Month: August 2016

Today was an interesting day.  I had a pancake breakfast with the same crew as last night then walked the last 6 or 7 miles into Seiad Valley.  There I was able to buy a days worth of food, shower, do laundry, and eat a burger and milkshake.  All that was left to do was climb 5000 ft out of town.  Yikes.  I’ve been dreading this climb for three hundred miles.

I slept in a little bit but probably got up just before 6:00.  I needed to get water since I ran out in the middle of the night so I went down to the river and loaded up.  I decided to go ahead and pack up to give Legend a chance to get things in gear and since I was walking the road into town, I didn’t want to waste any more time packing after breakfast.  Everyone except Peru was awake by now.

Legend was just flipping the first pancakes as I got back to the picnic table.  They were hot and fluffy and he had molasses for syrup.  I’m not normally a pancake guy, but these were good.  I must have eaten four of them.  The last batch he put raisins in.  They were good as well.

After breakfast, everyone helped pack the truck and they were off to town.  I was the only one who elected to walk it in.  It took just over two hours and was a nice walk.  I stopped several times to pick blackberries.  There was very little traffic, even on the main road for the last mile and a half.

I went to the store first to get a drink and an orange and basically to scope it out for when it came time to buy the one day of food I needed to add to the food bag.  Next was over to the RV park for shower and laundry.  It ended up costing $12 for a shower and laundry, which I thought was a little steep, but I stunk.  Meanwhile, I was charging all my goodies.  As I put the laundry in the dryer, it was time to hit the café.  Burger, salad, and fries went down quickly.  I ordered a blackberry milk shake but not to make it yet, so I could eat it on the way out of town.

Back to the store to buy food for tomorrow.  Mashed potatoes, cheese, Fritos, crackers, and a tram bar.  Oh, and don’t forget the Skittles.  Back to the RV park to pack.

Then a local told me about a forest road that passed by two waterfalls, was well shaded, smoothly graded, and crossed the PCT about 14 miles up the trail.  That sounded much better than a steep, rocky, shadeless exposed hike up a mountain in full sun.  It was 1:30 and already 92 degrees.  Legend had driven up the road before and confirmed everything the local said.  So I grabbed my milkshake and headed up the road.  The first mile had no shade and the milkshake did not last the entire first mile. 

I passed a road crew patching a section of road and talked with them a while.  The main thing they wanted to know – how many miles do you get out of a pair of shoes?  I told them 750 to 800 and they said that what the last guy said.  They like to talk about shoes, I guess.  I had a nice chat and headed on up the road. 

There were houses along the road as the shade started to come into play.  Lots of neat and interesting houses on this road.  One of them had the Sasquatch sign, so this must be a popular alternate route.  I stopped at one of the houses where the owner had just driven home and he had one of the interesting trees that I saw yesterday that I thought were a cross of magnolia and rhododendron.  He said they were madrone trees.  Tight grained white wood that splintered and split badly, so everyone used it for firewood since you couldn’t use it for much else.  I’ll have to research these more when I get home.  They were all over town, but yesterday is the first time I saw one in my life.

The road turned to gravel after about four or five miles, but stayed well graded.  The shade continued the while way and there were creeks along most of it.  I took a snack break at about 5:00 and noticed I was about out of water.  This area didn’t have a creek, but I checked the map and the waterfalls were only a mile ahead, so I could get water there.  The first waterfall was a decent size and getting water there would be difficult just because of the mist and splashing.  So I went on to the second one and it was much smaller and had easy access to the water, so I filled two liters there. 

I was just over a mile from the trail and got there about 7:30 and there were camping spots there, so I set up camp there for the night.  The couple from breakfast was already there.  They had taken the trail and it had taken them eight hours.  My route on the road took six hours.  I’m glad I took the road because I would have hated to hike until 9:30 to make it to the camp site.  I think the road was actually longer, but since it was less time overall, I think it was the right choice given the time I started.

So here I sit 21 miles from Oregon, eating mashed potatoes, tuna fish in oil, and sour Skittles (not all at once) and life is good.  The breeze up here is nice and cool and the trees have returned.  Let’s hope they stay all the way to Oregon.

