Day 97
July 24
1506.6-1521.6
15 miles

I wanted to get up early, get packed, and get to the road to start hitching back to the trail by 8am or so. However, I was completely and utterly exhausted! As I lay in my bed, part of my brain told the rest of me to take advantage of the room I had to myself, knowing that I would likely be staying in a bunkroom in Etna, where it would be hard to rest. Sleep a little now while you have the chance… So, I stayed in my bed a little longer and then walked over to the organic place for breakfast at 8. However, I learned that they would not actually be making breakfast sandwiches for another our or so!! (What??) So, I hunted down a banana and a little container of yogurt and ordered a latte. I decided to wait for a breakfast sandwich and used the intermittent time to write a facebook update and do a little texting. Then, I ordered a second latte along with the sandwich. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, I was so tired! After I finished, I returned to my room to finish my sorting and packing and I was able to text a bit with my friend, Checka, whose wedding I was trying to get to. I told her about my continuing illness and she offered to do reiki on me every day for a few minutes! She suggested that we both stop at a certain time each day and allow the energy to be sent and received. I was so thankful for this generous gift!!
By the time I walked down to the road, it was after 11. Most of the other hikers had left hours ago, but Ranch and Beer were just making their way out, too, so the three of us hitched together. We weren’t having much luck at first. However, after about twenty minutes, a black pick-up truck pulled over! The driver asked if we were PCT hikers and told us to get in. He had two sweet dogs in the back seat and a load of groceries, so Beer had to lay down in the bed of the truck. As we drove, I learned that this man was the good friend of a long-time PCT trail angel who had recently passed away. He was an Indian man, and the only living person to have a section of the trail named after him. According to our driver, he spent 30 years picking up every dirty, stinky hiker that he saw and shuttled them around town so they could buy food or new boots, or whatever else they needed. He did this well into his 90’s and when he was dying, his friend promised him that whenever he saw a hiker on the road, he would them them out. He thought about him smiling down upon him every time he did this. I was so touched by this story! (And so mad at myself for failing to get their names…). He understood that we were hiking this trail for a reason, and that we were changing our lives by doing it.
When he dropped us off at the trail head, I gave him a hug as I thanked him for sharing his wonderful story and helping us out. Mt. Shasta had given me my best hitchhiking experiences of the trail!
I walked through the gate and toward the pile of empty water jugs, as Beer stayed behind, smoking a cigarette. The direction of the sign pointing to the trail was extremely misleading and I attempted to walk up a very steep, very sandy slope, until I realized that could not possibly be the PCT! Each time I tried to find the trail after getting off it was an ordeal…
Finally, I found the correct path and headed up into the woods. The humidity was as high as ever and with a full pack, my pace felt slow.

Once I crested the top of the initial portion of the climb, I sat down on the side of the trail to take a break. I ate my delicious plum that I brought from town, and then enjoyed the amazing brownie that I bought from the health food store. (I had a hard time finding any regular chocolate there! They took healthy eating to an entirely new level!).

While I was eating, Ole, Veggie, and TrackMeat passed by. They had made a quick stop in one of the smaller, but closer towns to the trail.
I took my next break several miles later, at Sulphur Creek, which had some nice camp spots. I collected more water, and as I sat filtering it, Ranch and Beer came along. They planned on stopping here for the night at 4pm, as they were in no rush to get to Etna, and because they knew Viking (another German hiker), was planning on staying there, as well. While we sat, they snacked on some healthy trail magic that they had received from Pokey and Princess at Burney Falls State Park. Apparently, the girls had mis-planned the number of days for their upcoming stretch and had sent themselves twice as much food as they needed! Meanwhile, two hikers did not receive their expected packages at all. Everything was taken care of after Pokey and Princess gave their extra food to the two empty-handed hikers! I love how everything on the trail works out…!
They asked me if I heard what had happened to Muk Muk. No! I had not! I was filled in on the news that she had been stalked by a mountain lion one night after she had left Belden and was so scared that she pressed her SPOT button, activating search and rescue. An hour later, she canceled it. In the morning, she woke to a helicopter flying overheard, circling her tent, and an hour or so later, two search and rescue volunteers, who had started hiking in the early morning hours, found her. Although she had been terrified and alone all night, she was unharmed. Upon learning about her scary night, one of her many blog readers alerted the staff at Drakesbad and paid for three meals for her there. She was extremely pampered and ready to keep hiking after some rest, some good food, a shower, and a soak in the pool!
Beer and Ranch asked me where I planned on stopping tonight and what I was going to do for water, as we had a 24 mile dry section coming up. “We do??”. I had no idea… Why don’t I ever spend time looking at my guidebook section for the next stretch of trail when I am in town? (I guess I have too many other things to do…). I told them I didn’t have a plan! I was just going to keep hiking! (What else could I do?)
The trail was about to climb and climb and climb… This was the section that the trail angels at the WildBird cache had both warned me about and described as the most beautiful shades of blue. Unfortunately, the clouds that hung in the sky cast a gray coloring over the mountains, and I didn’t see the same beauty that had been described to me.

