Km: 34km Time walking: 7:52 Ascent: 820m Animals:
- Deer
- Fluffy furry overgrown squirrel type
- Bird with yellow wings
Last night I camped along Deer Creek. That certainly lived up to its name. A couple of deer 2-3 meters from the tent woke me up several times. They were digging around a tree. Like to eat the bark on the roots? Perhaps the digging I have seen on trail wasn’t bear but deer?
Rained throughout the night so I had a very slow start. A walk through the woods. Mile 1 looked exactly like mile 20. The PCT seems to have been built by railroad engineers. Grade über alles. Which means a lot of meandering, when a nice ridge walk with a view could have worked. The trail is dug into the very steep hillsides. Must have taken a lot work. Saw a couple of smart water bottles at the bottom of the ravines. Didn’t see the owners though so the bears have probably gotten to them.
Saw a couple of youngsters swimming/fishing in the McCloud river. Sat down later beside a creek and suddenly heard some noises up the trail as I fet up into the path there’s a womand a few meters away. I guess be both though bear(!) and got an equal scare.
She was SOBO but had to abort last year in Ashland because of fires. Now she skipped Seiad Valley to Castella because of snow. Let’s see how it looks like tomorrow. Then I am going to I-5 and hopefully find a way to get to Mount Shasta village for a hotel. As soon as she heard I was Norwegian, she asked if I knew how Poison oak looked like. Possibly because I was standing in it. The picture I took of what I thought was Poison oak was apparently another oaky lookalike. And poison oak isn’t even related to oak. Anyone remember the piquet(??) tests they had in school? I will conduct experiments by dragging a select set of leaves across my arm, number the leaves and after 24 hours I should know for real.
Tonight I am staying at trailhead camping in Squaw Valley. Car access, so there was a guy her that I chatted with and just now 4 oldies came with their dogs. They had just spotted a bear up the road. Guess I will make sure all my food is in the bear canister tonight. Last night, mice ate the handles of my walking sticks. There’s also a toilet here and water in the creek. Best tent spot so far. The others have been in between trees with no views and lots of forest floor sticking to everything.
The rain didn’t help, but my mood hasn’t been great today. Wondering why I am doing this, when I could have been with my loved ones. Sharing the experience with someone makes it such a different thing. Sniff, misses my hiking buddy #1.