I didn’t get up super early, but got out early enough to get me within striking distance to town, had shorter stops than usual, met a trail maintainer, and then had a trail angel serve me dinner.  The trail wasnt too rocky, it wasn’t too steep, it wasn’t too hot (in fact most of the day I was cold), and it was pretty well maintained in most areas.

The morning was very damp and cold.  The picture is from about half a mile from the campsite at about 6:30.  There were heavy clouds and fog in most areas around me.  I knew even before I got out of my sleeping bag that it was going to be a cold day.  The air was so thick with moisture and all my clothes were quite damp.  That made it all the more difficult to get dressed and get going.

When a arrived last night it was essentially dark.  And in the darkness I did not notice the PCT sign pointing to the left of the cabin.  So when I set off in the morning, I started off on the wrong trail.  I only went about two tenths, so it was not a big deal to backtrack, but when you have hiker hobble in the morning where your Achilles tendons keep you to a slow pace, even twenty feet can seem like a chore.

The morning was a little rocky and overgrown, so with the dampness in the air plus the dew on the vegetation, my legs stayed pretty wet for the first hour of the morning.  My hands were cold, but I had already sent my gloves home, so I just had to tough it out.  Once out of Marble valley, the trail returned to its usual ridge walks in and out of pines with moderate elevation changes.

I stopped for lunch at 11:30 at the last spring before the big climb.  I needed another liter and there was a huge pine tree with cut logs for tables and benches.  It was too perfect to pass up.  I ate salami and cheese wraps again, and was able to water, eat, and get going right at noon.  Yeah, finally a short lunch.

The next hour was steep downhill hiking.  It battered my feet a little bit, but nothing major.  Most of the forest was burned out, but it was still cool until about half way down, then it got noticeably hotter.  There was enough tree cover to keep me cool, but I was definitely no longer cold.  I took several breaks on the way down, but mostly quick ones five or ten minutes long.

The last campsite was six miles from town and was a developed state forest campground.  I was due to hit it just after 6:00, so a town entry was still a possibility.  The café would be closed, the store probably closed, and unknown if the RV park office would still be open.  Still on the fence.

About three miles from the campsite, I ran across a man and woman packing gear onto two horses and a donkey.  Bill and Peggy were their names and they had just cleared logs across the trail.  I talked with them a short while then moved on.  The trail kept getting easier, and even with the chat, I would still get to the campground by 6:15 and could be in town by 8:15.  Still on the fence.

I ended up getting to the campground right at 6:15 and I was tired and my feet sore, but I still had six miles in me.  Then the decision was made.  At the campground was a trail angel named Legend who was all set up and ready to cook spaghetti dinners.  I had seen this guy in Mount Shasta, so I knew who he was.  Walk two more hours or eat free spaghetti.  The mind was made up, and spaghetti it was.  He made a huge pot and put a can of chili in it to add meat to it and it was quite good.  Six more hikers rolled in a few at a time, and each time a new pot of spaghetti went to boiling. I think I ate five plates of it before I actually got full, but I did eventually get full. 

So town will have to wait for the morning.  But town might have to wait for pancakes, too.  Legend is making pancakes tomorrow morning.

I listened to music in the morning, headed out about 6:15, dealt with more rocks, passed up on an easy hitch I to Etna, and hiked until dark.  All that and I’m still 32 miles from Seiad Valley.  I’m not sure if I want to make tomorrow an easy day and roll into town early Wednesday, or try to push and make town late tomorrow.  I’ll let the morning tell me what to do.

The wind died down early in the night and when I awoke, the lake was mirror flat.  Leaving the lake, the trail was quite rocky and I did not make good time.  I took many short breaks and stopped at every peak trying to get a cell signal.  The town of Etna was to the east and did provide a good signal if you were faced in that direction.

The trail eased up on the rocks after a few miles and started to look like the trail has looked for the last 200 miles – nondescript ridge walking through dying pine forests.  There are so many dead trees on the forest floor and not enough young ones to take their place most of the time.