I came across an older hiker lying on the side of the trail, and then found the three boys lounging around. They also had no idea that there was no water coming up for a long stretch! Fortunately, not too far ahead, there was a path to a stream fairly close to the trail.
I headed on, accosted by flies heading straight into my face and tiny little fly-like gnats that hovered around my eyes and nose. When the mosquitoes came out, I had no choice but to put on my head net. My breath was labored as I climbed and my legs felt slow. I looked behind to see Ole approaching and stepped aside so he could pass by. We continued to climb, looking at the crags around us. I had to use all of my energy to keep making forward progress.

With great fortune, we found a small stream with just enough running water to drip into our collecting bags up ahead. Ole asked me how much father I was going to hike that night and I told him a mile. “A mile?!” he exclaimed. He seemed a bit envious and I asked him how long he was planning on hiking for. He said another hour or so! It was already nearly 7:30. He said they usually hiked until 9:00. I always hiked until the sun went down. We both wondered where Veggie was. I assumed he had stopped to get water, but he should have caught up by now. Something had happened to him…
As I filtered my water, I saw him approaching! He had just taken a long cigarette break! Ole asked Veggie when he wanted to stop and surprisingly, he said anytime! Ole told him that there was a campsite in a mile that I had planned on stopping at, and added, “She probably had someone hike up to put a ‘reserved’ sign for her there.
I got going as the boys sat around and hiked as fast as I could, knowing that other people were in pursuit of my intended stopping place!

I surprised myself by getting there more quickly than I thought I could! I looked down below me and saw a little flat space, and then checked my GPS. I had made it! I walked down the slope and looked around, trying to see how many people could fit, but also knowing that I was still too sick to camp near anyone… Still, I waited for the boys to decide what they wanted to do before I set up. Ole came by first and said he would find something further up the trail. This space was too small.
Once I spread out my sleeping bag, Veggie came by, happily singing to himself and giving me a little wave as he headed on. I hoped it wouldn’t take them too long to find a nice place to sleep!

Day 94
July 21
mile 1447.8-1476
28.2 miles

I didn’t get up as early as I had intended or had hoped to do… (which really came as no surprise to me), but I did get up a little earlier than I had been of late. In the soft morning light, Mt. Shasta took on an entirely new appearance and I could now see the snow that still sat on her slopes.

The bees returned once again to my stove, trash bag, and myself, searching for any new forms of sustenance. They didn’t allow my own breakfast to be very enjoyable.
By 7:15, I was again walking. This morning was the first that I didn’t have to rush out of my sleeping bag and into the trees, which I found quite amazing! The first few miles passed by pretty quickly, and when I discovered that I had walked 3.2 miles in that first hour, my spirits were given a great boost! I saw a man putting on a ULA pack down below the trail, but didn’t know who it was. Several minutes afterwards, I ran into the guy who crossed over the bridge at Rock Creek and didn’t say hi. I kept ahead of him and was proud of the time I was making! By 8:40, I reached the side trail to Mooshead Creek and went down to collect my water. On my return to the campsite, the quiet hiker had also appeared, but still said nothing. I felt agitated at the lack of politeness and went over to a rock to filter my water. He came and sat near me after he collected his water and at some point, asked if I had seen Braveheart. I said that I hadn’t seen him since right before Echo Lake. He responded that he was with him at that time and had seen me, too.
I headed out into the warming air, following the trail as it climbed and stopping to take breaks as I needed them. I decided to make another ice coffee as I sat on the bank of the trail, as it was good for a mood boost. I was surprised that the other hiker hadn’t come along yet. The trail followed a ridge and I could see Mt. Shasta in the distance.

The air was mostly heavy and oven-like as the temperatures soared to the mid 90s, but every now and then, I would come across a pool of cool air, which I was thankful for. They reminded me of the cool air pockets in Mahoosuc notch on the AT.
When my energy dropped and I needed food, I sat off of an intersection on the trail in a bit of shade and ate. The other hiker passed by and waved. Although the climbs were not big today, they felt slow with all of the water I was carrying. Unfortunately, my belly started to hurt again.

Somewhere along the way, I saw the biggest and most disgusting bug that I had ever seen! It moved very quickly, and I had to turn him around with my shoe several times to get a picture!

When I passed Half-way again, he asked me where the next source was as he was almost out already.
It turned out that the next source was well off the trail and up a hill! It’s always disappointing when our guidebooks don’t mention the distances from the trail. I assumed he was going to have to climb the hill. I still had plenty of water, but it was now a very hot and undesirable drinking temperature.

