PCT To Canada 1233, to Mexico 1417 and Burney Falls SP

July 14, or maybe 15th
Burney Falls State Park
Got up at my amazing campsite and headed off into the lava field. I pulled into a fish hatchery where there was water and lots of fish. 1 million roughly. They were sucking a load of fish into the truck. I didn't get to see it, but I heard it was pretty cool. The fish were fighting the current in the clear tube that went into the truck. 
Today's breakfast was blackberry cobbler with oatmeal. It was almost too good. Breakfast isn't suppose to be that good. I figured out that most of what I'm eating came from Gumby and DoubleIt. I kept doing miles and ran across a nice trail angel cache with snacks and soda which propelled me the last few miles to Burney Park where I met up with the crew. I met Cowgirl, and Midnight Chocolate, Chief, and Chief's Wife. Chief's Wife is supporting him by camper, so she's got all the goods. We had a great time hanging, eating, drinking, and just being hikers. What a great day. And what a cool duo with recently retired Chief and his wife. 

Mile 1460

Mt. Shasta, probably today was one of the closest days the PCT gets to it.
July 14

Mile 1460
 I ran into a trail crew during the morning hike and got to give them all a caramel candy that I've been carrying and handing out. That was pretty cool since it's usually us that's getting the trail magic. They were working hard and that trail was lookin nice.

I think we're about as close as we get to Shasta. I was taking lots of pictures, and doing a lot of sitting, and just looking at Shasta during breaks. What a cool mountain. It's 14,000 feet. The elevation at Mt Shasta City is probably 4000 feet, or so. The mountain just towers over everything. We thought we were done with Lassen, but it showed up when we started walking south. Also, I just hit the point of PCT where we start going around Shasta, and doing a lot of walking to the west, and even south. We walked south for a bit today, and in a bit, there's a good chunk of walking south, maybe 15-30 miles of it. Haha. Oh well. Just more exciting days on the PCT, so it's fine by me. I was kinda struggling today because my shoes are in pretty rough condition. I'm getting some in 40 miles at Hwy 5. I need them badly. My right foot got a sore on it that's hurting and making my pinkey toe swell. For some reason, my ankle got sore at about 20 miles. I'll show a picture of them when I officially retire them. There's holes all over the place and both of em need glue everyday to keep them decent. We ran into a camp of some sort, and it turned out to be a trail crew that's doing a chunk of this section...separate from the trail crew, I saw this morning. They were very nice and welcoming. I got a soda, pasta, and salad from them. I also got some good info on going to Mt Shasta. They said it would be a tough climb since it's all loose rock and there's no snow. I also got to talking with a guy that has been a frequenter of the spot on the Middle Fork of the Feather River that my family always go to, including this July 4th. He also saw the first ever PCT hiker in 1968, or 78. The frequenter was fishing and the hiker came by on the Feather River, same bridge we went over, and said he was coming from Canada going to Mexico. I forget the hiker's name, but he was 19, going south, and carrying a hundred pounds, or so.
Tough day! I was beat, but a great day! 

I fired them for talking too much.

Sunset of Shasta and Subway Cave

                Sunset of Shasta. 
July 11
Hat Creek Rim near Burney Falls, CA
Got up to my alarm at 6am today. I was up at 4am and thinking of leaving because we have a hot 30 mile, no water stretch, and I don't have a bunch of bottles like in So Cal. I decided to go with 6am wake up and go to the diner, JJ's Cafe. I got there at about 7am. They knew I was a hiker, but they really knew when I asked, "What's a big breakfast?" I got a burrito that could have fed a couple people. JJ hooked me up!!! It was the size of a loaf of bread, but a little longer. I slowly walked out of that place feelin great, besides for my stomach hurting, the meat sweats acting up, and not being able to walk more than 100 yards without a break. I was hurting but it felt soooooo good. The Subway Cave was only a half mile, so I went there and had a peep around. It was cool, literally. It was nice and cool in there. That got the meat sweats under control. Three of us hung there for a sec, then we headed to the Hat Creek Rim stretch. Dora ate the last quarter of the party sized burrito as I was still way too full. Once I got going, and the massive burrito engine started to get going, I felt like I was gonna make it to Canada in a couple hours. We hit a lookout at pretty much the start of the rim, and Ka-pow!!! There's Shasta. It's like you can reach out and touch it. It looks so close. I've been excited about Shasta and seeing it today is amazing. I added a rule today, if I ever want to sit down and look at Shasta, then I'm gonna sit down and look at Shasta. The rim had amazing views, all the time, at the valley with Lassen to the left and Shasta to the right.  It was very exposed and hot and dry and no water though, so it kinda felt like desert. Well, unlike the desert, there's a few nice rivers and lakes tomorrow, so I'll be able to make my way to a nice siesta and a dip. Great day! Also, I'm going to bed well hydrated because someone maintains a water cache halfway through that 30 mile no water stretch. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=subway+cave+lassen&rlz=1C1RNLH_enUS529US530&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=wF3lUePRMoakrQHg2YHQCQ&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=643

