July 20th, 2022 by Jon
We woke up and began the day packing up as usual, and then I opened the rain fly to get my shoes on and just kind of stared at Mt. Shasta for a while. We had such a good campsite last night, maybe my favorite on trail so far. It lacked water but made up for it in spectacular views and sunsets. We started on breakfast and Singsong and I were moving slowly this morning. I don’t really know why, we just took a long time to eat, and we can’t make our coffee until we eat because we each only have the one container to eat/drink out of. Biscuit and Missile left around 6:30, and we left a little later, around 6:50.
The trail continued along a ridge only about 10 feet wide, so we could still see on either side for most of the first bit of walking. The sun was up over the ridge of mountains, but there were enough trees on the ridge itself that we still had sun protection, so that was nice. We got off the ridge and began undulating up and down small rises that appeared out of the earth, crossing small meadows, bushes covered little gullies, and stands of pine trees. We hiked through them for a long time before coming out on an exposed rocky ledge with excellent views to the southwest. The trail led us back into the trees, and we dove down the hill for a while through a dense pine forest before ledge-walking through more trees, where we met Biscuit and Missile. They were both sitting at a junction leading to the first water source of the day, taking their first break. We joined them for the break, but didn’t get any water because there were multiple sources in the next 5 miles where we could grab some when we ran out.
We continued hiking, and this next section was on a completely exposed ledge for most of it. We walked along, taking in views of the Trinity Alps to the west. The ledge went on for a few miles before heading back into the forest after crossing a few dirt roads, and began switchbacking down the other side of the ridge. We walked through trees and around the sides of small gullies before finally coming to a good, flowing stream with a nearby small dirt area that made for the perfect little break spot. We sat there for a while, eating, refilling our water, and enjoying a bit of rest before we picked a lunch spot 3.5 miles away that would be near a creek.
The trail twisted through more forest, although we also had a few semi-exposed ridges with only a few old trees to give us cover. The sunlight was becoming penetratingly hot. We crossed back into the thick pine forest and were enveloped in its shade before we finally came to rest in a small clearing just off the trail next to the creek. It was 12:00, and we had already gone 14.5 miles. We cooled off in the stream, washing our limbs and ridding ourselves of some of the dirt that always seems to crust over every part of our bodies. We ate lunch there and enjoyed the shade and cooler temperature down by the water.
We didn’t really want to leave, but we did anyway. We had 4 miles to get to the McCloud River, where we planned to take another break and avoid some of the afternoon heat. The trail continued, winding through trees, gullies, and small hills before finally reaching a rocky canyon. We were high up on the cliff and could hear the roar of the water down below. We had about 6 switchbacks to get down to the old abandoned parking lot below, and 5 of them were almost completely exposed. It was extremely warm and fairly uncomfortable to be out in the sun without any breaks in the shade. Eventually, we made it to the last switchback, which took us back into the pine trees and along a small creek heading towards the river.
We crossed the old parking lot and saw signs telling hikers that this road had been blocked by barriers 2 miles away, so there weren’t any cars here. Apparently, the road isn’t safe to drive on anymore for some reason. We crossed and hiked down a small side trail, then came to a large bridge that spanned the river. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy brown from the massive amount of silt in the water. We’ve been here a few times before, back when Singsong and I lived in Redding, and have never seen the river like this. It was a bit disappointing, but at least it was cooler here, and the shade by the river made for an excellent siesta spot. We cooled our limbs off in the river and then lay out on the rocks, enjoying a bit of a snooze and reading on our phones. We stayed for about 45 minutes before Missile and Biscuit pushed on. We didn’t want to fill water here because the silt will clog our filters up and they are running slow already. Singsong and I stayed for a bit longer before pushing on. We enjoyed our time here and would happily come back.
The next 2 miles after the river were very hot. The sun was very much overhead, and it beat down on us like you wouldn’t believe. The trail was on a narrow, rocky ledge overlooking a deep canyon where the McCloud River flowed. We eventually came to a small shaded area between two hills and found a wonderful little stream tucked away. We filled water there and took enough to be able to camp, since where we were headed didn’t have any water nearby.
The last 4 miles from that water source took us up a steep mountain climb. We were mostly in the pine trees, switching back and forth, gaining elevation slowly. Shockingly, I felt amazing given that it was the end of a long day and we had a pretty steady incline the entire rest of the way. But we got to a small flat spot where about 8 tents could probably fit. We set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed pretty early, very tired from the long, hot day. Tomorrow we have 23 miles and some change to get to I-5, where we plan to get food from Singsong’s brother, who is driving up from Redding, and I think we will also try to get some town food if we can before heading to a campground at Castle Crags State Park just west of the freeway.