Fourteen miles after I collected water at Mooshead Creek, I arrived at the side trail to Deer Creek Spring, where I could hear the sound of rushing water. I followed the path down, dropped my pack and took my collecting bag to the pool of water. Then, I stepped in the water, leaving my shoes on, and rinsed some of the dirt off of my legs. The water was incredibly cool! I walked back to my pack to filter my water with the sun now burning my legs. I was surprised to see Halfway come down the path! He hadn’t stopped at Gold Creek after all! We both intended to make it to Ash camp by tonight, which was now just under 10 miles away, most of which were downhill. I got going, slowly plodding my way through the forested terrain.

Every few miles, I stopped to snack to attempt to boost my energy, but it was getting harder and harder to replenish my depleted feeling. Eventually, Half-Way caught up. I could see the river down below and knew that we would soon be reaching a road. I hoped for a garbage can to throw some unnecessary weight away, but was disappointed to find nothing there at all.
At last, I came out to another dirt road and the campground. I dropped my pack with no energy remaining. I couldn’t even socialize if I wanted to. Half-way went to join a couple of other hikers across the water while I used the outhouse. I decided to move my pack to a different campsite that was closer to the water, but had a hard time finding a place to sleep because there were either ants or garbage in all of the flat spaces! I chose the best spot I could, went down to the river to collect water and rinse of my legs again, and then get ready for bed. I noticed a red rash behind one of my legs and wondered if I had somehow gotten poison oak. I decided not to put anything on it and just wait to see what it looked like tomorrow, as it was not itching. Annoying gnats hovered around my body and face and the unpleasant smell from the outhouse wafted towards me. I kept shooing the ants that had found their way onto my groundcloth away. A couple of fishermen looked over at me on their way out, but I was too tired to be concerned about anything other than lying down and trying to get some sleep. Tomorrow, I had another big day ahead of me, and then I would have to figure out how I was supposed to hitch a ride on the interstate! I realized that I had slept outside every night since the 5th of July, which was a first in my life! I was becoming more of an outdoors person that I ever thought I would be! I really needed some rest and privacy, though, and looked forward to having my own room in Mt. Shasta.
At 9:15, it was 77 degrees out! So warm!

Day 93
July 20
mile 1423.8-1447.8
24 miles

I got up around 6:45 and was walking by 7:55. I only had 5.4 miles to hike before I would reach one of “the best swimming holes on the trail” according to a former hiker. Maybe this would be my chance! It was hot out, and so far, there was no one around me.
After my first couple of miles, I reached a huge dam with water gushing out of a pipe with tremendous force!

A stream of bikers were making away across the bridge on this Saturday morning and I wondered if I had stumbled upon a race. Once I reached the bridge myself, I had no idea which way to go… Did the trail go across the bridge, or should I follow the road in the direction the bikers were headed. I chose their way first and then stopped to check my GPS which showed that was not the right way. A biker called out, “Where’s your bike?”.
Ummm… where is your pack?…
I crossed the bridge and headed uphill, stopping to notice the pink flowers that my Swiss friend had told me were named after Mendelssohn.

When I reached the bridge across Rock Creek, I thought I heard voices, and felt disappointed. I had really hoped to be alone.

However, I didn’t see anyone. I carefully made my way down the bank and saw a fold-up camp chair under the bridge, which I first found to be creepy.

I couldn’t tell if anyone was around, but after several minutes, I finally relaxed a bit and figured that I was the only one there. I walked down to the water and after looking at the water for a couple of minutes, decided I didn’t feel like going in, after all.

It was much cooler under the bridge and I decided that I would be happy just sitting and listening to the water as I enjoyed some snacks. I wondered for several minutes if I should make myself an ice coffee as an additional treat and finally decided to collect some water, filter it, and do so. My powdered milk wouldn’t dissolve, but I still enjoyed it, feeling completely content, not wanting anything more than what I already had. This is one of the best feelings possible.
Above me, I heard footsteps heavily stomping on the bridge. I looked up and saw a hiker looking down, but he did not wave to me or acknowledge me, which I found strange. I packed up my foodbag and 2 and a half liters of water and headed back up the bank, over the bridge, and up the next big climb of over 2,000 feet in the heat of the day. At least I now had a little extra boost from my second coffee of the day, as well as my delicious chocolate snacks!

Eventually, I reached a dirt road where I saw a passed-out hiker sprawled out on the ground. I quietly made my way past him and then saw E-Path and Forget-me-Not sitting in a ditch along the intersecting dirt road! I wasn’t in a mood to socialize, so I started my way up the next climb. Part way up, I heard the sound of running water below! I had just walked by a running source of water! I thought about going back but figured I had enough water on me and just continued up the hill. It was now 97 degrees out. Luckily, there was more tree cover than there had been the past couple of days.
In a little over 4 miles, I reached the path to Clark Spring. A hiker that I had never seen was on his way out as I walked towards it. The water that I had been carrying for the last 12 miles was now boiling hot, and although it took awhile to filter several liters of water here, I was so happy to find the water nice and cool!
It was now a few minutes after 5 and I had only hiked just under 18 miles for the day! I was hoping to get in at least 7 more. I was so tired, though! The miles seemed to drag on and I had to stop often to give my shoulders a break.

