As I was spending the night looking at the stars I thought about how Lenora was going to the orthopedic surgeon in two days.  Her shoulders have been getting worse and the Chiropractor thought there was something wrong and something that he could not fix and so had set her up to see an Orthopedic surgeon.  Both Lenora and I figured it was a little arthritis and that she would probably be getting a cortisone shot and all would be better.  The thought of her going alone was just suddenly not acceptable to me.  Driving 40 miles, getting shots in the her shoulder and driving back another 40 miles was just not right and that says nothing about the emotional stress.  So I decided I needed to be there and in order to be there I had to hike 23 miles tomorrow.  Since I was not sleeping, I got up about 4 and started hiking about 4:30.  It was still dark and so I was hiking by my headlamp.  During the time we were being trail angels one hiker had indicated he was not going to hike in the dark any longer because he had stepped directly on a rattle snake in the trail and it just was not safe.  Well I was thinking of that as I was walking but I was also had about 3 miles for generally downhill hiking to get to the Scott river where I was going to load up with water and have breakfast.  It is just not easy to do the downhill hiking in the dark because the depth perception is compromised and so I decided that I would also not hike at dark again unless I was going uphill.  It started to lighten up just before I got to the Scott river.  Picture below taken about 7 am.

What goes down must go back up and you pretty much know that when you go down to a river you will be heading right back up next. I started the day at 7000 feet and went down to about 5700 feet and now have 3 miles of ascent to get back to 7000 feet and then a rise to about 7200 and then a rise to about 7400.  Just after leaving Scott river I also leave the Trinity Alps Wilderness.  About 6 miles later I reach the Russian Wilderness.

Here is some info about the Russian Wilderness taken from wiki:

The Russian Wilderness is a wilderness area of 12,000 acres (49 km2) located approximately 65 miles (105 km) northeast of Eureka in northern California. It is within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County and is managed by the US Forest Service. It was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System when the US Congress passed the California Wilderness Act of 1984.

The Russian Wilderness protects the Russian Mountains,[2] a portion of the high crest of the Salmon Mountains, which are composed of metamorphic and granitic rock. There are over twenty named lakes at different elevation levels as well as the major watersheds of the Scott River and North Fork Salmon River.

The Russian is one of three wilderness areas that form an almost continuous chain, from the Trinity Alps Wilderness to the south, and the Marble Mountain Wilderness in the north, these areas provide an important corridor for wildlife such as the migrating herds of black-tailed deer. The Russian Wilderness is part of the largest nearly roadless complex in northwestern California.

Elevations range from 2,500 feet (760 m) to the high point of the wilderness, Russian Peak, at 8,196 feet (2,498 m) [41°17′N 122°57′W].
There are several stands of conifers that are rare for California, including subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce in the wilderness. The region gained prominence amongst botanists in the 1970s when Dale Thornburgh and John Sawyer began conducting studies in Sugar Creek. In addition to discovering the first stands of subalpine fir in California, the diversity of other conifers they found here was reason for pause and then return studies. In all, after several years of research, they discovered 17 species of conifers in one square mile—of varied terrain—below the peak. Those conifers are: foxtail pine, whitebark pine, western white pine, Jeffrey pine, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, sugar pine, white fir, Shasta fir, subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, Brewer spruce, mountain hemlock, Douglas-fir, incense-cedar, common juniper, and Pacific yew. An 18th conifer, the western juniper, was documented and reported by Richard Moore in 2013.  The wilderness protects habitats for American black bear, deer, Douglas squirrel, California quail and rattlesnakes. Less common animals include the fisher, marten, wolverine, pileated woodpecker, beaver, coyote and mountain lion. Rainbow trout, eastern brook trout and brown trout are found in the lakes and streams.  The wilderness is dominated by glacier-carved granite crags, dating from the Mesozoic, similar to the Sierra Nevada. This results in similar surface topography, including cirques and U-shaped glacial valleys. Similar to the Ritter Range, a chain of dark metavolcanic rock is dominant in the mountains along the edge of the wilderness.

3 minutes after the sign for the wilderness I get my first real look at the Russian Wilderness as shown in the pictures below.  It is spectacular!!!  So now I get to descend into the wilderness to about 6400 feet just so I can ascend back to 6900 feet.  The descent is gentle, the ascent not so much.  It is on the ascent that I am passed by a number of hikers.  All of them are very much in a hurry to get to to Paynes Lake which is about 5 miles ahead.  I had heard about this lake while giving out magic from a number of hikers.  Apparently the lake is shallow and warm and perfect for swimming.  News has spread apparently because everyone wants to get there.  Paynes Lake is about 7 miles short of my destination and I won’t have the time to check it out.

