Bad-Ass Buttes Meet Bad-Ass Pro-Agers on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail)!

I recently joined a group of bad-ass women to hike 31 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from Quincy/La Porte to Sierra City.  Due to an unexpected snow storm, our PCT adventure was slightly altered that included no overnight camping.  We ended up in small rustic cabins on the pristine Packer Lake doing day hikes around Round, Big Bear, Little Bear, Cub and Silver Lake on day one (9 miles).

That night we indulged in cocktails at Sardine Lake with our entertaining new friends Art & Carol + friends (all in their 80’s).

With snow still on the ground the next day, we set out from the Packer Lake Saddle heading up to the Sierra Buttes Lookout and then down the PCT to Sierra City (12+ miles). On the intense snowy 6 mile hike up with a gain of 1800 vertical feet ending with an intense set of stairs, we met Victoria, north of 70.

She was part of a large hiking group out of Sacramento and was one of the first women in her group to make it up the challenging Lookout hike.  She quietly told us her age because her group thought she was in her 50’s and she didn’t want them to put limitations on her. Ugh, why does age have to limit us!!

After a comfortable and warm evening at our cabin at The Lodge at Whitehawk Ranch.  The owners of Whitehawk, Jerry and Mary Ann, are a retired couple who run the lodge six months out of the year from May to October.  Another example of pro-agers rocking retirement!  We also met pro-ager, Mary Lou,68. She has been coming to Whitehawk for years and is still active after years of biking and skiing the area and the country.

Nature nurtures the spirit and the addition of good girlfriends, heartfelt conversations, laughter and inspiring pro-agers on every step of the journey made it a memorable adventure for all of us.  We were able to reminisce about our past, appreciate the present and visualize our future.

Bad-Ass Buttes took on the PCT and conquered it all!  Stay tuned for our next adventure…