Day 68: CS1516 to CS1549 (32.9 miles - 1549.4)

July 14, 2016 - Saw an amazing sunrise this morning as it came over Castle Crag. Then went back to sleep for a little longer since I got to bed later than normal.

The morning hike continue where yesterday left off, uphill on the rocky trail. That lasted for several miles then finally made it to the top. I figured the trail would end with the rocks and go back to more dirt, but it took awhile. Once the trail entered back into the woods is when it got easier to hike again.

I made it to the first water source much faster than I thought, I figured with the rocky uphill hiking would take longer. It was a nice spring coming straight out of the mountain. I probably didn’t need to filter it but I’ve just been in the habit of filtering all water.

The trail the rest of the day stayed about the same, easy level trail with little ups and downs. For the most part it was exposed but would enter the woods every once in awhile to get some shade. The weather felt much cooler today.

Right before lunch I ran into 2 guys doing some trail running, talked with them for awhile. They were from the Ashland area and told me that give out trail magic out there. They also told me about a big trail race coming up on the PCT. It was fun talking with them but it was time to move onto lunch at Deadfall Lake. Had a nice break at the lake and wanted to go for a swim but the water was too cold, I went in up to about my knees. I ended up staying almost 2 hours but it was such a nice spot. It would have been a great place to camp but it I needed to keep moving.

After lunch I had 15 more miles before camp. I hiked 9 miles to the next campsite to get water before heading out for the last 6 of the day. Again easy trail hiking the rest of the way. It was weird in that it felt like I hiked almost in a circle today, not sure why the trail went around some of the mountains and not just across.

I got to camp that’s set right in a saddle, low point between the mountains. Sun started to set as I arrived. Made dinner and chatted with the 2 other hikers.

Right before bedtime I saw this very bright almost green shooting star, never seen one come that close before.

Mt Shasta