July 17th, 2022 by Jon
We woke up, and there must have been about 30 hikers camped by the water cache with us last night. We got ready at our usual 5:30 and enjoyed some hot oatmeal before heading out. We had the rest of Hat Creek Rim to finish, which would take about a third of the day, and then we would walk on a mostly flat plateau, winding through the forest past Baum Lake, before reaching the forested area just outside Burney.
The trail began on the ridge, and this section was more heavily forested than yesterday’s hike. The sun hadn’t risen yet, so it was actually quite cool and pleasant hiking on the edge of this ridge with the same views into the valley as yesterday, but without the sun beating down on us so intensely. We leapfrogged with tons of other hikers, which always happens when everyone camps in the same place. It kind of reminds me of the desert because everyone always camped together at the water sources there, too. After about 8 miles, we descended off the rim in a short series of switchbacks, crossing small fields of lava rock. They were mostly golf-ball-sized rocks that looked like little pumice stones. It was pretty loose rock, so walking over them is kind of a pain.
From there we weaved among the trees along mostly flat ground. If it weren’t for the sun, I would have lost all sense of direction. It felt a bit aimless as we walked along, but eventually we came across some power lines that we knew headed straight for the powerhouse we would pass in 4 or 5 miles. The trail continued, and we walked more, taking a break about halfway between the switchbacks and the creek that was at the power station. From there, we would cross a paved road that goes into Burney a few times before leaving it behind. We went around the edge of a cliff so we could cut across it instead of going straight down, and came to a large grassy area below. We hiked around it and reached our first water source after 13 miles. The last was back where we camped.
It was about 12:00 when we got there, and we filled up our water before pressing on so we could have lunch by the lake 0.7 miles ahead. We walked by the power house and were offered some fresh fruit by a local woman in a pickup truck. Fresh food is really the absolute best thing for hikers, especially when it’s hot out. We thanked her and continued walking. We went by a fish hatchery before crossing over a small footbridge and found ourselves walking along a long, skinny lake. There was a ton of wildlife, including geese, falcons, and some sort of heron. We even saw the falcons dive down and catch fish right in front of our eyes.
We had lunch in a small shady spot about 30 feet from the water and enjoyed the chance to cool down and take a break. The terrain has actually been quite easy with how flat it is, but the heat has been tough. After lunch, we packed up and started hiking up our one small climb for the day to get out of a valley that we were in. We walked past tons of dry oak trees that provided precious shade in the afternoon heat. The air was warm enough that it felt like we were just breathing in front of an open oven door. We walked underneath power lines a few times and had amazing views of Mt. Shasta to the north.
We descended off the ridge and walked down to Highway 299. Most people hitch into Burney from here, but we were meeting our friends Caryl, Denise, and Katryn who we worked with at Shasta County Public Health a few years ago a little further up trail. We walked over the highway and immediately took another break in the shade. At this point, it was 93 degrees, and we were stopping every hour or just over an hour to cool down. Physically, we felt pretty good; it’s just that the heat sucks the life out of you like you wouldn’t believe.
We kept hiking through a beautiful forest, and the number of bushes, pine, and oak trees provided enough shade to help quite a bit. We made it another 4 miles before taking another shade break, and then had 2.5 miles to a paved road just outside Burney Falls State Park, where we got to see our friends! It was really good to catch up with everyone, and they brought cold drinks for us to enjoy. We threw our packs into Caryl’s husband, Keith’s, truck before piling into various cars and driving to Caryl and Keith’s cabin in Burney, where they said we could stay the night! They had enough space for Biscuit and Missile, too, which was great. Biscuit had actually gotten to the trailhead first, and they recognized her from the blog and photos, which cracks me up.
When we got to the cabin, we washed our feet off with the hose outside and enjoyed tons of fresh fruit, cold drinks, and a beautiful charcuterie board! It was seriously amazing. We sat in camp chairs outside because it was actually quite pleasant now that it was cooling down. We rotated through and took showers, and Caryl went and grabbed a massive amount of tacos to eat for dinner. We feel so lucky and touched by their generosity. All 4 of our friends headed back to Redding because they have to work tomorrow, but they told us how to lock up the house when we leave. It was really great to see them and catch up. The downside was that I forgot to take any photos together because I was so excited to see them!
We spent the rest of the evening eating snacks and enjoying sitting on the back patio. We went to bed by 9:30 or so after running a load of laundry which was also very appreciated. Tomorrow we plan to have a slow morning, get chores done, and then head out for a half day of hiking.
