LINKS TO BLOG STUFF

• Playlist of all of my PCT Video Clips

• PCT Pre-Hike Posts start here

• PCT Blog Posts from the trail start here

• My Instagram is still going strong!

We hoped that some more of the trail fam would catch up on the Tuesday ferry so we had plenty of time to kill until it arrived. Sea Lion and I walked back down to the laundry room to collect some things we left to dry overnight then moseyed down to sit by the water and enjoy our pastries from the bakery. We went to the general store to buy some WiFi and plan out our trip back home.

Some rain hit during the night and we woke up to a weird situation…there was a jolly rancher candy on the roof of our tent body, underneath the rain fly. Last night, I had some in a small ziplock in my hip pocket and took them out after I had already put my food away. So instead I put the bag on the top gear pocket in the tent since we weren’t in bear territory and thought it would be fine. Then I noticed a hole was chewed into the gear pocket and it all clicked.

The entire trail family met up at the Inn's diner for breakfast and we realized it was a bit like the last supper. Twizzler was hiking south to make up the miles she skipped to rest her shin splints. Squirrel and Shark planned to slow down substantially to finish on October 1st. Some others were going to take an alternate route through a valley to go to some hot springs.

We took advantage of the full kitchen again and made a ton of breakfast sandwiches; English muffins, eggs, bacon, avocados, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. There were leftovers so I packed one out for a snack. We took our time tidying the loft and getting packed up. It felt so good to have dry clean clothes. Pickle Pacer and I joked about how soft we've become since hiking the AT last year. We used to shrug off rain, have a laugh, and keep hiking

The rain stayed away and we enjoyed some breakfast beers in the tent as we waited for Station Cafe to open. Then Midge, Shark, and Squirrel joined us for a delicious brekkie accompanied with huckleberry mimosas. Afterwards, we did a food resupply at the general store for the short three day stretch

We were on trail at a reasonable time because it was nice and warm out at this lower elevation. This wouldn't last for long as we still had a hearty 2100ft climb to start the day. We made a friend at the first water source as we were filtering. It was a slug.

The pitter patter of feet, clinking of dishes during breakfast preparations, and the sun peering in the massive skylight right above our bed made sure I was not sleeping in. I went downstairs to charge my phone, ice my foot, and finish the Section D+E blog post. Shark's parents cooked up another amazing meal including bagels, eggs, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls

We had another misty scare from the lake so we packed up early and returned to the hiker cabin. Almost everyone planned to stick around for breakfast but we had a lot of town chores to get started on. So we hit the trail in the dreary and gray weather to knock out a few quick miles to the road and get to Bend.

Sea Lion and I were the first out of camp and soon crossed Highway 138 which had a pile of Bud Light on the trail. Far from my favorite beer but I'll take trail magic any day! We drank one there and each packed one out for the upcoming highest point on the PCT in the state. We soon could see Mount Thielsen which has a craggy and pointy peak.

We did much better about leaving tampon time and hit the trail right at 7. A few miles in we passed Midge who is always one to sleep in. I put on Queens greatest hits, a triple album that would power me through the day and I made it 7.1 miles to Christi's Spring and exactly 2 hours. We filled up water, had second breakfast, and then took off because we were planning for a 30+ mile day

As we departed camp we agreed to meet at the Ashland Hostel if we don't link up throughout the days mileage. Sea Lion and I hiked together for a bit and were still stoked on the state line crossing that we almost hiked right passed the 1700 mile marker.

During our food resupply I picked up some waffles for brekkie since the hiker hut had a little kitchenette with a toaster. There was also real maple syrup left behind so it made for quite a yummy start to the day. We quickly got a hitch back up the mountain (thanks Jim!) and hit the trail

The shades were closed so our normal alarm clocks of the rising sun and chirping birds were both unavailable. We went to the market to grab a few extra snacks and breakfast. I smashed a box of six donuts and washed them down with some chocolate milk

Sony a6500 Mirrorless Camera

I toiled over what camera to get for a while but was leaning towards Sony's a6300 since it had the larger ASP-C sensor but most importantly it was weather sealed. Before pulling the trigger on that, they released the a6500 which added in body image stabilization and a touchscreen

The massive Carr Fire became too uncomfortable as it engulfed structures and destroyed the air quality. I was quite reluctant to skip ahead but the air was really bothering Sea Lion and the trail family laid out some very good points:

Needless to say, after two days of partying, we were wiped out. Thankfully Sam wanted to sleep at home and made the trek back up to his van at night so he picked us up in the morning. He was exhausted and didn't feel like driving back up to Chester so I took the wheel. It is weird enough driving at all after a 3 month hiatus, let alone driving a massive van.

We knew that the 5,000 foot climb out of the valley would be miserable in the heat so we hit the trail at sunrise. I snapped some photos of the old Eby stamp mill across the river and then we hiked in the shadow of the hill for a good bit. The sun poured over right as we entered Lassen National Forest which is where the tree cover began

We set the tent with our feet pointing east so the morning sun blasted through the tent and woke us up.  The trail continued along under the Sierra Buttes and I was glad we were in their shadow instead of the blazing sun.

After about an hour, Rudolfo scooped us up in a newly refurbished VW bus. He was a chill guy just taking it for a Sunday joyride so he was happy to drop us off. We hiked to Echo Lake, along the shore and past tons of cozy cabins, and continued up to Aloha Lake.