At 7:38, I saw a flat camping spot along a bend in the trail with pretty pink flowers nearby and an open view. I had planned on getting further and there was still enough sunlight to continue walking. I hesitated and then decided to make a compromise with myself, as the site looked too good to pass up. I would just have to get up early the next morning to make up for the distance I had lost by stopping early tonight! I spread out my groundcloth and sleeping bag and then boiled water for dinner, taking pictures of the setting sun, and washing the dirt off my legs, as I waited.

As the sun lowered and the glare lessened, I was stunned to see an incredible view of Mt. Shasta that I had been unable to see when I first stopped! Holy cow! Although yellow jackets buzzed around my stove, garbage bag, and food, joining the flies and mosquitoes that were interested in my body, I was glad that I had chosen to stop here.

No one else passed by, and I enjoyed the solitude and the changing colors in the sky as the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

When I got into my sleeping bag, it was 67 degrees out and the wind was starting to pick up. A few minutes later, I was startled to see the temperature had risen to 72.6 degrees! What was happening?
Tomorrow, I would need to hike 28 miles to make it off the switchbacks and into Ash camp. After reading that the hitch into the town of Mt. Shasta could be a time-consuming one, I hoped for an easy hitch when the time came!

Day 92
July 19
mile 1402-1423.8
21.8 miles

It was too warm for the mosquitoes to go to sleep. Instead, they kept me awake with their constant attempts to bite me. I hoped no one would walk by me early in the morning, and luckily no one did! I got up at 6:23 and boiled water for my coffee. While I sat in my sleeping bag, eating my granola, E-Path and Forget-me-Not passed by and asked me if I had felt the heat radiating from the lava rocks. I had not.
I packed up and headed out at 7:38. It was already very hot in the morning hours! When I hiked with Fun Size a couple of days ago, he asked me if I was planning on hiking on Friday. I thought that was a funny question. Why wouldn’t I hike on Friday? I hike every day! He told me it was going to be over 100 degrees that day. Although I hate the heat, and although it is never pleasant to hike in such temperatures, especially when there are no water sources for 20 miles along the trail, I knew I would still rather be out here hiking than sweating on my couch in my living room back home, doing nothing!
I heard several owls calling to each other in the morning hours and later, was scared by two deer, who immediately ran off when they saw me!

After several miles, I came to a paved road with painted foot prints to show us the way, which amused me. There was no way to get lost here! The landscape reminded me of the hotter and drier sections of the Colorado Trail. I came across the ribcage bones of an animal and was disappointed to find the names of hikers written on it with marker. I felt like it was an egotistical act to do that and was not at all following the leave no trace principles.

The temperature continued to soar and I was nearly out of water by now. In a few more miles, I came to a huge black pipe from the powerhouse with a hole in the middle of it and a strong spray of water jumping out. Nearby, there was a sign pointing to a water source a quarter of a mile away. A quarter of a mile? I decided to take out my platypus and try to catch some of the spraying water, but found it impossible. It was shooting straight up in the air! I looked at my app and saw that there was a spring in 12 miles and decided I could make it that far if I needed to, even though it would be a very uncomfortable 12 miles!
I walked on and came to the powerhouse dam where people were fishing. A strong current of water was cascading down a wall, but I could not figure out how to get to it! I decided not to walk down to the bank of the river and try to collect there, as my filtration system requires running water.
Soon after, I found myself off the trail and on a paved road. I wished someone could point me back to the PCT, but somehow I was able to eventually refind it, myself. I saw what looked like an outhouse in a parking lot and thought about walking over to it, but it was too far away. I just kept walking ahead. Then, fortunately, I came to a couple of ponds, after I thought I walked by the last possible sources! I crawled down one of the banks and managed to collect some gushing water, happy that I wouldn’t have to survive the next 11 or 12 miles in a dehydrated state!

I took my collecting bags to a slope in the trees ahead and sat down to filter the water and snack. My energy was very low due to the heat. I wondered if some kind person might put out some water for us on the stretch of trail ahead. Cool water was the thing I most desired. By now, the temperature was well over 100 degrees.