I hit the road to Etna at about 9 am and there was a truck there that pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride to town.  It would have been so easy to just stroll into town and eat breakfast and grab a coke.  But the road has so little traffic, I was worried I would never get back out to the trail.  I did not want to risk wasting three hours so I declined and hiked on.  That’s the third easy hitch I’ve turned down.  I must be crazy.

I met a new through hiker, Cougar, who is camped near me now, and two couples who I did not get names of.  I saw a few day hikers near the road to Etna, and there are several tents at this campsite that I suspect are short term hikers.  I got here too late to really see the place well.

I ate lunch at the top of a ridge in shady pine trees and thought I ate quickly, but it still took a full hour.  I need to figure out how to make lunch faster.  I wanted to eat quicker today since I took so many breaks this morning.  I had only gone 11.5 miles by noon today.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.  I try to do 12 by 12.  Some days I can hit 14 or 15.

There were lots of clouds in the afternoon, which was good because most of the terrain was barren either because it was rocky or burned out.  Between the clouds and breeze, I was actually cold more than hot most of the day.  But even though I was not hot, I sweated alot because the terrain all day was pretty hilly.  And more rocks, too.  The rocks really slow you down and pound your feet to a pulp.  The last  hour of hiking today, they were pretty sore.

Today was also supposed to be a dry stretch, so I had loaded up a full 4 liters this morning.  It turns out there were several undocumented water sources, so I could have done with two or three.  It did not feel too heavy because I am starting to eat the food down pretty low so there’s less food weight right now.  Three days of food is about where it shifts from heavy to light.  I hate loading up six days of food.

I ended up hiking all the way to Marble valley to camp, when I had intended to stop about a mile or two short of there so I did not have to hike all the way until dark.  But the last two miles of ridge were just too rocky or steep to pitch a tent, so I had no choice.  I was making good time despite the sore feet, so I guess it worked out fine.  I hate showing up to a camp full of people late and having to set up and cook while they are trying to go to bed.  I got everything done as quickly as possible and got to bed by. 9:45 which wasnt too bad.  Now to see what the feet tell me in the morning.

I had a more normal day hour wise, but the terrain got a bit rougher in the afternoon.  I’m not even sure exactly what time I started hiking, but I think it was probably about 6:30 based on how long I was listening to music in the morning.  I ended the day at a campsite by a lake at about 7:30.  I would have gone an hour more, but the terrain ahead is steep and the next official tentsite is eight miles away.  Normally I’d go ahead and move on looking for level terrain but there is none ahead, so I’d rather not risk pushing on past 10:00 just because I can’t find a place to camp.

The morning was pretty easy terrain and good tree cover with a nice breeze.  I couldn’t even tell I was hiking south.  I left camp before the couple awoke so I didn’t see them again until after 4 PM, but mid morning the trail crossed another road with a trailhead so I saw four day hikers.  The only other people I saw all day were a southbound couple late in the day.  I’m not sure if they were through hikers or not.  I didn’t get a chance to talk to them very much.

After crossing the road, the trail climbed again and got rockier and rockier as it rose.  By the time the trail crested the peak and went to the other side, it was pretty much all rocks.  A few miles later the trail began to traverse Russian Peak and by then it was all rock and a burn area with nothing but dead trees.  At 5 PM with a breeze, it was actually cool instead of smoking hot.  But it was ugly.

The lake I stopped at is pretty high in elevation and buts up to a peak that is crumbling rock into it.  It’s a nice lake and I can see a trail going all around it and other campers on the other side.  I know it’s not the couple I camped with last night, but I don’t know who it is.

Just six miles ahead is another road that will lead into the town of Etna.  It’s eight or ten miles to town and it looks like a road so small it would have no traffic on it and be impossible to hitch.  I have enough food,.so I do t need to stop, and I definitely don’t need to waste time in a town again.  I will skip Etna again.

I am currently 62 miles from Seiad Valley, which is and odd distance.  It would be nice to get there in two days, but it’s just a little to far to make in two days and get there at a decent time.  You don’t want to roll into a town after everything is already closed.  I doubt I’ll be able to knock off two thirties, so I’ll probably do just shy of thirty tomorrow and twenty five the next day to leave a quick eight to ten to roll into town early, get my chores done, and get back to the trail.  It’s a monster climb out of town, so I hope it’s not hot.  We will find out in due time.

