7/30/20; mile: 1,454; elevation: 5,617 ft.
It seemed so late when I went to bed last night. While the clock didn’t indicate so, the darkness provided by the trees certainly contributed. Since Polar Bear and Bambi are on a fixed schedule to get off trail for their wedding in October, they’re motivated to get up early to make their miles. Thusly, I’m up early and on the trail by 5:45.
The weather has been and is predicted to continue to be warm (it’s July in California, duh!). This section of trail climbs upwards from Lake Britton (Burney Falls) up to the ridge around Grizzly Peak. And their aren’t a lot of water sources close to the trail. So at the few places I do get water, I take time to camel up and then pack a couple of liters to go. There are a couple of bigger, more reliable sources off-trail, but I really don’t like taking the time and walking the miles to get to them.
So for tonight, I got to a campsite kind of in the trees but along a dis-used road, so I have a view of the sky. According to Guthooks, campsites further down trail have a deer population that likes to be very active at night, keeping hikers awake. No thank you. It’s a dry site (not my favorite), so I can’t camel up like I normally do. Tomorrow’s hike starts downhill and water is more available, so it’ll all work out.
My big miles the last couple of days seems to be causing some grief for my feet. Or is it the shoes? Meanwhile, the fire near McCloud seems to be a non-issue. I don’t see any smoke plumes or hear aircraft, so I will continue on. I’ve got another trail angel date coming up in two days.