I continued on, walking toward the highway where some hikers planned on trying to hitch into the town of Burney. Just before the road, there was a sign on a tree that said “Wild Bird Cache, 1 mile ahead”. I didn’t get excited because, often, there was nothing there, even when promised.
I walked on, feeling dirty and tired, and soon enough, came upon a set of of chairs, a picnic table, several coolers, and two garbage cans! One of the coolers was filled with ice, bottles of water, and sodas! The thing I was wishing for came true! Within a few minutes, a go-cart pulled up on the dirt road several yards away. I knew it was the people who had set this up- Randy and his wife, Kathy. They were surprised to find unmelted ice still in the cooler! They encouraged me to sit in one of the chairs and enjoy some snacks. I asked them why they did this for us and Kathy said it was fate. They had found a house at the end of this lane, not knowing what the PCT was, and when they encountered their first PCT hikers making their way north, starting learning about this long trek and wanted to help us out! Randy made a picnic table so we could take our packs off and rest for a bit, and wanted us all to sign our names on it. At the end of the season, he hangs the top of the picnic table in his garage like a plaque. They also left a camera for us to take self-portraits and matched our faces to our names in the register that they also provided. Randy let me look at the pictures that he had developed so far, and I was able to provide a few corrections for him. On the back of Smooth Operator’s photo, he had written, “Love Operator” which highly amused me! He had signed his entry “Love, Operator”, but Randy thought that was his trail name!
Kathy told me that I had some 6,000 foot climbs coming up after Mt. Shasta, which made my jaw drop. I thought we were done with the big climbs! She also said the mountains were the same color as my shirt, which I couldn’t really believe…
I was so thankful for the cold water. After they left, I made a probiotic drink from some powder that Susan had sent to me, and then got going. I still had six or seven miles to get to Burney State Park.
By now, it was 104 degrees! So hot! I had to just keep moving and get through it, as hard and slow going as it was.
Yogi’s guidebook made it seem that the State Park was right on the trail, but in fact, it was not! There were a couple of different options on how to get to the store and I spent a good amount of time looking at my maps and reading the descriptions of routes past hikers had taken.
I was glad that I didn’t have to collect water at the next spring, because it, too, was well off the PCT!

Eventually, I reached the next highway and continued on, looking everywhere for the campground and trail to Burney Falls. I saw a bridge ahead and decided to turn back and take the signed path, following the small headwater pool as it turned into a river, and finally into the falls.

I stood at an overlook and was very unimpressed with the view. I was so tired and just wanted to pick up my package! I reached the road, saw the tollbooth and thought the store was past that. It was a good thing I stopped to ask, as it turned out to be in the other direction!
At 4:28, I finally arrived at the store! I was charged $9 to pick up my two boxes- one which just contained the fuel, and the other, which was my regular resupply box. I had since learned that my box meant to be shipped to Belden had indeed been sent there, but had gotten lost in the mail! I also saw that it cost $7 to ship my fuel canister alone. I had to let that go…
I walked over to the restrooms and couldn’t believe the salt and dirt stains on my back! Never in my life did I look so dirty! I found an outlet outside the store and plugged in my iphone and camera charger and then set to work on organizing my food for the next stretch. Ham had packed this box full with pink styrofoam peanuts, which added an additional layer of work to clean up!
I hadn’t seen any other thru-hikers all day (with the exception of E-Path and Forget me not in the morning) until Runs with Elk waved to me on her way out of the park. She had just taken a shower in the campground and I told her that was my plan, as well! The clerk inside had begrudgingly given me $2 in coins for it- the most she could exchange. I decided to buy a polish hot dog and frappachino for dinner and couldn’t believe how quickly I polished off that drink! I thought about buying a second one, but my self-control won, and I headed down to the campground.
The two showers were both being used, so I washed a few articles in the sink in the meantime, hoping that I could jump in soon, as I needed to get back out to the trail! Finally, a shower opened and I surprised myself again by not even using my full 12 minutes! A lady chatted with me as I combed my hair, wanting to know if I was staying here overnight, and commented on the sunburn on my chest. She was surprised to hear that I was heading right back out.
I ran into a nice girl who had talked with me while I sat outside the store, who was returning from her evening walk around the Falls. I asked her if she knew how to get back to the PCT, as I felt the way I had taken to get in was far too long. She took out her map, pointed me in a different direction, and then came running back to apologize. She had gotten mixed up. I was glad that I got to see the Falls from this vantage point, as I could see essentially nothing from the overlook I was standing at before I got to the store!

I decided I would just walk out the same way I came in, as I knew that would get me back to the trail.
By the time I did, it was 7:41. I felt disappointed that I didn’t get in more miles today. I walked past a campground area and made it to the intersection with the bridge that also lead to the park and soon after, saw a flat patch of ground that was suitable for me to sleep on in the woods.
As I boiled water for my dinner, the piece of my stove that adjusts the flow of gas came off! The flame was still lit and I didn’t know how I was going to fix this! Somehow, with calmness and patience, I managed to… Every piece of gear was testing me out here!
Once again, I calculated the number of miles I would have to do each day if I wanted to have any time of at all… It was 25!! This was going to be an incredibly exhausting and difficult feat!