No more rain fell last night and I was able to get out early by 5:15 and hiked all day long until 8:30 PM.  I heard thunder towards the end of the day and snapped this picture just before stopping to camp.  The clouds being so tall have many different hues of color from the sun striking over the mountains.  While cooking dinner, I could see flashes of lightning in those clouds by heard no thunder.

Today’s terrain was much like yesterday’s, fairly level, not too rocky, exposed from lack of trees but cool with a breeze, and frequent water, but many of them were hard to collect from.  They also weren’t as cold as the ones from yesterday.  Since I have no more beer, it doesn’t make too much difference how cold it is, as long as it’s refreshing.  It was cool enough today that the water I carried never got hot.  When I started out in the morning, I was afraid I was going to be cold and regret sending the down jacket home.  it ended up being just fine with just the long sleeve shirt and long pants.

The one thing that was depressing about today’s hiking was that most of it was hiking SOUTHWARD in stead of northward.  It feels like going backwards.  I have about three miles of southerly hiking tomorrow, before it turns westward and then by afternoon turns North again.

I didn’t see as many people today as I was expecting to see, since their are trailheads near by and it’s the weekend.  I saw one new thru hiker in the morning, then again a few miles from camp.  And right where I camped I saw the couple that I had seen for the first time yesterday.  I only saw one family of day hikers all day.  That really surprised me.

In the early afternoon, I crossed highway 3 where you can hitch into Etna.  I was hoping there would be some trail magic there, and as I approached, I saw a row of six coolers.  I checked each one and they were all empty except for one that still had ice in it and a box of fudgecicles.  Every one of them was just a bag of brown goo, all of them having long ago melted.  There was also a bag of garbage that you could tell had far more garbage in it than came from the coolers.  All of the coolers were the disposable type, so you could tell this was just a bunch of stuff someone brought out and is not likely to come back to clean up.  I can see why the PCTA hates unofficial caches of anything.  They quickly become a garbage pile.

Karen bought the family size of tuna pouches, so I have been able to put half a pouch and one Mayo lack on a tortilla and make two tuna wraps for lunches.  I am amazed at how much I love eating tuna now.  I would have thought that long ago I would have sworn off tuna and mashed potatoes, but I still really like both of them.  I have to eat the tuna plain and not put it in my food, but I usually eat a small pouch while I am cooking my potatoes.

I didn’t realize the last four miles to my campsite were all uphill, but I wanted to make up for stopping a little bit early yesterday because of the rain.  I was able to make pretty good time up the hill, but kept stopping to take pictures of the sunset since the cloud formations were so interesting.  I was hoping to do 30 miles today and was very pleasantly surprised to find out I did over 32.  Most of the trail was mild, but there was still alot of climbing and alot of rocks.  I took only one hour long lunch break today instead of two and starting early really helped.  I did take lots of fifteen minute breaks today.  I think I’m ready for Oregon now.  Bring it on.

I got a good start at 6:15 but stopped about 7:30 because it started raining.  Yes, actual rain.  When I woke up, there was thick cloud cover overhead.  From about 3 onward, the sky to the north was tick with dark clouds and calling rain.  Since I am hiking North, it only makes sense that the rain would eventually get to me.

I really liked the campsite I had last night.  I slept well and there was no wind to speak of.  I was mainly glad to be away from the mosquitoes.  I still had more climbing to do in the morning, but it was not steep.  The day looked to be gradual ups and downs.  But I did not anticipate it being so exposed and so rocky.  I passed four more hikers waking up and two of them passed me late in the morning but no one from yesterday ever caught up unless they passed me late after I had already made camp.

I did pass alot of day hikers today.  I passed two trailheads and am just a few miles from a third right now.  Many of them had dogs, too.  Being the weekend, I will probably see more tomorrow and Sunday.

I wore the shorts today and it was hot enough for them, but good breezes kept me cool.  The exposed areas did give me a slight sunburn on my left knee, though.  It is supposed to rain tonight and possibly tomorrow, so I will wear the long pants tomorrow.