Once I get reach the apex of the ascent it is a pretty gentle 5 miles of ups and downs to reach Paynes Lake which is about at 6500 feet.  Now it is about 7 miles to get to the road where Lenora can pick me up and it is getting late in the day.  I have really not sure I can reach the road before dark and not sure I can reach the road at all.  23 miles will be my longest hike of the trail.  I keep telling myself that all these young punks are doing 30 and sometimes more miles a day.  How hard can it be to do 23?   Because I have not been sure I could make it, Lenora does not even know I am trying.  So I have about 3.5 miles to ascend to about 7400 feet and about 3.5 miles to descend to 5900 feet where the road is.  The picture below is taken just before the descend starts.   It is a picture of Ruffey Lake and the picture does not do it justice.  Just an amazing view!!

I put myself into the highest gear I have and start heading down toward the road and do make it and just before it gets dark.  There is a German couple that gets there about the same time from the town of Etna and all of us try to set up on the parking area by the side of the road.  I am going to do cowboy camping (just pad and sleeping bag) but they both TRY to set up their tents.  It is a challenge but with a lot of rocks they eventually get the tents anchored and crawl in.  Meanwhile I text Lenora and indicate I am at the Etna Summit and if she wants she can pick me up tonight or tomorrow morning before the Dr appointment.  I figure tomorrow morning but she texts back that she is on her way.  I move my position so I am right near the road and at about 10:30 pm she arrives and we head back to town.  I now learn why she came tonight which is because a tooth has started to go bad and it is evident a root canal is necessary and she has a dentist appointment the next morning at 7:30.  I am so glad that I made it to the road!!!

So the next day the dentist does think that a root canal is necessary but also notices that an implant Lenora got just before we left is loose and actually seems to be working its way out of the bone.  This is NOT good, not good at all.  So we get set up with an Endodontist for Friday and the x-rays are sent to the Dr. who did the implant back  in San Diego area.  I figure at this point we are definitely going back home because the implant needs to be taken care of by the guy who did it.  We head to the Orthopedic doctor and they take x-rays and it turns out it is not the arthritis that we imagined but that Lenora’s shoulders have actually fallen a bit and are not totally in their sockets!!  The Dr. tells us this happens when a tendon is damaged and the normal operation is a Rotator Cuff surgery BUT that generally shows itself as the shoulders rising out of the socket and not falling.  So he is not really sure what the issue is and needs an MRI to determine the cause.   The next day we hear from the implant Dr. and we definitely need to come back he says.  Enough is enough.  I do trail angle stuff on Thursday.  We go to the Endodontist on Friday who does indeed do a root canal.  We head back to San Diego on Saturday and now are back to get things taken care by our own doctors.  When everything is fixed, we will be back on the trail.

So I start out a new week by skipping a few miles more out of convenience than anything else.  Hwy 3 PCT crossing is easy to get to and we have been there doing trail magic stuff.  As it turns out it was an excellent decision because of happenings later in the week.

Some info on the Trinity Alps from wiki

The Trinity Alps Wilderness is a 525,627-acre (2,130 km2) designated wilderness located in northern California, roughly between Eureka and Redding. It is jointly administered by Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Six Rivers National Forests. About 4,623 acres (18.71 km2) are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness is located in the Salmon and Scott Mountains, subranges of the Klamath Mountains region. The high, granitic and ultramafic peaks of the eastern half of the wilderness area are known as the Trinity Alps. Granite peaks at the core of the area are known as the White Trinities, reddish ultramafic peaks in the southeast are known as the Red Trinities, and the forested mountains in the western half of the wilderness are known as the Green Trinities.
The botanical diversity of the Trinity Alps is quite unique. The region has intrigued botanists for many years because of the predominance of the Sierran flora only 60 miles (97 km) from the Pacific Ocean. Conifers common in the Sierra Nevada such as foxtail pines, lodgepole pines, western white pines, whitebark pines, ponderosa pines, red firs, and white firs are also common in the Alps alongside the endemic Brewer spruce.[3] Large wildfires swept through the western forests in recent years.

Wildlife species include black bear, black-tailed deer, mountain lion, coyote, and bobcat. Bears are common in the wilderness, so use a bear bag or bear canister.
Glacial cirques dominate the high country. The highest point is Thompson Peak at 9,001 ft (2,744 m).

The trail starts out with an ascent but it is rather calm and the weather is good for hiking.  Still hot but not TOO hot and the views are just spectacular.  The fire up at Crater Lake in Oregon is still going and will hear later that the fire jumped the ridge and both trails in that area have been closed.  As it currently stands you have to take a 40 mile ride around the fire OR walk on a roadway for 40 miles without water.  But I won’t get to Crater Lake soon and things can change.

This area reminds me of the High Sierra for beauty.  Just amazing views.  It is being a very quiet day.  I have seen nobody on the trail all day and will not see anyone.

My cough is still pretty bad and each time I cough I get a sense (taste or smell not sure which actually) that there is infection.  But without the heat I can manage and feel good.

The habitat changes a bit as I go up in elevation and turns rather rocky.  This shot does not do it justice and the rocks seemed much more reddish that is shown.

