Today was a rather short day as I had camped about 10 miles from Ashland which was my destination for today. I woke up to a nice sunrise in the Grouse Gap Shelter on the hard concrete floor. As usual I started hiking around 6. First I had to hike back to the trail from the shelter. The shelter I spent the night in Once back on the trail I periodically had to deal with a lot of brush....
Today I finally entered a new state. The day did prove more taxing than expected though. View from my camp in the morning, I was last to arrive and first to leave I started as usual around 6 and immediately started climbing. The climbing was pretty easy in the cool morning temperatures. After the initial climb there was some up and down until the trail descended just before the Oregon border....
I knew today was going to be tough but it was much tougher than expected mostly due to the heat. I got up very early today as I wanted to get to Seiad Cafe around or before noon. So I started hiking at 0435. This is much earlier than my normal start time and not something I am looking to adopt. Surprisingly it was actually not very cold even that early....
Today I decided to change my plans and leave Etna in the morning instead of the afternoon. With this I want to pass Seiad Valley tomorrow. I slept in the hiker hut and had some problems falling asleep. Once I fell asleep I slept rather well but as always I woke up rather early. In the morning I had some breakfast that I had bought day before. After breakfast I mostly relaxed and used the WiFi until the hitch back to the trail around 8....
Today I wanted to head in to Etna if possible but was open to skipping it if hitching was too difficult. One of the advantages of an early start is obviously the sunrises I set my alarm for 0500 which is 30 minutes earlier than usual because I wanted to get to Etna early if I was going. I started hiking just after 0530. Hiking along the trail early in the morning can be quite wonderful The day started with a descent followed by a climb....
As I left Porcupine Lake the sun was already out Today was my longest day on trail so far distance wise, with 42.5 miles but only about 5000 ft of elevation change in both directions. I had set my alarm for 0530 but since I had also setup my tarp I was not on trail until 0615. I then hiked the short side trail from the lake back to the PCT....
Today it was time to head back on trail after two nights in Mt Shasta. Mt Shasta was a bit smaller than I had expected but I had a nice enough time. For the first time in a long time I was not out of bed until after 6. It was quite nice to sleep in like that. I took my time in the morning as I would not be heading back to the trail until around 10....
Today was my zero day in Mt Shasta. As usual on zero days I get very restless as there is not much to do. For once I actually did not wake up at 5 but slept past 6, which must mean I slept rather well. I did enjoy the bed here which is a lot firmer than in a lot of hotels. I went to the Seven Suns for breakfast and had an excellent burrito....
Today I would be heading to Mt Shasta, this required me to hike an easy 14 miles to I-5. Again I woke early and had to go dig a cat hole. I hope this is not a new schedule my body has decided on. I went back in my sleeping bag but could not fall asleep. I relaxed for a bit so I would not start hiking before 0600. The day started with a bit of uphill before a flat section....
Today I wanted to push as far as possible so I can make it into Mt Shasta early tomorrow. I woke up earlier than I wanted to just after 5 and had to go dig a cathole. After that I could not really go back to sleep and not long after I started packing. Despite this I did not actually start hiking till 0607. Early day in the forest The weather forecast for the day had shown a possibility of rain and there were some clouds but no rain yet....