I hit two large lakes with camping spots right about 7:15 and some weekenders were camped there and had a dog and left their dog food outside their tent.  I didn’t feel comfortable camping with them.  There was another parking area three miles further that had flat ground before and after it and I thought that would make a good camping area.  I would still get there well before dark.  After about one mile, it started to sprinkle very lightly and I found some good flat ground with tree cover from the wind.  I decided that was about as perfect a spot as I was going to find tonight, so I went ahead and stopped there. 

I got everything set up just before it started to rain lightly.  I snuck into the tent and left the stove outside to cook from inside the tent.  It rained just enough to keep me pinned inside, but not enough to actually get anything wet.  I ate in the tent and then drank my last Mango IPA beer that I had chilled in the creek.  It was delicious.  It’s also nice to get rid of something heavy.  I need to try to do some big miles tomorrow so I can get to Seiad Valley early if possible, because I am due to arrive in Ashland on Saturday and have three packages waiting at the post office.  I don’t want to have to wait until Monday to pick them up.

Another full day today.  Packing, mailing, eating, and hiking.  I tried to sleep in, but 5 am fits like a comfortable glove.  I have not watched any TV in two months except for one movie at the hostel in Mammoth lakes.  I decided to turn on the TV and I found the swimming Olympic trials in Omaha, so I watched three sessions of that.  I had so much leftover pizza and fruit, that I never went out for breakfast, I just ate my extra food.

Then the packing began.  The groceries were uncomfortably heavy walking back last night, so I knew I was in for a treat packing.  I did not think I bought too much at the grocery, but alot of the things I did buy were heavy.  Like salami, two blocks of cheese, refried beans and more tortillas.  Tortillas are heavier than you think.  I needed to sort out four more days of food and stack them with the heavier days at the top.  I have two food bags.  One contains a stack of gallon zip lock bags with one day of food in each.  That contains tomorrow plus food.  The other bag is smaller and contains the current days food plus “the kitchen” bag with miscellaneous ingredients and things that are multi day.  The tortillas, salami, cheese, and beans are for all four days I bought and go in the day bag.  The heaviness was added to by packing out two beers and a liter of Squirt.  It looks fuller than with the bear canister through the Sierras.

There were a few items I could ship home and some I could ship the Ashland.  I shipped the trekking pole and one short to Ashland.  I haven’t used the pole in several days and may just return them instead of replace them at REI.  The shirt I sent ahead is gray, and it’s still a little hot, so I’m not quite ready to part with the white(ish) one yet.  I decided to send the gloves and down jacket home because I don’t think I’ll need them until Washington, so I can just bring them when I return back to the trail from the wedding.  There were also some medicines I didn’t need and I had to buy a big bottle of Motrin, so I counted out what I’ll need and sent the rest home to use in Washington.  I also sent the solar charger home.  I don’t think ill have enough sun to be able to use it once I enter Oregon.  Hopefully the battery will work better without it.

I checked out at 11 and went to the outfitter next to the laundromat to look for some new socks.  I am carrying three pair and two single socks are developing holes in the bottoms.  They did not have Thorlos but they did let me stash my pack there while I walked Bout town.  Neither of the other two outfitters in town had Thorlos either.  Oh well, nothing left to do except eat.

I made my way down to the Burger Frosty to check it out.  They had just opened so I stopped in.  A double cheeseburger with fries and a blackberry shake.  I don’t dare tell Karen how good the skinny fries were because she loves skinny fries.  The burger was good and the shake great.  I could have had another one.

It was kinda neat walking around downtown with Mt Shasta behind the shops.  It really is a cool looking mountain.  I walked back to the outfitter to get my pack and try my luck at hitching out of town.  I found a place where people were going to the interstate but still had plenty of area to pull over.  It took about half an hour but a mini Cooper pulled over and picked me up.  It took a while to get there, but I got back to the trailhead about 1:30.

The part I had to walk next was a roadwalk on the road I had just travelled to get there, but I had to walk it to be official.  It was less than half a mile and fairly shady, so it was nice.  My right heel was still bugging me, but it was better than yesterday.  It mainly hurts on downhills and today would be mostly uphills.

