July 6, 2016 - It was tough getting up this morning after that late night hike out of Belden but I still had more climbing to do and wanted to do it while it was still cool. I will say I was a little disappointed last night when I got to camp as I thought there would actually be a cabin at this site since it’s called William’s Cabin Site.
I had about 3000 feet of climbing over 7 miles which doesn’t seem too bad but the first 4 or 5 miles were through jungle like conditions. The trail was so overgrown it was hard to see the trail and all the loose rocks. Not the mention I had several creek crossings. It took awhile but I made it to the top.
Once on the ridge the hiking was easy as the trail basically followed the ridge most of the afternoon so no big ups or downs. I got some great view as the trail would go in and out of the forest. Even in the forest the trees weren’t too close together so lots of light could get through.
I got several get views of Lassen Peak. It kept getting bigger as I hiked closer to it. However I don’t think the trail goes much closer. Lassen is about at 10,000 feet and everything thing else is in the 6000 to 7000 feet range so it looks huge.
I did end the day with a big climb up to where I’m camping for the night. I’m just 5 miles from the halfway point and have been on trail for almost 2 months. I heard the trail gets easier through Oregon until Washington but I think I can manage 30s the rest of the way as long as I stay healthy. I’m currently 2 days ahead of schedule.