SIgh… Mt. Shasta.

Reach a point on the ridge where there is a nice view on both sides.  Don’t those lakes look like they would be worth jumping into?

Got to get water every now and again and at a small stream these little beauties were growing.

Get to another ridge point with a great view on either side.  Nice valley on one side and mountains on the other that look to have a fair amount of snow on them.

I stop fairly early after 17 miles.  My camping spot is really small and a little off the trail.  Later that night I hear some other hikers on the trail and they camp pretty close to me but nearer the trail.  I do not have a great night sleeping and I am coughing most the night.  I hope the others are far enough away to not be bothered.  I get a good rest and spend most of the night looking at a beautiful sky that is aflame with stars.   It is a night without a moon and so the stars are brilliant.

The phone says 37000 steps and 35 flights

It was a good night and I get up early to get the ascent done before it heats up.  The picture below is taken at 7:33 and the sun is just showing its face.  I am about half way up the ascent.

An hour later and I am probably still at least 1 mile from the top.  Really going quite slow.  By this time I have been passed by a number of hikers and also by Fire Ants who states she just had a hard time getting up early this morning.

Reached the top of the steep ascent and now there is suppose to be about a 6 mile gentler ascent followed by what looks like about 11 miles of relatively flat hiking.  Nothing feels like that to me today.  It all feels like it is very steep and I am stopping rather frequently.  At the end of the 4 miles is a spring called Gully Spring where everyone stops for a long pause.  I know because by the time I got there, everyone that had passed me is still there resting.  It is now really hot and a number of hikers are complaining about how they thought they were out of the desert.   This section is also rather dry which makes it a bit more frustrating.  It shouldn’t be however.  It is just the PCT.  This is what it is.

This picture does make it look like I am on rather level land while taking a picture of the ever present Mt. Shasta.  I would like to eventually move north of that mountain.  I am just getting further west of that mountain and it even looks like I am further SOUTH of that mountain.

So it is bit smokey,  it is brutally hot, and my congestion has not improved but seems to be worse.  I am coughing and resting about every half mile and feel like I am going constantly up hill.  If my phone is at all accurate, it turns out I am not going uphill all the time at all.  I do about half as many flights as I did yesterday.  This is just not going to work and I need to get rid of this congestion.  I am by a paved road and text Lenora and come and gather me up again the next morning.  Looks like it is going to cool off at the end of the week and I’m hoping my congestion will get better.

I camp alone for the night.  Big campground but nobody saw it as a stopping place apparently.  Another beautiful night

Phone says 43000 steps and 22 flights.

So I am going to be off trail for the next days but don’t want to be out of touch so Lenora and I become trail angels.  I buy 5 styrofoam coolers and we load them up with fruit and drinks and beer and chocolate and with ice cream for making root beer floats.  Spend most of the day at various sites and getting so much thanks from the hikers is rather addictive.   Constantly giving rides to hikers down to town (Etna) and hikers in Etna back up to the trail.   They will stop for an hour or more and relax and eat fruit and cold drinks.  Most of them are doing more than 25 miles a day.  One guy did 34 miles because it was his 34th birthday.  They seem to having a great time and are doing the miles for various reasons.  Some want to beat the snow in Washington and fear an early winter.  Some actually have to get back to work.  A large number this year have to finish before their Visa’s expire.  Turns out there was a documentary on the PCT in Germany on the most popular German station and that is why there are some many Germans on the trail this year (so I was told by a German couple while giving them a ride to Medford Oregon to get new shoes).   During one day an older couple drove up and stopped to see what was going on.  I talked with him for a long time about the trail.  He said he was a lifelong hiker and thought about doing the PCT but he said all he ever saw was PCT Hikers with their heads down walking as fast as they could to get in miles.  He was not interested in doing that.  I laughed and told him I did not do that and he did not have to do that either.  He could hike the trail how he wanted to hike the trail.  It was like he had never thought of that.  One guy gave Lenora and I necklaces he had made out of rocks.  One was a rock picked up at the start of the trail in Campo and had been carried for 1500 miles.  One was a rock he picked up in the High Sierra and had carried for about 800 miles.  He was so appreciative of the magic he have them to us.  Quite an honor.  Told him we would carry them the rest of the way to Canada.

If you remember last week I started at this point and went south.  Today I am starting here and going the normal direction towards Canada.  The trail starts by going up for a bit but then changes into a very wide, very soft, and very flat trail.

After about an hour I entered into the Castle Crags Wilderness and again wonder if I am still in the state park.  They like to tell you when you enter but not when you leave.

Here is some information about the wilderness area taken from wiki.