I met two new hikers just getting dropped off at the other end of the road walk.  I walked up a little with them for the next hour and a half.  I ran across them at a creek at 3 PM and I was feeling sluggish, so I tried to take a quick nap.  Even though I don’t sleep, laying down for 45 minutes or so really does put a little juice back into the tank.  I made some coffee as I left.

The next time I saw them was about 5 PM at another creek, and about four more hikers were there with them.  Everyone had stopped for water.  I was going a few miles further to get water.  This section has lots of seasonal water and most of it is dry, so I will have to be diligent about where to get water.

When I stopped to get water, it was the last water and campsite before the long big climb started.  I was on the fence as to stay or go.  It was 7:30 and the next campsite was 5.5 miles away on the side of a steep ridge.  I would need to use the headlight for half an hour since I would not get there until 9:30.  I was tired so I was leaning towards staying there.  I found a perfect level tentsite, but the mosquitoes made my decision for me.  They were pretty bad there and I was wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  I headed up.

The climb was not too bad.  The sun was low, there were only small rocky sections, and the grade was not too steep.  I was on track to take the full two hours I thought it would take when I spotted a set of neat flat rocks on a little outcropping of rocks.  Hidden around the corner was a perfectly flat sandy site.  I would have breeze in the morning, a great view of the sunrise, and had great sitting spots to et.

I set up quickly and went straight to the rocks to eat.  I had enough lunch food, so I decided to make burritos for dinner to get rid of the heavy beans and cheese.  They were good.  Black bean and raw milk sharp cheddar with some hot sauce and they were great.  But not as great as one of the mango IPA that I packed out.  A few Cheetos and dinner was done.  Pleasant dreams to me.

Good day today.  Nice and cool, almost cold, good terrain, good shade, ample water, and a big town and hotel with shower at the end.

I was camped at a designated tentsite, which is unusual for me, but the terrain was ridge walking the whole time with steep slopes everywhere, so there wasn’t much choice.  There ended up being six of us at this site, all ready to strike for town in the morning.  First Light was the first one out, but he only beat me by ten seconds.  We were out by 6:15.  Only one of the other hikers was getting ready to roll when we left camp.  The other three were sleeping in.

There was more ridge walking and only three miles to next water.  I had half a liter, so I decided to just go three miles instead of loading up at the tentsite.  The three miles went quickly and the water source was a large river with a steep trail down to it.  First Light was already there getting water when I arrived.  Once he headed out, I never saw him again all day.

I ran across two new hikers at mid morning.  A couple from New Jersey.  I saw them several times throughout the day and later in town.  I also ran across Suds in town and the other unknown hiker from the last two days.

I also ran across a logging crew.  It was just like a scene from Axe Men, with a stationary crane at the top of the hill pulling logs up via cables to be loaded onto trucks.  Men all along the hill were cutting huge pine trees by chain saw and the trees made a huge thud when they hit the ground.  They were clear cutting big sections and cutting pretty close to the PCT such that it would expose the hikers to full sun for decades to come.  I don’t know who owned the land in this area, but on the Appalachian Trail they strongly regulate the trail corridor on public lands such that direct visible impacts are undetectable.  I thought this was a state park area, but must either be private or a state or national forest.  I get that forests get farmed, but ten feet from the trail for 2000 ft is saddening.

I got signal off and on in the morning and finally figured out my signal was coming from the north so every time the trail went to the south of a ridge, I shut the phone off and when on the north side, I could “do business” until the trail shifted again.  I still hadn’t decided if I was going to Dunsmuir or Mt Shasta for the night, so much research was needed.  I’m getting pretty good at using the phone while hiking if the trail has no rocks.  Figuring out which way was North was trivial with gigantic Mt Shasta being to our North.

The last eight miles or so were going up and over one last set of ridges.  I took a quick lunch break at the top on a flat spot and sprawled out.  I had been going all morning without a break and my feet were killing me.  Instead of breaking into a new days bag of food, I finished up all remnants of the accumulated extra food from the prior days.  I ate everything down to some nuts, one granola bar, some peanut butter, and four tortillas.  Aside from two full days of food untouched, this is a pretty small accumulation of leftovers.  I need six days of food for the next stretch, so I only have to buy four.