Old Station, California

               Mt Lassen
7-10
Old Station, CA
Had a good sleep till about 7am. That seems like it's the time to wake up nowadays. The morning hike was great. I even got lost on a side trail for a mile, or so. It seemed that I was flip-floppin with all the hikers that are around. We grouped up at the last water and had a good break. Let's see if I can rattle off the new group... Iceman and Cattywompus, Gumby and DoubleIt, Whistler, Texas Grit, and the familiar Dora, and good ol' Maverick and Lodgepole. Also, a quick part of the group was Ishi, or Anish, or Odyssa. That's close to her trail name. She is trying for the speed record for thru hike of the PCT. Apparently, she is doing 40-50 miles a day and is going for the men and women's record. We all had our eye out for her, and knew that she would be flying past us at light speed. One of the gang saw her at a Trail Angel's that was camping and set up to give out food, but couldn't get many words out of her. (She was stuffing as much food as she could.) So, go fast lady hiker!!! That's awesome! And, she holds the women's record for the Appalachian trail, also. For another "For the Record," I also stuffed my face at the Trail Angel's set up! It was awesome! Thanks Legasarus and Pochahontis. I then pulled into Old Station RV Park where I had a burger, some beer, and a bit of ice cream. Today was the most I've ever stuffed myself on trail. I was hurting hungry all day. I ate so much, even for myself. The whole day I've been eating and when I had a big meal, I was immediately hungry. I knew I felt it, so at about noon I got angry and made an instant potato packet, only 500 calories or so... So, I added maybe a cup of olive oil, maybe 1500??? Calories. I chowed that down thinking, ok, I'm good for a few hours. I got hungry and ate almost all my snacks after that, like 4 brownies, 5 nature bars, and a big bag of chips and Fritos (1600 calories). So, I'm going to bed hungry, not because I didn't eat. I had a bagel with cream cheese, 4 beers, a burger, a big bowl of ice cream, and half a bag of chips. Good night. 

Steam Train at Lassen Volcanic NP

  It sounded like a steam train.
7-9
Past Chester, CA
I had a great breakfast in town, then Piper's Mom gave us a ride back to the trailhead where we took off. Thanks again to all the great people in Chester. That was an amazing stop. About 6 miles in, there was another crossing of the North Fork of the Feather River where we gathered as a group. There were about 6 of us thru hikers and we ran into some day hikers. One of them had some good stories of the trails he did when he was younger. I think we actually scared his granddaughter, too. We were eating and hanging out under the bridge and we made troll noises. Stinky Smelly PCT Hiker Trolls. After lunch, we got into Lassen Volcanic National Park, and I took a side trail to a geyser vent. It was pretty cool, very loud, and it was making a hot little creek. Too hot for foot dippin though. There is some sort of resort here, too, but everything is very expensive. They had a hot spring, normal sized, swimming pool, but it seemed like we weren't allowed to go in. Oh well. I made my dinner and had a good view of the sun setting on the mountains. I did another mile or two after that. It seemed like it would be a bear resort, too. Don't want Yogi, or Boo Boo, knocking in the night. 

http://www.nps.gov/lavo/index.htm

PCT Midpoint and 93 Days on the Crest!

              Halfway!!!
July 8
Chester, CA and halfway!!!
Got up and realized I was close to a spring, so I filled up with some good water. The miles are amazing walking through this dense forest. I made it to about 10 miles in, and there was the midpoint marker!!! 1330 or something like that. The actual PCT mileage is always changing, so they just leave the post there. It's good for me! Halfway!!! It's so fun to think back on all the adventures and days I've had where I can't pick which day was the best. Everything up to this point has been so amazing and fun. Lots of great people, too. The trail really does bring out the best in people. I'm very excited that I still have another half, and I'm sure every day will be just as exciting. If I haven't shared this yet, I'm very excited for the time when the berries become ripe. I'm gonna eat so many berries!!! Back on the trail, the views of Mt Lassen are getting to be very good. While pulling up near the road, I ran into Dora, who I hadn't seen for a while. She was organizing a ride to Chester from an amazing Trail Angel. Piper's Mom picked us up and there were sodas and fruit at the trailhead. She took us for a little tour of town, then dropped us off at a dentist office! So, at the dentist office they give you a $20 coupon to a good restaurant. Dora and I had our fill on pizza and a beer for only $5 total! The dentist is awesome! He even gave one of the British girls a tooth exam, or cleaning of some sort, for free!!! The town of Chester was one of the best and nicest stops so far. 

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!