Trail Day 93: Tentsite (mile 1478.4) to Indian Springs Stream (1501.9)

23.5 PCT miles

I got up before Milkshake this morning and tiptoed around her and another hiker to get back to the trail. I hiked in the dark for a little bit before it got light out again. I wanted an early start because I was resupplying in Castella and wanted to get there before it was too late in the day. I still had about 20 miles to get to the exit and 2.5 miles to get into town.

The morning consisted of another long, uphill climb. There was really nothing special about it, it just went on for a long time. The occasional viewpoint I got may have been gorgeous, but I couldn't tell since it was all washed out by smoke.

I had no idea I was so close to Mt. Shasta until I noticed it peeking out of the haze. It was really close to the trail and is probably usually a spectacular sight. Today, however, I might not have even noticed it if it weren't for the white snow. The rest of the mountain was hazed out.

Mt. Shasta.

After what seemed like forever,  I finally started heading downhill again. Soon after, I bumped into a southbound section hiker who said she had to replan her hike because  of the forest fires. In addition to the PCT closures in Oregon, the PCT was recently closed north of Etna, my next resupply stop,  because that forest fire was growing in size.

When I had the chance,  and the cell network, I checked the PCTA website to see if they posted an alternate route around the fire closure. They had an alternate route for the initial closure, but the closure had grown so large in size that there was no viable hiking alternative. The website’s official alternate section said to skip to Seiad Valley by car or bus.

Well, that sucks. I had been keeping to my PCT purist mentality of a continuous footpath to Canada, but there doesn't seem to be a way around this hiccup. It will take me a couple days to get to Etna, so anything can change in that time and I will recheck the closure and my options when I get there.

"View" from the trail.

As I kept heading downhill, it kept getting hotter and hotter. Even though I was going downhill, I had to stop several times to rest and cool down. At the bottom of the downhill section, the trail disappeared and the route followed a series of roads. When I got to the frontage road before I-5, I turned and followed it to Castella and Castle Crags State Park.

The PCT. 

Luckily, there was a pedestrian tunnel to the state park leading directly from the frontage road. It dumped me out right next to the campground.

There were bathrooms there! I dropped my bag out front and went inside. There were showers there too but you had to buy tokens at the park entrance in order to use them. A shower was the lowest on my list of “town chores” to do, so I figured I would grab one after I had gotten my resupply box and charged my electronics,  if I had time.

While I was on the bathroom I had a park ranger call in to me. I was like, “Uh, just a minute…” Was I in trouble? Was I not supposed to use the bathroom without paying for a campsite first?

When I came out the ranger asked me if I wanted to shower and gave me 3 tokens, enough for a 6 minute shower. A free shower! I decided to take my shower right then, and afterwards headed down the 0.5 mile trail to the convenience store where I had sent my resupply package.

I got my package,  bought an armful of junk food, and went outside to the picnic table. There was no outlet, so they let me plug my phone and my battery pack into an outlet inside the store.

The store.

While I was hanging out at the picnic table, quite a few people came by asking if I was a PCT hiker and wanted to hear about my adventure. One man gave me food and another offered me a ride back to the trail. Too bad I needed to charge my electronics because that would have saved me a couple of miles of road walk.

I hung out at the picnic table while my electronics charged until the sun started to go down. The store is also a gas station and there were some people that came to hang around there that made me uncomfortable. The store itself closed at 9 pm, so I wasn't going to have much more time to charge my electronics anyways, so I left.

I headed out, passing the campground,  then heading back along the frontage road. The frontage road was much more scary at night and and I was relieved when I was finally back on the trail. I walked in the dark until I reached the 1,500 mile marker, which was written out in sticks.

1,500 miles.

I was actually glad to be hiking at night because it would have been too hot to hike during the day. It was night, the stars were out, and I was still sweating.

I found a campsite near a stream, and got ready for an early start tomorrow.