PCT Day 62 – SoBo Flip – Weekend at Burneys

Burney Falls State Park (mile 1419) to Burney CA the town (mile 1411)

Total PCT miles hiked: 829

Due to our early start Keith (Starman) and I arrived at the Sierras when there was still a lot of snow, and decided it wasn’t safe to attempt a crossing given my skill level. We elected to flip up to northern California and hike southbound (SoBo) back to where we left off near Lone Pine – giving the snow a chance to melt out. During this flip the PCT milage will be counting down, but I’ll include a tally of our total milage hiked so that you can keep aprised of our progress in a linear fashion.

We spent this morning walking from Burney Falls State Park to highway 299 where we hitched into the town Burney; our driver is an older woman who moved up here four years ago, southern California born and bred who just couldn’t stand the city life any more. We never quite get around to introducing names. I share the back seat with Odie, an elderly terrier mutt who is quite content to stand very close to my face and allow me to pet him for the duration of the six minute drive.

The first thing that is apparent about Burney is that it’s a highway town, long and skinny, three restaurants a gas station, Dollar General and a grocery store. No sidewalks in the entire town safe for in front of the McDonald’s, whatever that says about America. It’s clear folks are used to driving in this town, they flash me a look that is at once confusion mingled with just a little concern as I make my way down the combination road shoulder-bike lane combo. Though hundreds of cars made there way through here earlier today during the busy memorial weekend, the population in Burney is just about 3,000. This is apparent during our lunch at Anna’s County Kitchen which, by the way, is everything you’d want and expect it to be. People coming in for Sunday brunch greet each other as neighbors if not downright friends, asking about health and grandchildren. It’s not something one sees commonly in LA, this sort of social circle by proximity.

I would have never come to Burney for any reason were it not for the PCT. For no fault of its own and no reason on my part, other than I hadn’t gotten around to visiting anything near it. This type of town is surprisingly numerous in northern California, though the vastness of the state means that Burney and towns like it are isolated for 30 to 60 minutes in any direction. It’s these rural American communities that people thinking about California forget. But it’s worth remembering that California only became a solid blue state in 1988; the year I was born. There are lots of towns where hunting, fishing, and riding an ATV are the preferred modes of outdoor recreation. Mountain towns without expensive tourists restaurants and health food stores. The kinds of towns that are all over this country.

But Burney also loves it’s hikers. Our driver, our waitress, the grocery store clerk, along with several people on the street asked if we were PCT hikers, all of them wishing us good luck on our hike. My last interaction with a well wisher is while I’m standing in the McDonald’s waiting for my McFlurry – M&Ms and Reese’s cups, if you want to know. Larry asks me if I’m a hiker, tells me he always wanted to hike the trail but he’s too busy working now. We talk about some of the areas I’ve hiked near here, tell him about how we’re flipping around the Sierra and then heading south and that’s why we’re here so early. I tell him he should consider section hiking if he’s busy and he tells me he gets out into “this country” a lot. Smiling, he says that when he’s free he heads out in any direction “find a lake to post up at and start fishing.” I notice his camo baseball hat and asks if he’s a hunter. He is, and a hiker too. “I love being outside any chance I get. We moved here in ’64 and all us kids rode our bikes around everywhere. We went all around these hills. And all this land,” he spreads his arms wide and ushers towards the north “is US Forest Service that’s leased to foresting companies, so it’s all public land. We can go anywhere we want up there.” By “we” he means you and me, he means the American public. Because of where Larry lives he’s very aware that the forests and lakes he loves are the property of the American public. You, citizen, this is your forest, your mountain, your desert. The PCT runs through a lot of these lands, they’re an amazing natural resource and something that’s central to the heart of America. We talk about the importance of public lands staying public and out of the hands of companies. How important it is for Larry to imagine future generations on this land, to grow up riding bikes around in the woods below the shoulders of Burney Mountain. Soon his food is ready and so is mine. We shake hands and he wishes me luck as we head in opposite directions at the parking lot.