First Freights! LOL

"I REPEAT MYSELF WHEN UNDER STRESS, I REPEAT MYSELF WHEN UNDER STRESS, I REPEAT MYSELF WHEN UNDER STRESS, I REPEAT..."(KING CRIMSON). 

I am out of my mind with emotions! I'm packed and just starting to hike, only THREE hours behind! I was up way too late last night, sorting, packing, unpacking, sorting, and packing again. Then, up at the crack of dawn to start over again! This flashlight, that flashlight, both flashlights, how many lighters?, why don't I have granola??, Oh, there it is..., matches, no, lighters!... Ok, matches too, Ten pairs of socks or four pairs and try to do some laundry along the way,etc. Everybody does that, right? RIGHT?

So, now, I'm on my way! First trestle, first tunnel, more trestles, more tunnels, gotta shoot some video soon, doesn't matter how late I am, gotta get videos! OOH! Pictures! Water, canyons, flowers, views,... yes, it's all coming back to me! I almost forgot how majestic it all is up here in the HIGH SIERRA MOUNTAINS! Definitely GOD'S COUNTRY!! As each mile passes, I am constantly going over the mental check list: Feet ok? check. Thirsty yet? Drink! Backpack feel balanced? Equal weight on each shoulder? Waist belt too loose/tight? Straps all tight? Boots too loose/tight?... Man! This is exhausting!! Oh ya, I'm hiking! I think I'm gonna make it out alive again!...then again, it's just the first day!...

At one time, Cisco was quite the town. The Post Office operated from 1866 to 1941!

When I finally arrived at the ghost town of CISCO, I was disappointed to find the cabin I planned to sleep in was completely thrashed! The door was open and, although the bed was intact, everything was covered with critter poop! Hmmm, so much for sleeping the first night out of the elements!

On the other side of the tracks, about Fifty yards down, is a locked, and cared for Summer cabin. I decided to bed down on the back deck away from the visibility and noise of the trains. I used a broom from the nearby shed and swept the deck clean. There were two benches inside the shed also, so I pulled them out and used them as a wind break.

I fell into a deep sleep immediately after laying down. Somewhere in the middle of the night I was startled awake by a helicopter that came in hot and started circling overhead! The speaker was broadcasting, "IMAN HIKER, WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU!" over and over. "Man! They really take this trespassing thing serious!" I thought as I became fully awake. After a few circles, they started moving away, still repeating their announcement over and over! I started thinking,"Hey...if they knew I was here, they would just come and get me! Well, I AIN'T SAYIN' NUTHIN'!" "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! I'M NOT GOIN' OUT QUIETLY! YA GOTTA COME IN AN' GET ME, COPPER!" Boy...I musta watched alot of cops and robbers movies as a kid! Well, so much for a first night's sleep! (NOTE, IMAN HIKER is my Facebook name)

Early the next morning, as I scouted the area looking for historical artifacts, drinking my morning coffee and thinking about how I had eluded the law (hehehe!), that blasted helicopter came back! Then railroad vehicles came in and stopped right in front of the cabin I was behind! I slunk around behind the bushes and trees till I got back to the deck and hastily loaded my backpack for a quick escape when they tried to capture me. As I finished packing, I noticed the helicopter was moving further away and the vehicles had moved further down the tracks. I put everything away like I had found it, and beat it toward the west down the tracks that were now clear...

IN WITH TWO, OUT WITH ONE

It was a beautiful morning and I felt quite refreshed even though I hardly got any sleep! The rush of slipping out of the "LAW'S" clutches was invigorating! Plus, I was heading toward Blue Canyon! I've been told the water in Blue Canyon was used for drinking water on passenger trains, which stopped and filled up on their way through. It sure seems like a lot of weight to pull up the Sierra Nevada mountains by locomotive way back then! But, one thing I do know, that water sure is cold and tasty to a railroad hikin' crazy history hiker! I filled up both bottles and drank plenty when passing through!

Before I could even get to the water though, I would have to hike ten miles or so, and spend another night drinking other cold, tasty High Sierra snow runoff. Soon after leaving Cisco, I entered a snow shed that merged the two tracks down to one. I don't know why they did that, but I now only had to watch for trains on one track! I then passed through some scary long curving tunnels. There is a trick I use to pass through the tunnels: STOP, LISTEN, LISTEN SOME MORE, RUN LIKE THE DEVIL IS CHASING YOU! You don't want to get cought in a single track tunnel with a train passing through it...The train will always win!

The scenery is breathtaking! The South Yuba River is huge! I passed by far above it and Lake Spaulding when the tracks run along the north side of I80, after passing the Hwy. 20 to Grass Valley/Nevada City turnoff. As I meandered along, a work truck with two workers came into view...now what? I hadn't been afraid of the workers until the Cisco incident. Now, there was nowhere to go but past that truck! The men chatted a bit, then started asking me questions about when did I start my hike, where I was hiking from and if I had a dog! A DOG?? I told them I could barely take care of myself, let alone one of my crazy canines! They even wanted to know my age!They wouldn't let me take their picture but I snagged one of their rig. Dog...Hmmm...what the heck was that about??

I came along a spot where there was an old section of roadway right next to interstate 80. I think it is an original section of old Highway 40. Hmmm,,,hike the old highway 40 from end to end? Another future adventure, perhaps...

I entered a tunnel that took me under I80. At the west end the single track split into two tracks again. I then made my way to a sort of rail workers' office/equipment area. I stashed my pack and took the winding road up the steep hill to the little freeway stop called NYACK. There, I bought a regular, jumbo, and junior Whopper, and a couple other items at the adjacent store. I know when to stock up on food for the night! Heading back down the hill, a pickup stopped and the driver gave me a ride down to the tracks! How cool was that!?!

It was late in the afternoon so I picked up the pace a little and soon made it to my stopping point at the "hut" next to the tracks near Blue Canyon.There, like last time, I charged up all my equipment, pigged out on Burger King, and relaxed before bedding down with my 44 magnum for the night. This is a very scary place! I felt more fear in that hut than anywhere else on the entire trip...