July 18th, 2022 by Jon
Today we woke up without an exact plan for what we wanted to do. We woke up around 7:00 and started eating the food that Caryl and Denise had left for us. We had berries, Trader Joe’s crumpets, jam, juice, and these really good almond bars that were perfectly chewy. After we ate, we all sat around on the couch before Biscuit and Missile left to go to a local diner and meet Rune, Wilco, and Bouge, who were in town! Singsong and I planned to swing by later if we could or, at the very least, see them after breakfast.
We sat around on the couches for a while doing internet chores and making sure our lives were in order still before walking over to grocery outlet to do our resupply. We had a little extra food left over, and the next section is only about 80 miles, so we don’t need to buy much. We picked up Missile on the way over, and the three of us began perusing the store for good snacks and things we could turn into meals. We try to stop at different stores because they have different foods to try. This time, we picked up some Belvita crackers to try for breakfast as an alternative to oatmeal for once.
Resupply completed, we headed back to the house and stopped at Subway to pick up some extra food to have for lunch before heading all the way back. We spent the next two hours eating and organizing our resupply. We managed to polish off the subway and nearly all the food that had been given to us, which I thought was pretty impressive, since there was A LOT. Thanks again, Caryl and Denise, you guys rock!
Rune, Wilco, and Bouge came and said hello for an hour or so, and it was really good to catch up with them and hear about their experiences since we last saw them in South Lake Tahoe. We chatted for a while before they headed back to their hotel. They planned to take a zero here and we plan to hike out and do a half day today after it cools down.
We contacted another old coworker, Lisa, who lives up in Burney, and asked if we could get a ride back to the trail. She happily agreed to take us! We had about an hour to kill, so we hung out at the house and lazed about for a while, drinking as much water as we could. Around 2:30, Lisa picked us up and took us back to the trail. We’ve been so lucky to know so many kind people in NorCal so far and feel quite spoiled. We hiked into the state park and took a side trail down to the falls. If you’ve never been to see Burney Falls, you absolutely need to go. They are absolutely spectacular. They’re tall, wide, and stunningly gorgeous. Plus, on a hot day like today, the mist feels amazing!
We hung out by the water for about 45 minutes before hiking back up and making a pit stop at the general store for soft serve, milkshakes, and candy. We hung out on the patio in the shade, enjoying our treats and waiting for the day to start cooling off. It got up to 94 degrees, which sounded pretty miserable to hike in. Finally, around 4:30, we decided to head out. It was hot, but the sun was lower in the sky, creating longer shadows. The heat in the shade doesn’t feel quite so bad as when you’re standing under the intense gaze of direct sunlight.
The trail left the park and traveled through flat forest along a ledge before beginning a climb up a small hill. We crossed a few dirt roads before entering thick, dark forest for a short time before coming out on a ledge with great views of Lake Britton down below. We continued down a steep switchback, reached the dam at the end of the lake, and crossed over it. They are obviously doing work on the dam, and there was a sign to blow the air horn if you are a PCT hiker who needed to cross. Unfortunately, there was no air horn. But there were no workers, so we crossed cautiously and had no issues. We made our way up a steep climb away from the dam and had great views of the Pit River traveling toward Lake Shasta. We climbed up the hill through a thick pine forest, reached the top, and followed a ridge for a few miles. Here, the plants changed to manzanita and oak trees in places, or just dry scrub in others. The sunlight was golden and the sun itself was getting low in the sky. It made for some beautiful hiking.
Eventually, we came to Rock Creek and had dinner there around 6:30. We sat right by the creek and enjoyed watching it rush by while we ate. This has been a really beautiful section so far, and we’re very happy to be back in the trees. I actually did this section southbound 2 years ago and have been looking forward to coming back ever since we started the trail. After eating, we climbed through more thick forest and did the first 3.5 miles of a 10-mile climb before finding a great camping spot on a soft bed of pine needles right at the junction to a spring that we can grab water from in the morning.
This looks like a beautiful day. Canada 1,232 miles!!