Bushcamp to Bushcamp
36.5 miles
Sobo mile 1103.0
Total mileage 3755.6
When my alarm woke me at 4am I was surprised to find myself feeling rather good. The illness that had plagued me the previous day seemed gone, so I packed up and started walking.
Shortly after crossing paths with this millipede, I looked up to see two large eyes staring back at me in the darkness. Thinking it must be a bear or mountain lion, I yelled at the creature to go away. When it turned to run I saw that it was just a deer…
I reached a ridge line just as the sun began peaking over the mountains and through the clouds, so I decided to stop and watch it. Over the next five minutes I enjoyed a dramatic sunrise.
Pushing on, I entered into the Trinity Alps Wilderness.
As the morning progressed smoke began to fill the air.
The smoke was coming from a new fire that had Castella and Dunsmuir evacuated, and the I-5 closed. It had 55 miles of trail closed from Gumboot Trailhead to Ash Camp.
This meant that my original plan of resupplying in Castella wouldn’t work. Luckily, I contacted a trail angel named Tony who’d pick me up tomorrow at Gumboot Trailhead and take me into Shasta.
Around 2 I passed a hiking couple who were waiting for a hitch at Highway 3. They were the first and last people I’d see. I did see a cool lizard right after though.
The last few hours flew by as I listened to “Call of the Wild”, an audiobook Paige had sent me. The story of Buck’s epic journey got me all the way to camp.
As I pitched my tent I reflected on how much better I’d felt today than the previous two weeks. I don’t want to jinx it, but maybe I’m getting better?
Cheers!