The Castle Crags Wilderness is a 12,232-acre (49.50 km2) wilderness area in the Castle Crags rock formations of the Trinity Mountains, and within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, in northwestern California. It is located in Siskiyou County and Shasta County, 40 miles north of Redding and south of Mount Shasta City.  The US Congress passed the California Wilderness Act in 1984 which set aside the wilderness.
Elevations of the Castle Crags range from 2,500–7,300 feet (762–2,225 m). The Trinity Mountains are a range in the Klamath Mountains System and the Klamath geological province.  The prominent spires in the southeast that make up the Castle Crags are the main attraction and are similar to the granitic rock landscape in parts of Yosemite National Park. In the northern portion of the wilderness, the landscape is more like the Klamath Mountains with glacial erosion, several cirques, and abundant rainfall with a high, east-trending divide. The area is bounded on the east by the Sacramento River, in the north by the South Fork Sacramento River and in the south by the canyon of Castle Creek and the boundary of Castle Crags State Park.

One roadless area of 1,732 acres (7.01 km2) borders on the northwest and contains the largest glacial cirque, Castle Lake, which is near where the Modoc War’s 1855 Battle of Castle Crags took place. Now a historical landmark (California Historical Landmark No.16), the battle was fought on a ridge saddle between the lake and what is known as Battle Rock.  The Wintu Indians who inhabited the area called the crags the Abode of the Devil and the Spanish explorers called it Castle del Diablo (Castle of the Devil.)   There are mineral springs at the base of the crags which were used by the early fur traders, and after the Southern Pacific Railroad was completed into the area, health resorts sprang up as well. The railroad touted the beauty of the West to increase ridership, improve the West’s image, and hopefully, sell some of its land holdings.
Sunset was a publication started in 1898 by the passenger department of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company that described various places in the West and was named after its Sunset Limited railroad line which went from New Orleans to San Francisco. The magazine’s description of Castle Crags is the typical, flowery writing style of that era:
“These are peaks of a spur of the Trinity range, that rise abruptly in towers and pinnacles, splintered and riven in all manner of fantastic shapes. With every slight change in the position of the beholder they seem to march and countermarch, advance and recede, until one is ready to believe them moving.”
The advent of logging and mining brought even more people to the area with some mining continuing until the 1950s.  In 1933, concerned citizens successfully worked to protect the area and were able to acquire much of the land that became the state park. President Reagan signed into law the California Wilderness Act in 1984 that protected another 10,500 acres (42 km2) and was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The wilderness contains more than 300 species of wildflowers, including the Castle Crags harebell and the Castle Crags ivesia, both endemic, as well as tiger lily, monkey flower, and Indian rhubarb. Drier locations have yarrow, aster and buckwheat. Forested areas have incense cedar, white fir, ponderosa pine, several types of oaks with Pacific dogwood and maple in riparian zones. Meadows and brushlands have various kinds of manzanita along with huckleberry oak, chaparral and mountain whitethorn. Poison oak is common, as are rattlesnakes—dictating caution when hiking the trails.  Black bears, coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions are some of the larger predators in this diverse habitat of bare granite, steep slopes, meadows and mountain streams.

A beautiful area to be hiking.  Trees, trees, and more trees.  Castle Crags is in the distance a bit.  At least I think that is Castle Crags out there

But then it is a lot closer all of a sudden so perhaps that thing about is just a bunch of rocks 🙂

So all day is spent getting to the base of Castle Crags and I decide to camp for the night.  What lies ahead is 4 miles of a very steep ascent and I will start that early in the morning.  Towards the end of the day I meet a young hiker gal whose name is “Fire Ants” because she had a couple issues with them while walking through the desert.  Fire Ants decides to stop as well.  Fire Ants loves to talk.  She has a German accent and indicates she is not really “legal” and so had to go off the trail for awhile to get her finger prints taken and she just got back on the trail that day.  I’m not really following the conversation actually.  I’m sure that is a shock for many of you.

The weather has turned really hot up here in Northern California and tomorrow is expected to be in the high 90’s  even at elevation.  I figure it won’t bother me that much.  I love the heat.  I would be wrong again.

Phone says 34000 steps and 41 flights

So I had a good night and actually slept later than normal.  Starting heading toward the water and I was looking forward to having some food.  About 6:30 in the morning I reach the creek and there is plenty of nice cold flowing water.   So I fill up the water holders and start boiling 2 cups of water.  I have Ramen Noodles with cheese cut in and with some olive oil and with some summer sausage.   While that was cooking and cooling I had two Carnation Instant breakfasts which seem to energize me more than anything else.   I eat the food rather slowly and towards the end I am already feeling nauseous but I was use to that and figured it would pass.  I pack everything back up and continue the hike.  The whole process takes about 90 minutes.  I wasn’t in any hurry really.

Not far down the trail I meet “Big Bird” so named because he is a rather large man and is a birder.  He is about my age and is doing some section hiking and birding along the way.  We talk a bit about birding and he gives me a tip of where to see a Calliope Hummingbird that he had just seen.  I was not aware that bird was possible here and thought it had to be a rare sighting.  However, I stopped where he had indicated and waited and sure enough there he was visiting the wild flowers.  Found out later it is not even considered rare.  Nice to see!!!

