Deadfall Lakes and Finding the Long Lost Dinosaur – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [35]

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Part 34 ‘Burney Falls to Dunsmuir’ 

Day 107 (24/07) – Castle Crags Wilderness

Sleeping in was amazing! The hotel bed was so hard to get out of, but I needed some food and decided to walk to the nearby small supermarket for some breakfast. I bought a banana, yoghurt, and two microwaveable cheesy pastries – should do the trick!

I caught up on some blogging, fixed my order of new shoes to be posted to the next town, cleaned up and then left. Then, I set off to a burger place to have lunch before leaving, and then attempt to catch a hitch back to the trail. I didn’t have to wait too long before a local picked me up who had driven PCT hikers before.

I got back on the trail at 1pm, and it was hot! It was a huge uphill section, similar to the one at Belden, not two weeks before.

At around 4pm I met up with a girl called Ricky Bobby whom I briefly met at Burney Lodge several days before. We hiked together for the rest of the evening, with numerous conversational topics.

We aimed for a campsite about 18 miles in, which was meant to have a spectacular view of Castle Crags and Mt Shasta at the same time. However, it grew dark, and we settled for a site 2 miles before it and set up there. I quickly got some ramen cooking in the last light before setting up my tent inner and falling straight to sleep around 10pm.

Distance hiked: 16 miles

Total PCT hiked: 1514 miles

Day 108 (25/07) – Deadfall Lakes

Ricky Bobby and I got up and hiked at 5:30am, attempting to catch the sunrise with the golden viewpoint in 2 miles. Castle Crags and Mt Shasta looked amazing, with the sunrise peeping over the horizon behind them.

I hiked by myself after, as Ricky Bobby needed a toilet break. There was no water for 10 miles (without doing side trips), and luckily I still had 1 litre from the previous day. I was able to push through in good time. After a while, another Australian called Crash caught up with me, a very experienced fast hiker. I kept up with him for several miles, but the guy never takes a break, and we split eventually.

I came across Deadfall Lakes, near Mt Eddy and decided to have an afternoon swim, despite the weather becoming, somehow, gloomier. It was super refreshing and a nice temperature. I had a lay down and somewhat of a sleepless nap before taking off again. Rex had camped here the night before, so I was only a day away from catching up with her. I wanted to make at least another five miles.

I hiked for about 4 miles before it started to rain on me… sigh the thick fat rain bordering on becoming hail – I needed a tent site soon! There was nowhere to camp as I pressed on, with the rain getting heavier. The next marked tent site was still 2 miles away.

I ended up finding a slightly sloped but good enough spot behind a large tree and set up as fast as I could. Inevitably, my tent got a little wet inside, which I mopped up with my towel and set up inside. Of course, the rain ended shortly after, but it picked up again half an hour later. I was so lucky really, this was only the second day of rain I had experienced on trail. We escaped the heavy rain at Tehachapi by predicting it and staying in the motel, and the only other time it was snowfall, not rain. In any event, I was glad to be inside, relaxing and eating dinner.

At around 8:30pm, coyotes were barking not too far away. They sound like yelping, high-pitched girls!

Distance hiked: 25.5 miles

Total PCT hiked: 1540 miles

Day 109 (26/07) – Reuiting with Rex

A 5:30am leave, and away I went! It didn’t take long before I met up with other hikers, including Dansani and Megaman – who I hadn’t seen since earlier around Sierra City. We hiked and chatted all day, conversations changing topics throughout.

Eventually, around 5pm, I caught up to Rex! She was camped at a cool spot perched on a cliff edge with a great view of the valley. I said bye to the other guys as they moved on and immediately hugged Rex – it was great to see her on trail finally! This must have been the third or fourth time apart!

We caught up and talked before cooking dinner and enjoying the magical sunset. Note: Although still amazing friends, Rex and I were no longer a trail couple due to specific reasons and spending a lot of time apart.

Distance hiked: 16.5 miles

Total PCT hiked: 1566.5 miles

Next Post:

Part 36 ‘Rockin’ Through the Trinity Rocks’ 

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