I really hadn't realized that the trail up would include several hours exposed to the sun. Evidently it's an old burn area and the trees never grew back so no shade. The temperature was in the 90s. I was sweating and drinking water constantly. And my pace was about 1 mile/hour.
After I entered Mt Lassen National Forest there were trees and shade. There were also some areas of volcanic lava rock ( photo 6) that reminded me of Oregon.
I huffed and puffed my slow way up, taking frequent rest stops (as I noticed even the thru hikers were doing - one even told me he found this area more challenging than the Sierra). Somehow I thought I had gone 13 miles when I had gone only 10. That led to questioning whether I wanted to head for my original planned tent site (a 15 mile day) or stop sooner. But I was excited about arriving a day ahead of schedule at Drakesbad, partly to have fewer days I would need poop pads for -- but I promised not to talk about that here so let's pretend I didn't say that -- partly because the plan includes a short last day (10 miles) as well as a night camping by a river that hikers say is great to swim in. Today's heat made the dream of swimming in an ice cold river extremely inviting. I had a wonderful dip last year in similar weather just before hiking up a long long climb from Castle Crags. So at 3pm I decided to hike 5 more miles, knowing it would probably take me until after 7pm, especially if I had a rest stop.
What I didn't realize was how demanding those five miles (and 1500 ft ascent) would be. Unlike Mt. Constitution, there were lots of ups and downs, so the total climb was much greater than I realized. In addition there were a lot of scary streams to ford. I was surprised how brave and lucky I was crossing them. And how often I got the chance to use Alexandra's sideways walking technique on single log bridges. I have yet to cross on a high single log (I've been able to put my pokes, at least one, into the stream for balance) but I am definitely gaining confidence. At one crossing a sweet young man waited to make sure I made it. (He also modeled using very narrow single logs I would never have considered if I hadn't watched him do it. ) He told me he had fallen in several times, once when he took off his shoes to cross a thigh-high stream with a strong current. After that he kept his shoes on and learned to walk sideways facing into the current. I was glad to learn from his experience. I have zero experience fording thigh-high streams and I think I may face some challenging fords in Washington. But I wasn't expecting them today. Photo 7 shows one of early fords. The much harder ones later I was way too tired to take photos of.
I played music for that last 5 miles which helped a lot. I also gave myself permission to drink a third protein drink (I brought 2/day, but had one extra). Next time I will probably being 3 or 4 protein drinks per day. They seem to work well for me and be easier to digest than the cheese and beef jerky and protein bars I have used in the past.
I am sure you are waiting with baited breath to know if I made it to my tent site. I arrived and it was nearly 7:30pm -- no rest stops, but a couple of long pauses to wonder and search for where the trail had disappeared to, much bush whacking through branches and bushes grown across the trail, stepping over fallen logs, making challenging creek crossings. Toward the end I stopped to get water, realizing I had drunk so much there wasn't enough to see me through the night.
Photo 8 shows the long awaited tent site a (sorry it's so dark but the iPhone has its limits and I wanted you to get a glimpse of the mountains in the distance) nd photo 9 my water filter hanging on a pine tree backlit by the slant evening sun.
Now it is 10pm and I am ready to turn off my headlamp and go to sleep. But first I want to thank you for being there, for your prayers for my health, for your companionship on this journey (do I get to have it both ways, the joy of solo hiking plus the joy of sharing the experience). My whole day is different because I look forward to shaping it into some sort of a story, something I would be totally unmotivated to do for myself alone. Thank you for the gift of your presence and caring.
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