The last four miles down the hill went by pretty quickly.  When I got down to the road, there was a cache of drinks and food.  They had Squirt and they were ice cold, so I went straight for one of those.  By this time, I had made up my mind that Mt Shasta was where I was going.  The hitch was on interstate 5 and there was no side road, so either town would be a tough hitch, so might as well go to the larger town with better amenities.  It’s a good thing I had made up my mind, because just then a car pulled up and asked if anyone needed a ride.  Talk about an easy hitch.  Another hiker,.MAGA, was also there, so we got an easy ride to Mt Shasta.  He went to the outfitter for shoes and I went straight to the hotel.  The guy who picked us up was also hiking the PCT and needed to go home for a week to let his feet recover, so he rented a car and just headed for the trailhead to see if anyone needed a ride.  The trail provides.  Let’s see if town provides a ride back to the trail tomorrow.

I checked into the hotel and headed straight for the shower.  Another fifteen minute foot cleaning session was required, and I had just washed my feet in a stream yesterday.  California knows how to dirty up some feet.  Next on the agenda was laundry, so I put on what I didn’t need to wash gathered everything up, and hoofed it three blocks to the laundromat.  Once the clothes were washing, I headed across the street to the health food store.  It was pretty small and didn’t have much selection, but I did buy some fruit and Mango Even Keel session IPA from Sculpin.  Mango IPA is becoming my new favorite.

There was a tamale truck next to the laundromat, so I had to try it out.  But pork or chicken… How to decide?  Oh yeah, both.  They were both excellent but I liked the pork best.  I hope they are there tomorrow, too.  I will probably not leave until late in the day tomorrow, so more food will be required.

Laundry done, I headed back to the hotel to call Karen.  Calls done, it’s time for the next round of chores – dinner and resupply.  I had asked the hotel owner where was the best pizza in town.  She answered The Roundtable, which was next to the grocery.  Score.  Oddly, there is an Italian restaurant across the street, yet a chain made her list over her neighbor.  Observing the golden rule of food shopping, never shop on anything less than a full stomach, I ate first.  I got a medium pizza and a salad bar, and the pizza was a little disappointing.  Californians just do not do well in the pizza department, bless their hearts. 

Next, to the grocery.  It was alot like a Hitchcock’s back home.  They had my favorite brand of ice cream and it was hard to not buy a half gallon.  The pizza worked.  I thought I was being pickier than usual with the food selections but by the time I got to the checkout it seemed like I bought too much.  I did but a liter Squirt and more fruit for the morning but we’ll see how much I really bought when it comes time to pack the daily bags.  I’ll do that tomorrow.

Dragging two bags of groceries and a pizza back to the hotel was taxing.  But not as heavy as a pack, just awkward.  I saw more hikers on the way back.  Apparently, one of the outfitters let’s people stay out back.  Pretty kewl, but I needed a shower.  So I am now back in the hotel, typing up the days blog entry and drinking another Sculpin.  Life is simple and life is good.

The terrain was easy today and it was much hotter than yesterday, but still not a bad day for hiking.  My feet are sore and tired today, but I’m with 20 miles of Dunsmuir now, so all is good.  The picture is of Mt Shasta, which I took yesterday, not today.  We had great views of it all day yesterday and I was expecting even better views, but I didn’t see it once today, so I thought I better post this one now, because I may not see it again.

I got up early, listened to some tunes, and got on the trail right at 6 am.  I was expecting my campsite to be cold, but it was rather warm all night.  Tonight looks to end up being the same.

It was a rather uneventful day of hiking.  The trail hugged the terrain and any descents or climbs were pretty moderate.  The trail was well shaded most of the time and any exposed areas were rarely more than 100 yds long except for one quarter mile section in the morning.  There were some sections with water every mile and others ten miles without water.  You really have to pay attention to how much water you have and how far to the next water.  I crossed the large McCloud river about 3 or 4 PM and thought long and hard about going swimming.  I had switched from long pants to shorts at lunch one so I was not hot, but it’s hard to pass up a good swim.

