Day 109-115: miles 1453.7-1667.1

Still in Bend, taking a zero, anc getting this out right before I go to bed!

Day 109: mile 1453.7-1483

A big mile day today! I left before six to the beautiful view of the sunrise on Mount Shasta as it lit up in pink. A bit of an uphill to start - it was indeed very overgrown with quite a few blow downs, but not too bad. After the hill, there was a glorious downhill of 12 miles! I leapfrogged with Shade, Cheers, and Lizard, and took an early lunch at 11:20 because my feet were really sore. No sharp pain but just like the whole bottom of my foot is bruised. I think it's just the impact from our longer mile days - not much to be done. They definitely felt a bit better after lunch and I carried on, finding some trail magic left at a campsite near the bottom of the hill. I saw Cheers and Shade not long after that, taking their own lunch break by the river. Another couple nice miles before serious uphill – very exposed. I listen to a podcast and carried on, taking a break two miles from camp because my feet were hurting. Cheers and Shade caught up there, and then we continue on. The last mile or so was really rough – my feet hurts so bad and I had to just count the number of songs before camp. But also the rest of me didn't feel too bad considering it was over 29 miles today. Got to camp at six, and set up. Then we all had dinner and I was in bed by 8! 19 miles to Mount Shasta tomorrow, where we'll take a zero – I'm very excited! There, we'll cement our plans for the Shelly fire and figure out what we're doing next.

Day 110: mile 1483-1502.3

There was a solid hill this morning, so I got up early to get it out of the way while it's still fairly cool. It was grueling, but not too bad after the initial switchbacks, and I got to the top first and took a nice break. The others caught up and because we had service, we booked a hotel in Mount Shasta – there weren't too many options so we got a nice suite at a pretty good price. We carried on, taking a brief shortcut to do an absolutely gorgeous ridgewalk – with fantastic views of both Mount Shasta and Castle Crags. We carried on, enjoying a lovely downhill in the shaded forest, and passed mile 1500! My feet were feeling quite sore but we made great time and were at Soda Creek Rd by 12. We contacted Eclipse, a trail angel, who came by an hour later and drove us into town. There we had an amazing lunch at Yak's Shack. Then we checked into the hotel and relaxed for a while, headed to do laundry and get some snacks at the store, back to the hotel, and relaxed more. Then we had dinner at a great Italian place and went off to bed. A very successful nearo today!

Day 111: zero on Shasta

Zero day today! Not much to say - we slept in, got breakfast, then headed onto the gear store where I got fitted for new insoles, which will hopefully help my feet a bit. Then back to the hotel, then to resupply, which was very solid though I definitely got too much food. I cleaned my tent in the bathtub - which was much needed considering how much dirt came out - fixed my tent zipper, and mended the holes in my gloves and gaiters. Then more relaxation, dinner at a great Thai place, and off to bed! A very solid day.

Day 112: 1502.3-1517.6

We were going to leave early, but decided to delay to 10:30, sleeping in a bit and getting breakfast from across the street. I was able to contact some people yesterday, and our plan for the fire is that we'll hike on until mile 1581 at Carter Meadows, then get a ride to Etna, then will take a bus down to Yreka and get a ride to Seiad Valley, rejoining the PCT at mile 1657. We'll see how smooth that journey is, but at least we have a plan. We got to the trail around 10:45 and headed off – there was a detour near Castle Crags and we had a bit of a road walk, and then a very steep climb up to the trail. Then some ups and downs, and we took lunch before the really big uphill. I soaked my feet in the river and headed off while Cheers and Shade rested more – it is very, very hot. The climb up was really rough, but I put on a podcast and got it done, enjoying the great views of Castle Crags all around me. There was some flat trail afterwards, where I saw a big Mojave green rattlesnake resting under the manzanitas next to the trail, but it seemed supremely unbothered as I approached and just slowing slinked into the bushes. I filled up on water at a spring and got to camp around eight. Shade and Cheers got in right before I went to bed and we said our good nights. It's finally a little bit cooler tonight, which is a great relief!