Not long after this my great meal was on the ground.  Just would not stay down.  This made a bit concerned and so I started wondering if there was a road where Lenora could get me.   What happened next was a series of bad communications and is rather embarrassing.   Lenora thought I needed extraction now come hell or high water and what I wanted was to get out if there was a decent road near by where she could get me.   Messages back and forth were missed and delivered late and in the final result Lenora made a super human effort to get where I was.  This was not easy because I was still hiking and trying to get to some decent road while she was traveling over every little jeep and logging road she could take.  At one point got to a ravine she could not get past and backed up to a place where the PCT crossed the trail.  As it turns out this point was about 3/4 of a mile from where I was.  I backtracked to where she was and proceeded to get upset because she had put herself in great danger and as it turns out broken some laws to get to where I was.  Not my finest hour to be sure.  By the time we got back to the hotel we had pieced together all the messages and how things had gone wrong and hopefully have learned something.   I asked for forgiveness.  She forgave me.  God is good.

Lenora’s Note:  It was a big day for me.  Started with missing the expected text from Alabama but caught his followup call and picked him and another hiker called Young Blood at the I-5 and Soda Creek exit.  Made it back to town in time for my Chiropractor appt. and he not only adjusted my neck but used ultrasound on my shoulders when he saw I could not lift my arms at all today.  He then called an Orthopedic Doc that he knows and arranged me to see him. Dr. F thinks I have inflammation in tendons of both shoulders and perhaps a cortizone shot would help.  I was just about off the round the clock advil for the inflammation from the dental surgery and now I’m back on that regimen.  Quick stop at the local craft store and a long talk with Martha who shares that her bird count is over 100 now with chickens leading the count followed by Guineas and now 5 new Turkeys.  She is a crazy woman.

Don pretty much summed up the adventure on dirt roads that were abandoned to the bushes and trees a long long time ago.  Since I never saw the “Do not come messages”,  I went on.  I was afraid the loggers would cut a tree down to fall on the car, or have me arrested or I would get stuck but thanks to John Wayne I knew what to do.  Something he said about courage being when you are scared but you get back up on the horse anyway (this is the week of movie quotes).  The end of the tale is that we found each other and both tired and emotionally drained we still considered ourselves blessed to have each other and to be together.  Morning readings this weekend will be all the sweeter for being shared.

After a good nights sleep I woke up to this deer at the tent site.  I think the same deer was there last night just before I went to sleep and may have been there all night for all I know.  This was the day of the deer as I saw many on the trail and on the way down to creeks for water.  In addition to the deer here are couple other early morning shots

At mid morning I emerge from the forest and start hiking along an exposed ridge.  Beautiful views.

It is a little past this point that I make a curious and rather bad decision.  After 9.36 miles I come to the Gold Creek Trail Junction.  This is a junction that can take you 2/10 of a mile off the trail to get water.  So I sit down at this crossroads and weigh my options about going and getting more water.   Looking at the halfmile application the next water on the trail is 10.5 miles away.   While sitting I try (and am successful) in eating some summer sausage and I think about it.

• I have 4 liters of water left.  At least I thought I had 4 liters.  As it turns out I only have 3 but I think I have 4.  I have drank more from the camel back that I had thought
• Generally they say you only need a liter for every 5 miles.  So I should have enough.
• For the last couple miles I have been exposed to sun and that looks like it is going to continue
• It looks like the next 10.5 miles has a lot of up’s and down’s
• It is the heat of the day
• I know from experience that when it is hot and when going uphill I need a LOT more water than the recommended liter for 5 miles.
• If I make it 10.5 miles it will be the longest day I have done so far
• If I don’t make it 10.5 miles, I will not have enough water for the evening meal
• It is only 2/10 of a mile to the *&@&@*(@ water.

The decision is clear.  I decide to keep on hiking and skip getting more water.  NO!!!!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR BRAIN!!!  ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ALL RATIONAL THOUGHT HAS LEFT THE BUILDING.

I have not gone half a mile and I am already rationing my water and only taking small sips.  This just slows me down and keeps me in the heat even more.  At 5:17, I take the following picture.  Very pretty but very much like the picture taken at 10 in the morning.

At about 6:30 I am two miles away from the water and have about half liter of water left and I am beat.  Just don’t think I can make the next two miles and so decide with the water left I will camp.  It is enough to get me through the night and in the morning I will have more energy and it will be cool and I will be able to finish the two miles and eat when I get to water.  That is what I do.  I stop and camp for the night.  There was only 1 camp site at the water location and I figured that site would be taken and then I would have to continue…

So I have done 18 miles.  I am thirsty.  I should be hungry but the thought of eating makes me ill so it is probably, I’m thinking, a good thing I don’t have enough water to give it a try.  In the morning I will be fresh and feel more like eating.   I can hear Scarlet O’Hara from Gone With The Wind saying “I’ll think about that tomorrow”.