Day 90
July 17
mile 1353.3-1377.6 (Old Station)
24.3 miles

It turned out to be a very cold night- much colder than it had been for a long time! When I got up, it was still in the 30’s. I was surprised that the campground host was not yet up! Breakfast was not served until 8:00, so I started sorting through the two boxes I had- my regular resupply box and the box of extra food that I had shipped from South Lake Tahoe. The third package from Tanya had still not been located. When I noticed the daughter of the woman who had given me a ride to the campground last night standing by their car door, I went over to ask if they would mind giving me a ride to breakfast, as well. I returned to my camp spot and brought a box of food to store in the bear box, but left one box behind when I saw the mother was ready to leave. I don’t like making people wait.
It was so cold standing outside the dining room! At 7:58, I asked the owner if I could wait inside. She begrudgingly let me. I was shown my assigned table and sat, waiting for the operation to begin. Breakfast was a full spread- yogurt, oatmeal (with sides of brown sugar, walnuts, raisins, etc), fruit, bagels, breads, an egg dish that we could order, muffins, etc. It was wonderful! And the best part was that my stomach was not reacting in a huge amount of pain this time! I did feel lonely sitting all by myself while everyone else had companions, and the longer I sat there, the more I began thinking about the box of food that I had left out! What was I thinking? If a bear didn’t come to take it, surely a chipmunk or squirrel would! I started imagining my food being ransacked and returning to find shredded wrappers everywhere! Part of me wanted to run back and take care of it, but the other part knew that was futile. I had to finish my breakfast first. I felt like a very bad thruhiker!
A young waiter managed to locate Tanya’s box and when I was finished eating and paid my bill, I walked back to the campground, coming across an outhouse when I most needed it! The best part was finding my food untouched! Everything was all right! I sorted through Tanya’s box, so thankful for all of the interesting and tasty treats she was sending me. This box included a bag of popcorn chips, which I had never heard of, but which reminded me of Smartfood and one of our high school English teachers. And not only were these chips extremely tasty, but they were incredibly light!
The campground host stopped by to say hello and I told him that I had an extra box of goodies for him if he was interested. He said he would make sure they got to some thru-hikers.
I still hadn’t taken a shower, and at this point, it was getting very late, and I didn’t feel like I could take the time to walk over a mile back and forth, along with the time it would have taken to shower. I had to get moving. The host asked me if I was planning on making it to Old Station by tonight and I said no, as I had not planned on stopping there at all, and it was too far away with such a late start.
I gave him my extra food and a few names of thru-hikers I hoped would get to share it if possible. He stored it in his car and then headed out for his morning walk up the hill, as I did my final packing.

At 9:40, I finally started on my way! I met a couple of Drakesbad guests on their way back from their morning hike as I climbed away from the ranch, and then, later on, saw the host on his way back. It was nice to have a few interactions.

After taking a pack break at the top of the climb, I looked back to see another hiker approaching. It was Fun Size! He threw his arms in the air and said that he was so happy that it was me! We hiked together and filled each other in on the happenings since Belden. He had gone into the town of Chester and had spent the night there, which is why he was behind me. This morning, he had already hiked 10 miles! He told me a really funny story about a German hiker named Viking, who had cowboy camped with his hiking clothes spread out around him to dry. Apparently, some deer came by in the middle of the night and brought them into the woods. He awoke to find his clothes missing and spent two hours looking for all of the missing articles of clothing, which now had holes chewed through them. When he put them up to his nose, he was immediately revolted by the smell and spent the next hour washing them in a creek! Fun Size’s imitation of his accent and mannerisms was spot on and so hilarious! I wished I had a video of him telling that story!

We headed downhill and arrived at a creek, where we found Ranch. She told us that the trail crossed the creek and that if we wanted to keep our feet dry, we would have to look for a place downstream. At first, I didn’t want to believe that was the trail, but once that was confirmed, I decided I didn’t care about getting my feet wet. They had gotten wet many times before and always dried out! Fun Size decided to look for a drier path as I went across. I was surprised that it took him awhile to catch back up to me! He hikes a lot faster than I do, and although I was able to keep up for awhile, I needed to take a pack break and let him go on. He told me that he was planning on stopping at the lake for lunch.
When I came to a lake, I looked around but didn’t see anyone. I figured that he meant the one labeled on our app, which was still up ahead. I kept going and was happy to find him at the second one. He had already put his feet in the water and was thinking about going for a swim, but decided not to. We sat on a fallen tree and snacked while a tame, curious deer came to check us out. Never feeling like we have time to relax, we packed up and headed out. Fun Size was hoping to get to Old Station where there was a campground and small store and restaurant. He asked me if I wanted to share a site with him and split the cost. Although I wasn’t planning on the extra side trip off trail and preferred to camp for free, I agreed. It was really nice to have some friendly company. We found ourselves back in yet another burn section, and as the miles continued on, Fun Size began to tire and wonder if hiking over 30 miles was too much for the day. By now, since we were making good time, and because we needed to set ourselves up for the hot Hat Creek Rim stretch ahead, I wanted to at least make it to Old Station. I tried offering Fun Size some caffeinated treats and encouragement to help him along.

