock than dirt. We take a short break on the trail in one of the few flat spots we have seen. It is actually the trail that is flat here, 2 foot wide, with 70 percent grade above and below the trail width.<\/p>\n

\"Yes,<\/a>

Yes, It’s Steep<\/p><\/div>\n

We are in the shade of a tree which is probably holding the piece of mountain above us down with its roots. We finally make it over the hump and descend slightly to Sierra Butte Spring which is running well. We get water right from the source and decide to cook dinner for lunch. We have a pasta side of garlic shells and add pouched chicken to it. Together with the very good ice cold spring water, it makes a great meal stop. While packing up, two Australians that we saw in town yesterday pull up. They were hitching to a place called Downieville to see a doctor. Apparently Goz has got some kind of excema on his hands so now they are all taped up. The doctors did not know what caused it. Goz and his wife Snowy are from Australia. He is German by birth (hence the name Goz, German Australian) and she is from Wales. Very nice couple and we exchange information with them.<\/p>\n

We do have to move on and start back up the trail. A mile or so later Goz and Snowy pass us by while Carol is making a pit stop. We come across some day hikers Justin and Jade from Reno, who are out exploring. They are very interested in what we are doing and we spend quite a bit of time talking to them before hiking on. A bit further, Kibbles and Bits who we met in Sierra City this morning, comes strolling along. He is from Toronto and made it through the Snowy Sierras. When I joked and said hiking in the snow must be nothing new for a Canadian, he tells us he had never backpacked before. Quite an ambitious journey to start with. He moves on ahead and we continue on. Carol has lost her mojo and starts to drag a bit. We move slowly on as what other choice do we have. We finally get to camp at 6:45 PM making it a long hours day. The good part is that we did not hit any snow at all today.<\/p>\n

\"Deer<\/a>

Deer Lake From Our Camp<\/p><\/div>\n

We are camped by the junction to Deer Lake Trail looking down on Deer Lake and Upper and Lower Salmon Lakes. It is a great spot to eat our peanut butter and nutella in a tortilla dinner. Here are the stats. 12.95 Miles at 2.3 MPH pace. Lots of elevation gain, around 3000 feet with our high point being 7479 feet. We are camped at 7330 feet. Onward tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\t\t