Phone says 49000 steps and 78 flights.

Lenora’s Note:

Morning shoulder pain so hot shower followed by sitting still followed by trip to the hotel hot tub followed by sitting still.  Prescription made it to the drug store and I even drive the block to pick it up, followed by more sitting still.  Good news is Chiropractor again tomorrow morning and maybe that will help.  As Scarlet said above, …..tomorrow….

The night was beautiful but as mentioned the sleep was not that great.  Get an early start in the morning.  It is really still dark and I use my headlamp for about the first hour.  I am shocked to meet a couple along the trail that was also already up and walking.  I only take two pictures during hike today.  One rather early trying to catch the trail and the early light and the other when I stopped by a creek.  In the early morning picture you can see that it shows another hiker on the trail walking toward me.  I honestly do not remember him at all and when I saw him in the picture it was a big surprise.  He almost appears to be posing.

At mile 1468 I get to Ash Camp and McClound River.  This is a beautiful area and the river is large and has a bridge going across it.  I  have no idea why I stopped taking pictures.  I should have had many from this area.  It is about 2 pm and so perhaps my brain has just shut  down.  Lenora and I had talked about her meeting me here but for some reason I was just not sure we had a solid date.  When I got here there was a rather large group of other hikers but they did not appear to be interested in having company.  Or, more likely, perhaps I did not feel like having company.  It is a lot easier to blame them, so I will.  Anyway, I sit down in an open area by the road coming into the camp and start to prepare a lunch.  I really don’t want to eat but know that I must.  I get it half prepared and leave it sitting there for a while attempting to get the nerve to choke it down.  While I am waiting up drives Lenora!!!  YEA!!!  So cool I am at a place where she can reach me and she has come.  She comes with cold root beer and cookies.  Now for some reason I can drink the cold root beer (2 of them) and the cookies (4 of them) but the cheese and salmon on a tortilla just looks horrid.  There was also a chocolate mint which I had no trouble eating.  Lenora and I stayed there for about an hour.  We shared some of the magic (cookies and drinks) with another hiker (Obi-Wan) who was very appreciative.  We tried to offer some magic to a couple other hikers  (in the group mentioned earlier) as they went by but they either did not hear us or choose to ignore us.

Lenora’s Note:  I woke with stiff shoulders again but Don decided he wants his cheese and a cold root beer so I load up the cooler and add the mint candy we bought in Quincy and some oreos.  Off I go to Ash Creek camp missing the message that says, “I guess you are not coming.”  Blissfully unaware that we might not meet I go on.  Roads are paved most of the way and the short unpaved sections are well graded.  When I arrive Don is sitting staring at a tortilla with thick slabs of cheese on it.  I’m delighted to see him but note he looks tired and sore.

I had another long 10 mile ascent ahead of me and I knew I would not make the top but wanted to get some of it done.  I  hiked for another 3 miles or so and stopped at Butcherknife Creek.  Another beautiful spot.

As I was just sitting admiring the view another hiker past by me, went ahead a little bit, then turned back and ask if it was ok for him to sit and rest for awhile.   Everyone always asks.  The answer is always of course YES.  Anyway his name is Alabama (cause that is where he is from).  He decided to do the trail after high school with a buddy of his.  His buddy quit after 5 days but Alabama kept on going.  Really nice young man.  He indicated we wanted to spend a day in Mt. Shasta and asked if it was hard to get there.  Not at all I said and I gave him Lenora’s number and told him to call when he got to Interstate 5 and she would be happy to pick him up.  I then texted Lenora to warn her she would get a call from a Southern Gentlemen. Alabama looked at me and said “Now that is trail magic”.  I had to agree.  We talked a bit more while he ate a candy bar and then he went on as his destination for the night was Ash Camp.

So I had a 16 mile day.   Not bad but not great considering how early I had started.   Lunch stayed down.  Dinner that night did not.

Phone says 34000 steps and 33 flights.  That ain’t much!

Lenora continues:

After leaving Don at Ash Camp I take a leisurely drive back down the mountain and get some great views of McCloud Lake.  This lake is an incredible color that the pictures fail to capture, but I tried.

On the way down I cross the PCT on a paved area of the road and wonder why we couldn’t meet here?

We will not stay in McCloud but I wanted to check it out and found St. Joseph Catholic Church easily.

Today I finished the second of my unfinished needlepoints, It is called Witch Hilda’s Tree and the spider webs took about as long as the rest of the piece to stitch.

Framed up my next unfinished project “Witch on the Town” but couldn’t raise the energy to stitch.  It was a full day.

As I look at the picture above I just start laughing as I think:  This is the best I am going to look this week.  It only goes down hill from here.

