Belden, CA

July 6
Shasta Redwoods, according to the trail runner.
Belden, CA
Got up at about 6am ready to do some miles. The morning miles were peaceful, as usual. I met a day trail runner who I got to chatting and hiking with. Good guy and had a lot of good info. The springs here are plentiful and have amazing water, usually. I looked at the elevation chart and saw a big drop into Belden, like 4-5000 feet over a few miles. There were a lot of steep switchbacks and a bit of PO. I pulled into Belden and was like, Oh, what's going on. There was a Techno Music Festival. It was creepy. The restaurant there was funky, too. I had to ask for my coke 4 times, and got some burger that wasn't a burger. It was a veggie burger, or something. Oh, well. They didn't charge me for the coke, so it ended up being pretty cheap. I got out of there pretty fast and had some beers by the creek and zonked out for a good siesta. I was thinking about heading up the hill a bit. While throwing out my beer bottles, someone said, "Are you going to the hiker house? It's only a quarter of a mile that way." I didn't know which way to go before, so I figgered, might as well. This is another amazing Trail Angel house who gave me a much needed toothbrush. (I lost mine 2 days ago!!!) Good night. Big climb tomorrow morning!