Tabasco and I both got up around 6am, though we were camping far enough away from each other that it was merely coincidence. We began our hike together, as has been the case since Belden and we have stayed together throughout the day. We both like starting early, hike a similar pace, and take similar breaks. Good thing, because we’re currently planning to hike together to Ashland, OR, then skip up together to hike Washington State before the rainy season begins. The morning hike was mostly climbing, a continuation from yesterday. The trail was difficult because it undulated up and down every 30 feet or so, which destroys rhythm and is hard on the legs. To make it even more difficult, we had to hike through miles of brushy trail where no maintenance has been accomplished in several years.
Our legs are pretty scratched up from miles of shrub/brush, some of it containing prickly leaves and flowers. We have, over the last few days, moved away from Lassen Volcanic National Park and have been hiking in the Shasta Trinity Wilderness. After our lunch break the views from high elevations of Mt. Shasta were stunning and we stopped to take several photos, ourselves with the volcano in the background.
With 15 miles behind us and most but not all of the climbing accomplished, we took a break around 2pm for about 30 minutes. The next 8 miles offered great views to steep valley floor below, as well as undulating ridge after ridge of mountains to the horizon, reminding me of similar scenery in the Appalachians. The trail was better maintained for the afternoon hiking, but we had several sets of 200 foot climbs and descents in succession, like a roller coaster ride, which wore us down in the afternoon sunshine.
We hit a long stretch before and during a side slab around Grizzly Peak. Appropriately named, we had encounters with a bear just a few feet off trail in the thick shrubbery. We couldn’t see him, but we could hear him and see bushes moving as he ran from us. He was about 15 feet from the trail when we first heard him. Bear #2 was another 100 yards from the trail. This time we could see parts of him in the bushes and he began heading our way from about 15 feet. At about 10 feet we saw his face briefly; he looked up, then bolted away about the same time I had begun a brisk walk a few feet up the trail. Bear #3 was about a quarter mile farther down the trail, in the bushes, and ran like hell down the mountain as we approached. All we could see were bush limbs moving and pieces of bushes in the air as he practically tumbled down the steep slope.
Late in the afternoon we finally saw a human, then another; two SOBO’s, Mama’s Boy and Seattle Dave, who knew Tabasco as they both are from Seattle and worked at REI at one time. Water was scarce today and we found a trickle from a spring around 5:30pm after several miles of going dry with our hydration systems. We filled up and managed to keep hiking despite foot pain in Tabasco’s heels and angry blisters on the bottom of my left heel, fourth right toe (ouch!), and the ball of the right foot. It’s in the same spot as the blister was on the left foot that got infected and set me back 42 days.
We pushed on another 3 miles to Deer Creek where we cooked dinner. With so much fresh bear scat and bears around us, we wanted to cook at least a mile from our stopping point for the night. After dinner, around 7pm, we resumed hiking and just before reaching our planned campsite, encountered a large green tinted rattlesnake next to the trail. This, by the way, is our second rattler in two days. I forgot in yesterday’s journal to mention the black colored rattler we met yesterday morning leaving the Burney Falls area.
Both of us hobbled that last 1.4 miles and we are happy to be off our feet after a tough hiking day on the feet. My legs are strong and I could have gone farther if my feet and daylight cooperated. But I think we’ve had a good run at it today and it’s now 8:25pm and I’m caught up on journaling for once (Yea!), so I’m going to turn off the headlamp and go to sleep. The rushing water of the refreshing stream right next to me and the singing cricket next to the tarptent should put me right to sleep. I’m sleeping with my food, so hopefully there will be no bear visits tonight. The gang must be a few miles back; hopefully they will catch us soon.
Today’s weather: sunny, low 48, high 83. Today’s mileage: 26.1; cumulative mileage: 1,057.1.