Soon, we came across another hiker lounging under a tree. It was Siesta. She was getting ready to resume hiking, and her friend, Weebee was just ahead. Fun Size and I both wished we could take afternoon naps, as well, but we never felt like we had the time! Fun Size caught up to Weebee soon after, and then the four of us hiked in a line for awhile.

I was surprised that I wasn’t needing to take snack breaks as often as I usually do, and even more surprised that my intestines were relatively calm for the first time in a long time! It felt like a miracle!
After I had walked far enough without a break, I said I was going to stop and have a snack. Everyone else ended up stopping, as well! It was the first group break that I was a part of! After a few minutes, it was time to get going. Our profile of the trail showed a gradual descent, but somehow, the trail kept seeming to climb!
Eventually, it did descend, and Fun Size broke off for a bit and let us go ahead. The girls wanted to stop and collect water and peeled off when they came to a sign and an arrow pointing to water. It wasn’t the on-trail source they were planning on stopping at. I decided to keep moving, as I still had plenty of water.

When I stopped to take a pack break, Fun Size caught back up. He said he would meet me down by the water. We both thought the trail was going to cross the creek, but it never did… I felt badly about that and was going to offer him some of my water when I saw him again. I wondered why he wasn’t catching up…
Finally, I reached the intersection leading to Old Station around 6:40 and sat down on a rock to wait for Fun Size. It turned out that he was waiting for me at a part of the trail that was accessible to the creek! We walked down the side path, unsure of how to get to the restaurant and campground. At last, we came to some buildings and found our way to the store.

Grumpy, who FunSize knew, was sitting outside at a table with a pack of beer. He told me the restaurant was behind the store and I walked all over, trying to figure out how to get back there, before finally realizing that it was inside the store! I ordered a hamburger and asked if there was a bathroom I could use to wash my hands. The woman said she would take me to it when she had a minute. Fun Size joined me and then Siesta and Weebee came along. They also wanted to share the campsite, which turned out to be on the far end of where we now were! After finishing my very mediocre hamburger with microwaved bacon, Fun Size and I took our towels and headed out, inviting Grumpy to stay, as well. It was getting chilly out! We walked past all of the RV campers and then, after having taken a good amount of time to choose a particular camp site on the map, found all of them unoccupied! We stuck with our original site and I chose to sleep in the middle of some trees while everyone else set up their tents.
I walked over to the building with the shower, surprised that there was only one shower in the same unit as the bathroom. After asking if it was okay if I took a shower, I finally got to wash the dirt off my body that I was hoping to have done at Drakesbad. I figured that the cost of the campground was really for the use of the shower. A girl knocked on the door while I was changing and I tried to hurry. The shower had leaked all over the floor, so I tried to mop it up as best I could, gather my things, and comb my hair outside. An older woman and her grandchild chatted with me while I was sitting out there, and upon learning that I was backpacking a long trail, wanted to know my reasons for doing this. For the first time ever, I was able to summarize them in a few words. I told her, “It’s how I find my self-worth.”
I headed back to my camp spot, thinking about this phrase, and got ready for bed as the others sat around the picnic table eating and drinking. Tomorrow, we would start the notoriously hot, shadeless, and long waterless stretch of Hat Creek Rim! I had thought this volcanic rock section was in Oregon and was very surprised that we were already approaching it! Back at Kick-Off, I had heard warnings about the danger of lightning strikes along the Rim, as well as rattlesnakes that could be hiding behind any log. And I also knew that 20 miles into this stretch, we would reach the most reliable water cache on the trail. Fun Size wanted to get up at 4 to get ahead of the scorching sun, but since it is a 30 mile long stretch, I knew I would be out in the exposed heat no matter how early I got up, and felt no compelling reason to get up so early. Grumpy said that he wanted to get woken up at 4.

Day 89
July 16
mile 1331.9-1353.3
21.4 miles

The girls got up before I did, seemingly as happy and energetic as they were the night before. While I got ready, two male hikers passed through and waved- Ole and Veggie, who I had last seen in Sierra City. I enjoyed a few minutes to myself after everyone had left and then continued the descent toward Highway 36.

I was glad that I had stopped where I did last night, because there were no camping spots in the mile or so afterward. It was another very warm day and I had to stop to put sunscreen on once I emerged out of the woods.
When I reached the road, I was surprised to see Ole and Veggie there! They seemed to be lounging around and not actively hitchhiking. I greeted them and they informed me about some trail magic across the road. They seemed surprised that I wasn’t going into the town of Chester, like they were. I found the coolers depleted of food, except for a few cans of beer and some rotten bananas. Oh, well. There was a couple camping right next to the coolers. It didn’t seem like they were thru-hikers- awake, but still in their tent at 9am.

