Day 114 – 14 Jul 19. Many Angles of Mt Shasta

Today 41.8 km (26.0 mi), Total Distance 2350.6 km (1460.6 mi) 11 hours 20 minutes (0745-1905)

I woke early to watch the mountain as the sun hit it and then snoozed a little bit. I tried a new breakfast today, the Paleo non grain granola and fruit and it was really nice.

I enjoyed sitting there looking out at the amazing view. The cowboy camper was gone and I think I heard him leave before the sun came up.

As I started packing up Ido and Sunny D came past and commented on how great the campsite was.

I had only just started walking when I met Bull and Bull Rider. Bull was a teacher who is section hiking the PCT. He has completed Washington and Oregan and is now starting California. Bull Rider is his cute little white dog. When she gets tired she rides on top of Bull’s pack.

I was planning to go at a much easier pace today, after my speedy hike yesterday. It is good to let the body recover a little, if you can call a 25 mile hike recovery!

The trail was constantly changing today between thick forest, sparse forest with lots of undergrowth, more open areas and areas with thick bright green vegetation. Definitely not boring.

After less than 20 minutes I had an unfortunate accident. If you are eating right now please skip this part. This morning while taking care of my morning business I was surprised by how liquid it was but wasn’t too concerned. However as I was walking along I suddenly felt a wetness running down my leg and realised I had just defecated in my pants. There was no warning, no feeling like I was going to fart or anything. This was a first for me while hiking. I stopped and took off my shorts and tried to wipe as much off as I could, using my entire day’s allocation of toilet paper. It stank like a baby poo. Wiping it got the worst off but it still stank and I did not have enough water to wash but luckily I knew there was a spring in less than a mile so I put my smelly shorts back on and raced for the spring, hoping I did not meet anyone.

Just short of the spring I had my first deer encounter and it only reluctantly moved off the trail.

At the spring I filled up my water bottles at the spring then moved a little further away and washed myself and my shorts. It would have been easier to do it in the spring but then I would be contaminating the water source. A few more bottle loads later and my shorts, and me, were clean. I do not know what caused this reaction. The only thing new that I had was the fig bar, the Thunderbird hemp and pumpkin seed bar that I struggled with, the ice block at the shop and the peach. I think it was the hemp and pumpkin seed bar.

Now I was clean and not smelling I filtered my water and was on my way.

The trail was on the side of the hill, then went along the ridge. There were a couple of areas of major erosion which allowed views over the side and of Mt Shasta. There were heaps of flowers, both in the open bits and a few in the more open forest. At one stage I had an eagle/hawk/? soaring overhead which was pretty neat to watch.

I still had normal energy so my digestive issues seemed sort lived and without other effects.

Then it was back to climbing along the side of the hill. At one point my left knee felt really weak like it was going to give way. It stayed like this for a few minutes. I did my usual first action of stretching my legs and it seemed to go away.

There was a steady climb then I crossed to the other side of the hill and ten it was back to going along the side of the hill. I caught up to a hiker but kept back a little looking for a lunch stop. I found a nice shady patch with a stump to sit on.

I continued on with the trail climbing slightly as it stayed on the side of the hill.

I turned off the trail to head slightly downhill to get to a creek to fill up with water. I had been drinking steadily all day and had gone through 2 ¼ litres from the last water source. I was really getting frustrated with my temporary dirty water bottle. It is taking so long to filter and I am really looking forward to getting a Smart Water bottle in the next town.

Near the water point I saw 2 sets of hiking poles, 1 pair of shoes and 1 water filter but no one in sight. I assumed it was the boys who passed my tent this morning.

Back on trail it was now a steady climb. Shortly after the creek I met an older man from Australia. He quizzed me on the rivers in the Sierras and how to cross them. He then told me he was intending to do the South Island part of Te Araroa so he had some questions on that too. He had been told that Te Araroa was all road walking so I corrected him.

There are some people spreading misinformation about the trail. Yes there is some road walking, nearly 300 km spread between the 3000km trail so it is only a small part and the remaining 2700 has some pretty amazing trail.

The climb continued and occasionally the trail came into the open so there were some lovely views to reward the climbing. I passed a guy in a singlet and really thick beard who I think is the one that passed me as I was filling up at the last water source of the day.

The rest of the afternoon seemed to go by really fast, time wise not distance. After the climb the trail was on either side of the ridge, swapping frequently. There were amazing views out both sides of the ridge and the pretty flowers were still prevalent. The trail was a little rough but not too bad. I continued keeping my easy pace but was still covering some good miles.

I arrived at the last water point of the day just after Sunny D passed me. He had dumped his pack at the intersection and gone the 0.2 miles to the water source but like always I kept my pack with me. The trail climbed slightly to a road and then took a side road downhill to a small cairn and stick arrow showing the little trail through the bush to the creek. I sat and struggled with the filtering but did a full load ready for camping. There were heaps of mosquitos around but they were not biting me, I heard voices which was the guys passing me to go back up to the trail.

Back on trail I said hi to the guys and continued on. I had seen that in 2 miles there was a spur with a possible flat spot. If not a little further on the trail crossed a saddle and I thought that may also have a site.

The trail was in the trees for a few minutes and then came out onto an open bit on a really steep hill. The views were amazing. As I was taking video the guys went past and disappeared quickly. I took my time winding around the side of the hill constantly climbing.

At the spur there were trees but no flat spots so I continued up too the saddle. I found a campsite beside the road. Just as I was setting up the guys came walking down the road. They had gone looking for a better campsite with some views but there was nothing so they set up near me.

My cleaning routine is taking a lot longer as the amount of dirt on my legs and feet keep expanding. I like to get all of the dirt and dust off before getting into the tent. There were mosquitos buzzing around but none were biting so I ignored them.

Once clean I prepared dinner. I was trying the noodles that Tractor gave me. Once they were cooked (I just added boiling water to the zip lock bag and let it soak for 5 minutes) I added the first mystery packet which was vegetables. The second packet was red and Hammer told me to only have a little bit as it was spicy. I squeezed the packet and a lot more came out than I was expecting so i ended up with half the packet. It was very spicy and I started hiccupping immediately. I added the tuna and started eating but it was too spicy. I poured out the water which the chilly had dissolved in and then the noodles were edible. They were nice and the flavour of the spice packet, now it was not so concentrated was also nice.

Blue arrived. He was in his new shoes, new pack and new tent. He said he had done 10 miles before 0800 and the outside of one of his feet started hurting. He then did another 20 miles to reach our campsite, with his foot hurting all the time. He had been wearing boots since the Sierras so it will take time for his feet to readjust back to being in the Altra Running Shoes. Of course doing 30 miles on the first day is not the recommended method of breaking in new shoes.

There was a young deer occasionally walking around but it was leaving our tents alone.

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