Far too hot to hike out, apparently, so we left our packs there and had milkshakes at a diner. Eventually took a lift to the trail and managed to start hiking just on 6. Was a short 1.4 miles to the 1500 mile marker and another 4 or so to a creek to make camp.
Spent most of the morning winding up a hill near some awesome rock formations. Was also in the shade of the mountain so it was cool and I was able to hike with my hat off.
Day went by pretty fast and despite lots of climb pushed on for a 29.5 mile day to camp between Deadfall lakes. For dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset with an orange reflection in the lower lake. Family hiked in a few miles from a nearby trailhead and made it hard to get to sleep, but eventually went down for the night.
Beautiful morning at the lakes made getting up easier. Day felt easy too as there wasn't much climbing. Was worried about some of the water so ended up carrying too much most of the day, but with a food bag half empty it was OK. Better with too much than not enough.
Recieved some much appreciated trail magic just before a climb at the end of he day. It felt kind of weird as the PCT had snaked around and the sunset was off to my right (i.e. I was heading south.) Couldn't help but feel that it was counter productive to my end goal...
More water again. Nothing on the Seirra Mountains but enough that I'm not carrying more than 1lt at a time, which is nice. Especially as all the climbing that should have been spread over the other days all seemed to get crammed into today. Loose rock and a side slant on the trail added to the difficulty.
Before Shasta I must have been in between bubbles, I have met 16 (sixteen!) new through hikers in the last 2 days. Tonight at camp there is 12 people, quite a bit different to solo camping.
Got to the trail head mid - morning and got a lift into Etna from 2 guys who were on a 3 day hike to some of the lakes. After a good lunch I hit up the Hiker Hut but all the beds were taken so I got a tent space. Still nice shower and a chance for laundry.
Was getting new shoes delivered too, but as it took the online store 4 working days to even process my order I had to wait until about 3pm the following day. Still a nice place to chill and town food is good too! Also gave me the chance to sow up my Driza-bone sock guards that are falling apart and bleach my water hose which got a little bit of mold.
Some friends decided to hang about and rest their feet/repair gear so we all hiked out about 5pm and got a few miles in before dark.
Saw a very small bear cub, no bigger than a teddy bear you can barely win on a rigged game at the Ekka. Little concerning as I didn't know where mum was... Luckily there was a few people nearby so we stuck as a group for a mile or so.
Quite a bit of up and down today and some more awesome crystal clear lakes off trail. Ended up camping next to Paradise lake, a spring fed and surprisingly not freezing cold lake. Some went for a swim but I just cleaned my feet/legs.
Despite 2 decent climbs it was an easy day of mostly gentle down hill. As we descended into he valley it did start to get a bit hotter but there was an awesome big triple trunk tree providing shade for lunch.
Camped just short of Seiad Valley, the next resupply, by a good creek. I went for a 'bath' in the water but only lasted about 5 seconds actually submerged. Opting to wash clothes and just splash water to wash arms and legs. Mozzies got really bad late afternoon as well and got a decent drink before being squished so a few red spots to wash off in the morning...
Woke up early to get into the Seiad Valley Cafe to watch Snacks attempt the pancake challenge. 5 pancakes made with 1lb of batter each. He got 2 down before feeling sick and struggled with 3/4 of the 3rd before conceding defeat.
Will resupply in the limited stock store here to last the 2.5 days to a larger town, Ashland. Only 1.5 days from the California/Oregon state line!!
Finally catching up with your blog while I am detoxing here in Thailand. Free (Fi Beneke)xx
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