So I have high expectations for this week.  I believe I have my trail legs back and I will be able to do greater distances per day and I thought I would have shaken the head cold.  As it turns out I have not shaken the head cold and it has moved to my chest and so now I have a thick wet cough as well.  I don’t feel bad at all but it does interfere with my breathing a bit.

As mentioned at the end of last week, this week I am starting where my plans had me ending for the week and so I am going to be hiking from north to south.  I am starting at mile 1499 and will go south as far as possible.   I left off at mile 1329.  There is no way I am going to do 170 miles but I am hoping for a good week.  It should be interesting to see some of the people that passed me and I’m sure some of those people will be a bit confused that I am now going the “wrong way”.

As with most weeks the trail starts with an ascent.  This one goes on for about 9 miles but is fairly gentle and I handle it without too much issue.  One of the first hikers I run into is one I had not noticed before and he stops and we talk.   When I ask how he is doing he says at least I am going downhill and indicates I have a long climb ahead of me.  He indicates he has done 30 miles the last couple days because there was not much to see.  I sort of smile and agree almost implying that the only thing holding me back from doing 30 miles a day is the scenery!!!   As I start walking again I chuckle at the thought.   Not too long later I see “Rant” again.   He looks at me and indicates he remembers me from earlier and wonders whats going on.  I tell him and we talk a little more.  Turns out he is retired military after 21 years of service and he is on the trail and likes to stop and talk to the people he has been defending for the last 21 years.  He was in artillery.   I thank him for his service!!   The next person I meet is “Cheapest Option” and she remembers me and is also confused.  I explain what I am doing and chat a bit and then go our different directions.  If I ever meet her again I will ask the obvious question.   Here are a few pictures along the way

I get to a beautiful expansive view where both Mt. Shasta and Castle Crags are in the same view.

Towards the end of the day I pass over Squaw Valley Creek which has a nice arch bridge going over it.

There is a nice sitting area around the creek and so I decide to eat my dinner here and then go on to the next camping spot.  It is a good idea as it gives a little more energy for the climb from the creek.

I go on for about a mile and find a really nice LITTLE camp site.  It has been an 18 mile day.  I feel pretty good.  Here is my camp site just big enough to accept my tent.  There is a smaller place just below where I can sit and admire my surroundings.

So I have my tent set up and I am doing a little reading and on around  8:45 or so another hiker comes to the spot and stops.  I can tell he had hoped to be able to camp here but there was only really room for one.  The next camping spot in either direction is about an hour away and it is starting to get dark and I can tell what is going to happen and it does.  He asks if I would mind if we try to make room for him to camp here.  Of course I say yes, there is really no other thing to say.   I expect he is very close to my age and I can see the “I can’t take another step” look in his eyes.   We are able to make enough space but the two tents are cheek to cheek.  I tell him how Lenora and I are doing the trip and he thinks he and his wife could do the same thing.  He indicated he skipped about 100 miles in the High Sierra because of snow and he was afraid he was going to get hurt and that maybe later in the year he and his wife could do that stretch together.  I did not tell him but really in that section he will only see his wife at the start and at the end.  There really is no other option in the section he skipped.  Anyway he tells me he has a bad blister on his foot and so has lost touch with this group as he was walking too slow and that he had lost 40 pounds.  Now I lost 40 pounds last year BUT I had 40 pounds and more that I could loose without any issue.   That was not the case with him. He was very very thin.

I did not sleep well this night and I got up earlier than normal.  I tried not to wake my neighbor and he did not say anything but there is a certain amount of noise that happens when packing back up that can not be avoided.  Before I starting hiking I said a prayer over him in his tent asking that the Lord would, if it be His will, heal his foot and help him gain weight.

Phone says 45000 steps and 43 flights.

Lenora’s Note:  After dropping Don at Soda Creek I decided to go by the place I was supposed to stay this month in Dunsmuir and thank the owner Louie for finding my wallet.  I visit with him for a few minutes and he recommends some ‘short’ hikes in the area for me to do, my favorite was one I could take to meet Don on the trail for lunch.  It was ‘only’ about 4 1/2 miles hike into the picnic spot.  I was laughing inside as I smiled and thanked Louie.  I am not up for a 9 mile round trip up a mountain for a picnic lunch.  While in the area I sought out the church I would have attended had I stayed here.  It is a lovely little building with a very inviting Mary Grotto outside with running water.

My Chiropractor appointment with Dr. Fritzke is in the afternoon and I find him very personable but he does the manual neck twisting technique and I find I liked the drop table better.  Yet I think this is helping so I ask to return Thursday for another treatment.

Feeling pretty good I decide to explore the downtown a little.  Mt. Shasta is a pretty little town chock full of New Age and Buddhist influences.  A couple of photos of one of the many little shops.

Also found both Craft shops in town and bought the black beads I used on the Witch Tree.  Other shop was closed so a reason to return later in the week.

