Day 72 – Fire on the mountain, run boys run!
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
Mileage: 34
I woke up in my beautiful streamside campsite and immediately noticed that something was different. The trees were still there, can’t be that… the stream was still flowing, it isn’t that… my body was still sore all over, that’s not it… what was it!? THE SMELL! It smelled like I was in a Christmas tree oven because everything smelled like burnt pine.
It seems that someone lit the forest on fire again, which I noticed both by smell AND by the fact that I couldn’t see anything! Human sensory perception is remarkable, right?
Neat!
To cut the long story of my morning short: I hiked a bunch, there were probably great views, I couldn’t see any of the great views, it was hot.
Oh look, a mountain!
Oh wow, a valley!
Okay, this was actually kinda cool in real life.
Since it keeps getting hotter and hotter each day, I continuously get more and more desperate for a swim as time goes on. Luckily, there was plentiful water along my route today, so I had ample opportunities for a quick dip here and there. My favorite spot was the McCloud River since it was wide, and fast, and deep! No more dipping appendages in one by one to simulate swimming. This was full submersion!
After the river, I had a lovely (HOT) climb up through a few more creeks and hills to get to the campsite I had selected next to Trough Creek. Most “creeks” up here in NorCal are pretty terrrible water sources and are trickling water over rocks on the trail, but Trough Creek was a pleasant surprise with plenty of flowing, cool water and a beautiful waterslide/waterfall combo that made for nice swimming! I loved it so much I almost camped right then and there!
I thought better of camping a few feet from a waterfall, so I headed up the half mile I had left to get to the established campsite, where another hiker I knew, Zorro, had set up camp. There were plenty of spots, including for some new friends, Blackbird and Dad, who were behind us, so I chose one and set up camp. Zorro and I talked for a while about the trail and work and life, but after eating my dinner while covered in ‘skeeters, it was time to get into my tent.
I’m excited to get into Castella tomorrow to pick up my last care package from my parents, but then it’s back on the trail to get up to Oregon. Currently, there’s a repetitive noise of something running into my tent, but I couldn’t see anything out there, so I went outside to investigate. Turns out that there’s a tiny dumb frog that keeps hopping up against my tent, presumably because he wants to cuddle, but I don’t think he understands how fast I would crush him. Poor little guy. 🐸
Update: I just went back outside to get a picture of the tiny frog boy, but unfortunately, he’s been replaced by some terrifyingly huge insects that are now storming the fort. AHHHHH!!
Update – Part II: Frog boy is back to being frog boy.
