It was after dark that the mosquitos finally quit whining outside the tent. I woke up and could see brilliant stars covering the sky, it had been warm enough that I'd rolled back the tent fly for ventilation and could lay in bed and see out.
The trail will take us by the Middle Fork of the Feather River this morning. On the way down to the river we crossed a dirt road at a curve and angled down the slope. I could see something along the trail and as I neared, could see it was the passenger seat from a car. Huh, what was that doing there? It was all chewed up. I looked downhill and saw the cab of a small truck by the side of a tree and to the left there was the bed of the pickup. I looked uphill to where the road was and there was the hood and broken glass. Imagination supplied the rest of the awful story. Whoever was driving had gone off the curve of the road and over this steep embankment. The trail of truck parts was scattered all over above & below the trail.
Climbing from the river up the mountains we could sometimes catch views of Mt Lassen getting closer.
In the afternoon we came upon a portion of trail that looked raked. Hmmm, trail maintenance crews had been at work here. Then we rounded a corner and there they were!
You folks are so appreciated!
After noon we arrived in Mt Lassen Nat'l Forest, yes, there are signs in the wilderness that tell you when you arrive and leave. This park has geothermal activity; geysers, bubbling mud pots and boiling pools.
One of the things I noticed were big jumbled boulders in the dry creek beds and deep erosion from running water. The forest is full of big trees that lend a certain silence to the surroundings. Peggy went ahead up the hill and when I arrived she was sitting at the trail junction of the PCT and an alternate trail.
We stashed our backpacks to take a side trail .3 miles down to see Terminal Geyser.
This is as close as I want to get!
It was warm outside anyway but definitely warmer here.
Signs warned to stay off the soil as it could have a thin crust and you could break through. Peggy & I stand on the rocks.
We climbed the steep trail back to our packs and took a snack break resting our feet and backs which are hurting.
We then took the alternate trail to see Boiling Spring Lake 1.5 miles away. Oh, it was really something to see (and to smell!).
The colors were almost surreal! Creamy green, grey bubbling mud pots along the lake edges, white dry mud , red soil along the edges.
We didn't want to leave such an interesting place but we weren't too far from our camp spot near Drakesbad Resort. We were going to a small campground 1/2 mile from the resort.
Our arrival at the campground allowed us to pick any site we wanted, only one other camper was here. Tents up, feet and legs washed off at the spigot (what an invention! Water out of a pipe whenever you want it!) we also washed some clothes, used the metal bear box for our food and toiletries with odor ie: Deet, toothpaste, lipgloss, all food and wrappers) because there are bears in the area. Two hikers came in and camped, Summit and Zebra, brother and sister from Ashland, Or, 10 miles from where I live!
We took a moment to celebrate another milestone for our hike, mile 900!
It may be a chilly night with a creek nearby.
14.5 miles
Behind the campground is a wall of lava and we found our trail switch backing up the wall and over.
We walked through the Park in forest, over streams & by grassy meadows. We made good time this morning and I felt like my legs had energy as I ate the nuts, cheese and crackers I'd brought from Chester. We came over a hill and entered a large burned area. There was a fire in 2009 that really did damage. Our goal was to reach the Lower Twin Lake for lunch break. We stopped there for water and lunch after soaking our feet. The wind was blowing and clouds were piling up on the horizon by Mt Lassen peak.
We were eating lunch sitting by a log when we had 5 curious visitors.
They ate grasses, licked logs and ate dirt that they burrowed up with their noses. They smelled us and watched us cautiously but stayed to browse. It was magical!
Moving on after they left we came to more burned forest, every tree was black and dead but small grasses had started
in places and some flowers were blooming as if they'd had a shot of fertilizer. We got carried away taking photos and examining each one.
It was getting pretty cloudy and dark, we were hoping the rain would hold off until we could make more miles.
We wanted to get out of the burn so dead trees wouldn't fall on us during the night. But finally we had to just stop when we felt rain start to fall, we put on our pack covers to protect our sleeping bags etc. and located a small copse of live trees that hopefully would protect us.
Since we were set up across from each other we tossed our food across the space, she caught her avocado perfectly! I caught the Fritos perfectly. No getting wet! We savored our treat then had dinner in our tents. It rained softly all night except for brief lulls.
Tomorrow we will get to Old Station where Robin will meet us for trail magic.
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