Trail Day 87: Tentsite near logging road (mile 1327.4) to Warner Valley Campground (mile 1347.8)

20.4 PCT miles, plus 0.6 mile detour to thermal vent and 1 mile round trip to Drakesbad Guest Ranch

Today I had to get moving way before sunrise. I had 20 miles to get to my next destination and I was trying to get there in the early afternoon. My resupply was sent to Drakesbad Guest Ranch in Lassen National Park and, because my Trail Angel was incredibly late getting it out, it wasn't scheduled to arrive until 4:30 pm.

Lassen National Park instituted bear can requirements this year. Since most of us dropped our (3.5 lb) bear can off a couple hundred miles ago,  I  had planned to pick up my resupply in the morning, then walk through the boundary in a day since it was less than 20 miles.

However,  with the package problem,  I would have to stay overnight, I would need to get one of the campsites at Warner Valley Campground, which has bear boxes. Those campsites are first come, first serve, so I would have to compete with people driving their cars there. It was also $16 to camp. Considering you can get a bunk in a hostel for $20, that seemed pretty pricey to me. It was also almost half of the cash I had on me at the moment.

I turned on my headlamp and started walking. Right away a hit a wet meadow that had a boardwalk across it.  At the end of the boardwalk, however,  the trail was flooded. I had to try to pick a dry way around it in the dark.

After that I kept heading uphill to a spring to fill up with water for the day. I took a nice long break here, eating some breakfast snacks, a little dismayed that I was running low on snacks for the rest of the day.

When I finished at the spring, I finished the uphill climb. Then, as I was walking across a semi flat area my mood turned a little sour. It was still early in the morning, and overcast, so there wasn't a lot of daylight yet. Additionally, I checked information in the Guthook app about Drakesbad Guest Ranch,  where my resupply was sent. There was a note that all packages get delivered to an address in the town of Chester, then have to be ferried up by an employee. So, even if my package arrived in the afternoon,  I might not get it today.

Morning on the trail.

I'm so behind in schedule that the thought of waiting around for my package to arrive made me sad and angry. Hiking became more arduous and less fun. I had only gone about 2 miles, but I needed to stop again for a mental break. I rested,  reset my mood, and kept going.

View of Mt. Lassen from the trail.

After a couple miles I hit a bridge crossing the Feather River, upstream from where I crossed a couple days ago. I topped off my water and continued down the trail. I was now only about 5 miles from the Lassen National Park border.

The Feather River.

Soon after leaving the river,  I crossed a dirt road and saw something red out of the corner of my eye. It was a cooler.  Could it be trail magic? It was! Inside the cooler was ramen, cookies, crackers, candy, toiletries, and apples. I grabbed some snacks and shampoo in anticipation of the shower I would get at Drakesbad.

Trail magic?

Trail magic!

I was not expecting trail magic from here on out. Usually,  trail angels do trail magic were they anticipate most people would be, which right now is in Oregon. It was nice that someone was still thinking about us stragglers. And, trail magic is always a guaranteed mood booster.

For the river crossing,  the trail had dipped down to cross the river, so I had another climb on the other side. While I was going uphill, I was passed by Boulder. I thought he was way ahead of my. Apparently he had to go off trail for a week for an event, and when he came back on trail, he got horrible blisters that required extra zero days in towns. He was going to do a 30 mile day and pass straight through the park, hoping to eventually catch up with Phoenix, Songbeard, and Spice Merchant who were 3 days ahead.

Eventually I hit the park border. Almost immediately I saw people hiking with day packs. I took a 0.3 mile side trail to see Terminal Geyser, which is not a Geyser, but a geothermal vent like Hverir which I visited in Iceland. I took a quick look at it, then went back to the PCT to get to the campground.

Terminal Geyser.

On my way I passed Boiling Springs Lake which was bright blue.  Then I passed a spur trail to Drakesbad Guest Ranch, crossed a meadow with a boardwalk,  and finally found the campground.

Boiling Springs Lake.

The PCT (boardwalk) leading through a meadow between Drakesbad Guest House and Warner Valley Campground. 

I was exhausted,  but managed to claim a spot. I layed down on the picnic table for a while,  set up my tent, then shuffled back to Drakesbad.

I found the office and inquired about shower, laundry, and dinner. I was given information about each and first went to shower.

The showers were nice, private shower rooms next to the hot springs pool. I was able to take a long, hot shower, really taking the time to scrub the stubborn layer of dirt from my feet and legs. I put on my swimsuit and rain gear and went to do laundry. I had to pass by the pool again. We were allowed to use the pool, but since I was taking my sutures out today I didn't think it was a good idea. I really wanted to though.

I found the guest laundry behind some maintenance buildings/employee residences. Someone’s laundry was already in the washer so I waited. I found a plug next to the maintenance building and started charging my electronics. I'm not sure if I was allowed to use that plug, but I didn't see any charging stations for hikers and my battery pack was completely drained.

While I was waiting to put my laundry in, I decided it was a good time to finally remove my sutures. I was so excited for them to come out. They had been in a shade over two weeks and I hiked about 250 miles with them. They may have been in too long because it looked like the skin was starting to heal around them, making lifting them to snip a little challenging. I managed to get all of them out,  and the knee still held together fine. Taking them out was an odd sensation. I still had steri strips left so I put them on for extra support while the healing process continued.

Dr

Thankfully,  the owners of the clothes in the washer were other hikers, so they made sure to take them out as soon as it finished. I put my load in and did some gear repair and miscellaneous tasks while I waited for them to finish.

Drakesbad Guest House's corral next to the meadow.

Deer frolicking in the meadow during the golden hour.

Golden hour in the meadow. 

Then it was dinner time. The way it works was that they feed the registered guests first, then bring the leftovers to the hiker table. I was the only hiker eating dinner tonight,  but there was a nice man who was headed to Oregon for the eclipse who got to the ranch late and was sent to the hiker table for dinner.

It turned out I wasn't just given scraps. They brought the whole bowl out that they had made the salad in so we could take as much as we wanted. The main course (pork, vegetables, bacon-cheese grits) was huge and we even got chocolate mousse for dessert. Additionally,  I was able to order a glass of delicious wine. Fancy.

I sat and chatted with other other man for a while after dinner and well after it got dark. I went to check on my battery pack and it was still charging. I decided that it was in such a tucked away spot that I would leave it and my camera battery there until morning,  since I needed to come back for my package anyway.

I said goodbye to the other man and walked back to the campground. Finding my tent my campsite in the dark was a bit of a challenge,  but I found it eventually and went to bed full and clean.