I saw two of the same hikers as yesterday.  The one I have seen for several days now is First Light because he usually gets up at first light.  He sounds like me.  The other one I saw only once and did not meet.  Two new hikers showed up just before getting to camp, so I did not meet them yet, either.  After making it to camp, i thought i saw two more hikers show up.  It looks like alot of people are stacking up within striking distance of town for tomorrow.  We are just under 20 miles away.

I am planning on getting up early and trying to get to Dunsmuir by 3 PM.  I don’t think there is a hostel in town, so it looks like I might be hotel bound tomorrow.  If they have laundry, I won’t complain.  I have been dreaming of pizza, too.

I have heard all sorts of scary things about this section I am hiking now, but so far there is nothing scary about it.  The burned out sections are small, there is plenty of shade, the grades are not bad, the rocks are not bad, the only negatives are the trail being a little overgrown and water being a little scarce.

I had a little extra housekeeping this morning scrubbing my pot that I let soak overnight because I burned some powdered milk to the bottom, so I did not get on trail until about 6:20 but I don’t think any hikers passed me in the morning.  The mosquitoes were not bad, the trail was gentle, shade ample, and a good breeze kept me slightly cold for the first time in weeks.

I was able to get a cell signal in the morning, so I spent nearly an hour doing some electronic housekeeping.  One hiker passed me and we would leapfrog each other all day long.  I never caught his name, but I have seen him three days in a row, so introductions are in order tomorrow.  Another hiker named French Fry I met yesterday after seeing him off and on for a few days.  I leapfrogged with him several times today, too.  One hiker that I saw today I also saw yesterday, and a fourth I saw for the first time today.  I have not seen any of the other hikers I have met in the last two weeks on trail or in towns.  I think they are all behind me because I do not stay in towns for very long.  It’s hard to tell since the PCT has a very poor register system compared with the Appalachian Trail.

Some sections were badly overgrown, but nothing you had to force your way through.  They were usually pretty short and did not scratch my legs.  I was wearing shorts today, expecting hot weather that never materialized.  It was nice wearing shorts, but my legs get even dirtier than with the long pants.  I ran across a trail crew clearing brush.  There were two adults and five or six teens/twenties.  They had one weed whacker with a triangular blade and lots of hand tools.

I made a small booboo when I missed a water stop that was off the trail.  I didn’t realize my mistake until I was a mile past the water stop.  The next water was ten miles away, it was about to be the hottest part of the day and I only had four ounces of root beer and six ounces of water.  As long as I had shade, I should be able to make it without discomfort.  But if the sun was beating on me and I had to do any major climbs, I would be a hurting puppy. 

The miles went by pretty fast.  I drank the water first, since I had recently eaten, I wanted to drink the root beer last.  I drank the last of the root beer with four miles to go.  I had a little bit of a climb, so I chewed on a piece of gum to keep my mouth occupied.  I got to the water exactly when I expected to, and dropped the pack and went down to the creek to collect a full four liters.  I drank a liter and a half within ten minutes and filled two and a half more liters to carry.  I also had a quick snack.  Four hikers were at the watering hole at the same time.

I had another ten miles to the next water and it was already 4 PM, so chances were good that I would not make that water tonight and would dry camp.  Like yesterday, I was quite tired, so I stopped an hour into the hike to rest and eat.  I had the family sized tuna packs, so I was able to make two tortillas with one pouch and two Mayo packs.  I have never eaten so much tuna in my life, but I am not tired of it yet.  As long as I eat it plain or just as tuna salad, I’m fine.  But I can’t put it in my food like tuna Mac.  Blech.

I ended up making it six of the ten miles before I found an old road that had perfect tent sites and it was about 7:30 so it was the perfect time and place to stop.  Very few mosquitoes made for a pleasant dinner.  I washed up a little bit, but I don’t have alot of water.  I have about half a liter for the four miles to water in the morning.  I will be thirsty, but I’ll do fine in the cool morning weather.