Thought I only had 7 miles for today but I have 8.  Most of it is downhill and it does not take long to do it but I do take my time and do some birding along the way.  Actually all along I have been trying to notice birds more because I am in areas where I may see birds I have not seen before in my life and certainly this year.  If I could bird by ear I am sure I would picked up many new birds but if I happen to hear a bird, I then have to find it to figure out what it is.  With this head cold I am not hearing hardly anything and totally relying on seeing some movement ahead of me.

Apparently most of the PCT herd has already passed me because I do not see anyone on the trail today.  I expect I am between groups and that when I return next week I will see a new group of people.

I have some general pictures of the trail to show some overgrowth, some rocks, some trees.

So I missed my mark by a LOT this week.  Next week I plan on starting further north where I am suppose to end next week (near Mount Shasta) and then walk the trail from north to south to see how much of it I can take in.   Might be kind of funny and people that past me this week might run into me going the other direction next week.  I am looking forward to it.  Today as I write these posts my head cold is almost gone and I feel like my trail legs are kicking in.   Everything is as it should be and God is good.

Phone says 18500 steps and 7 flights

I’m complaining about a head cold?? Look at this

Lenora’s Note:
Don says he will be at the pickup spot about noon, but he is always early so I start early and take what I expect to be the shortest route. This path takes me through Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is incredible and I hope I can get Don to return to the hotel this way. Spectacular but I don’t tarry as I am burning daylight on the twisty roads and slow speed limits.
When I find him he has found a woman who needs a ride and we are off to Chester, a delightful little town. We do return to Hat Creek through the Volcanic Park and enjoy the sights.

Another great night.  Boring huh??  Always a great night.  The weather has just been perfect.  The nights have been clear and cool but not cold.  No worries of rain and so the tent is not covered.  Would not be using a tent at all except for the numerous bugs that seem to want to crawl on me.

Today is the day of couples on the trail.  Generally you just do not see people hiking together even if they are together but today there were numerous walking together couples both passing me going north and south bounders.  After 5 miles I get to the point there is probably want just one third of a mile off the trail with an elevation change of 300 feet.   I decide to make sure I have enough as the weight does not bother me as much as being thirsty so I take down 3 2-liter contains to fill.  As I head towards the water I think this is more than one third of a mile and more than 300 of elevation change but worth it if there is water.  When I get to the stream there is indeed water.  Lovely cold clear water.  I fill up the containers and then I decide to “camel up”.  So I drink 2 liters of water on the spot and refill the container and carry the 6 liters back to the pack.  It is actually quite difficult to drink 2 liters of water by the way.   On the way back up  there are 3 other people going down to get water.  They each look to be getting 4 liters of water.  When I get back to the  top I decide to have the breakfast I did not have when I woke up because of lack of water.  The other folks come back up and each of them complaining it was more than one third a mile and more than 300 feet.  I just started laughing.  I wondered if it really was as advertised and almost decided to measure it but then decided I did not care that much.

You can tell by the picture below that water might be a bit scarce around these parts

There just are not very many signs on this part of the trail but the one below was nice to see.  Not only on the trail but heading in the right direction!!  I am direction challenged.  I got one of the first Garmins and always carried it my car.   At one time my brother in law (Garthe) asked why that thing was always on and didn’t I instinctively know where north was???  I told him that yes indeed I did usually know where north was but that I was frequently wrong.

A bit closer look at Lassen Peak which I was sure was still Mount Shasta.

And of course you need to see some flowers from the day

Towards the end of today a much anticipated milestone was reached.  The Mid Way Point of the PCT.  Half way between Mexico and Canada.  People start thinking and talking about this as far back as Tahoe, anticipating the great event.   I knew I was getting close and I started imagining what mile 1320 might be like.   I figured there would be a welcoming committee and for sure there would be a bar and grill.  I thought I would order an XX-Molson beer and an enchilada covered with Canadian bacon.   You know something to celebrate the two borders.  I even considered changing into my least offensive hiking clothes.   Approaching mile 1320 I could see that the trail did not even get any wider and the only thing there was a 2 by 2 cement post with the words PCT mid point OR some such thing.  Frankly I was so disappointed I can’t even remember what it said for sure.  I was glad I did not bother changing my clothes!!!  I suppose if you are walking a wilderness trail then you must have wilderness type expectations.  The southern terminus and the northern terminus of the PCT are also rather unimpressive.  So I went on for another mile and camped for the night.

Feel good about doing 15 miles with a head cold.  Not going to make near as far as I had hoped this week however and because of the head cold Lenora will be picking me up tomorrow after about only 7 miles at Hwy 36.

Phone says 49000 steps and 46 flights

Lenora’s Note:
Happy Birthday to me. I have a good place to stay, the cats are happy and my wallet is where is belongs. I am beat. My shoulders and arms are very sore and I don’t have the energy to find a chiropractor so I spend a quiet day reading, napping and watching TV. Donald wants to be picked up tomorrow and I’m ready to see him.