By mid-day, I had reached the bridge across North Fork Feather River and found a partially shaded spot to have some lunch. Not long after I got going, I ran into two ladies heading in the opposite direction. They were impressed that I was out here alone. One of them told me that I should enjoy the hot spring pool coming up at Drakesbad, but I told her they were not allowing hikers to use it any longer. She thought that was ridiculous and very wrong. The management had changed this year, and while for many years, it had been an extremely friendly place toward thru-hikers, this year was quite the opposite. As I walked on, I hopefully imagined that maybe those ladies would drive over to Drakesbad, be there when I got there, and convince the owners that I should be allowed to use the pool! I still had nearly 10 miles to get there.
I climbed a little over 1,000 feet and then reached a side trail, leading to a small geyser. I had never seen one before and it was supposedly worth the extra distance. A little way down, I dropped my pack under a tree. I don’t know who did the measuring of that trail, but it seemed much, much farther than 0.2 miles! The path descended for awhile and then turned right. The farther I went, the more I wanted to turn back! Finally, I saw some smoke! I walked closer and felt the heat coming off the rocks. The running water was steaming. It was interesting to be there, but I wish there was someone around that could tell me more about it.

I headed back up to the PCT. The return trip seemed to take even longer! Finally, I reunited with my pack and continued on. I was a tired girl! The next sight that I came to was a murky green lake, boiling with sulphur! We were warned not to go near the edge or risk the ground breaking open and being dropped into the boiling sulphur!

The dirt turned into red clay around the lake and some of the rocks were purple!

I walked onwards, finally approaching Drakesbad. There was a small wooden sign on the ground when the roofs of the buildings appeared. One said “hikers” and pointed down the grassy hill, and the other said “horses” and pointed to the trail. There was a trampled path through the grass, and I thought for several minutes about which way I should go. I finally decided to follow the hiker sign and walked down the grass. There was a creek at the bottom, which I had to cross over on some pipes, and then I came to a wooden gate. I opened it up and suddenly found myself on the pool deck with the lounging guests! One woman gave me a sheepish smile. I darted through and made my way up to the main building, where I was completely ignored by everyone, including the employee! I just wanted to ask someone where to pick up my mail drops! After a period of time where I was unable to get anyone’s attention, I started to look for some outlets so I could at least charge up my electronics! One of the two girls I had camped near last night came into the building and I asked her what we were supposed to do. She mumbled something and walked away, so I still had no clue. Finally, I got the employee’s attention and was directed to another building and a guy named Scott. Scott was completely enthralled with the pretty hiker who mumbled at me and also paid no attention to my existence. Meanwhile, the guests were gathering for dinner. I asked one of the young waiters how I could get my packages and he said he could retrieve them for me. After waiting a good amount of time, listening to the waiters ask the patrons if they wanted some kind of fancy wine, he came down with one of my packages. I had to tell him there was another… They had no ordering system here at all. All of the boxes were strewn around the storage room! He went back up to look, but could not find it and asked me to return later. I asked another employee what the rules were regarding the shower and laundry. He had to ask his manager and then came back and said that only people who had dinner reservations could use the shower and that they were already booked for tonight. I asked about breakfast and he said he would check his book… I was allowed to pay to use the washer and dryer. Finally, I asked about the campground, which I had read was a quarter mile away. He said it was 0.6 miles away- back on the PCT! I couldn’t believe it!
Last year, thru-hikers were welcomed with a big hug from the owner, given all of the extra food for dinner after the guests had eaten, and given free use of the shower and pool. Although some of the young employees were very kind this year, the new owners treated the thru-hikers like garbage. I returned to the porch of the other building, stopping to rinse some of the mud off my legs with the sprinkler on the way, and then boiled some water for some lentil soup with my stove while the guests enjoyed their steak and wine. Then, after I brought my clothes to the washer, I started sorting through my food. By the time my clothes had dried, it was approaching 8:00! I had to get walking to the campground! I had my pack on my back and a box in my arms. Fortunately, the woman who chatted with me for a bit on the porch (the same one who smiled at me about my entrance), asked if I wanted a ride. She thought that I was carrying too much to be at all comfortable. I happily accepted, knowing I was going to have to walk back and forth to have breakfast anyway. She told me that the campground host was very friendly and that I should check in with him. I started wondering if I was going to have to pay to camp…
Luckily, I did not. I chatted with this nice man for awhile and my mood began to brighten. He helped me pick a nice spot that was right next to his spot to “set up my tent” and said I was welcome to leave my pack at his site the next morning when I went to have breakfast. He also encouraged me to use the shower, no matter what they were telling me. (Even though I made a reservation for breakfast, I wasn’t allowed to shower that night). He also told me that some people were offering trail magic at one of the sites father away and that there were several hikers there if I wanted to socialize. By now, it was almost dark, and I just wanted to set up camp. I was very thankful for the pleasant, easy-going, and welcoming nature of this man. He was the person who made Drakesbad a decent place.
I think I surprised him by not setting up a tent and just laying out my sleeping bag. I put on my still wet thermal bottoms and hoped they would dry out as I slept! Because of the nice company at the end of my day, I went to sleep in a good mood.