Day 113: 1517.6-1547

I woke early and headed out around six onto some very lovely ridge walking, and had fantastic views of Castle Crags in the sunrise, all lit up with light. The trail was mostly flat, with some little ups and downs. Quite a few day hikers and weekenders too! I took a nice break for water and enjoyed great views of Shasta and all the lakes below the trail. The ridge walking here is probably my favorite part of Norcal hiking yet! I took a late lunch with Cheers and then headed on, listening to a podcast. Had some great views after lunch, but my feet were feeling really sore and tired. I caught up to Shade at water and we pushed for the last 3 miles to camp – oh man, my feet hurt! But got to camp, had a great dinner, then headed to bed!

Day 114: 1547-1573.4

I got up early and headed out, with a solid hill to start before some lovely ups and downs. My feet were sore even in the morning, and I wasn't feeling the best so I put on a podcast first thing. Started feeling a bit better and had a nice stop for water, then saw my first horse of the trail! I got to Highway 3 soon after – it was open and looked very normal, which is a good sign. There's been smoke on the horizon, but it hasn't been too bad. Had an intense climb after, and had lunch near the top. I heard a bunch of cowbells while resting there as some cows walked nearby, though I never saw them. After lunch, I passed a bunch of summer camp kids who were really sweet and curious about the trail. Then some solid uphill during which my feet were quite sore. I got a Garmin message from Shade about a tent site for the night and luckily it was just a few more miles, mostly flat. The last bit has been in a burn zone but not too bad. I got to camp around six and rested my feet and had dinner. It is still very, very hot out! The heat wave seems to be following us. Shade and Cheers got in around 7:30 and I was able to message a ride for tomorrow to confirm our plans, then headed to bed.

Day 115: 1573.4-1581.2, 1657-1667.1

Big day today with our fire skip! Left around six this morning to get out 8 miles before our ride came at nine. I wasn't feeling amazing - my feet still hurt and my stomach was acting up, and it's already hot by seven or so. But the trail was mostly downhill, which was quite nice. We made it to Carter Meadows by 8:40 or so and Darcy, our ride, met us right at nine in a teal pick up. There were only two seats so it was quite a squeeze for four of us - my leg and ended up on the other side of the shifter! She got us into Etna, and we saw the massive field where all the fire personnel were set up. It was definitely much smokier in the valley. But at almost 50% containment, the evacuation has been lifted on Etna and the fire crew are starting to clean up, though word is the trail will be closed for the rest of the year. We had enough time to swing by the general store and get a couple snacks before the bus pulled up and took us to Yreka. Then we waited for an hour or so for our second ride, Jeff, to pull up in his Tesla. It was me, Shade, Cheers, plus Duke and Sherlock , so it was quite a squeeze in a very small car. The ride was about an hour and a half, and he dropped us at the café in Seiad Valley, refusing to take any money for the ride. It was horrificly hot so we headed inside and got lunch, which included a fantastic milkshake and grilled cheese. Then I took a nap enjoying the AC. When the café closed around three (it normally closes earlier but the owner was very kind and let us sit in the AC for longer), we headed on down the trail to an RV park where we tried our best to cool down. The cold shower there certainly helped, but I was hot immediately after. We got dinner, which was a good veggie burger, and relaxed a bit more, waiting for the heat to die down. Around 8 PM it was 90° so we headed back to the trail to conquer Devil Peak, a massive exposed climb out of the valley. It was eerie going out in the dark, with the city lights below us and the stars above. It was a blood moon too that night, which was very cool to see. The climb was unrelenting and very grueling, but we took some good breaks and powered through it, getting to camp by 12:30 am. I just took out my tent, quilt, and pad and set up as fast as I could, but got a pretty gnarly nosebleed which slowed me down. But as soon as I lay down, I was fast asleep. Quite the day!