Tim and Carole dropped us off at the trail head Sunday evening so Madelyn and I could only hiked two miles, we want to do around 10 since we knew we had a long climb ahead.
The past two days on trail have been very different days and just goes to prove how it can change from day to day. We started yesterday by inclining with an up close view of Castle Craigs. The trail lead us uphill for the majority of 23 miles we hiked, we started the day at an elevation of 2500 feet and ended the day about 6500 feet. The water was scarce and at one point there was a 10 mile stretch between water sources. The scenic views were prominent but hard to enjoy or even notice because of the difficult climb. We were tired, hot, and sweaty most of the day. The only shade we had would come by a water source which also attracted mosquitoes ready to pounce on thirsty hikers. We made camp at the top of a mountain, Shasta in sight, and hoped for the best tomorrow.
By 4:30 AM the stars had faded and light was peeking out from behind Mt Shasta. We left camp at a decent time and begin walking on level terrain. Today we are on the ridge of higher peaks so we can’t go much higher. The ridge of the range offered great views of Shasta, Castle Craggs, and Mt Lassen. It’s amazing to see all three from a distance because we’ve passed closely to all of them over the past 200 miles. Our hike today was fast, easy, and even felt a bit lazy, as if we weren’t really hiking 20 miles. Water was all over as we passed creek after creek and also 6 or more lakes. We had lunch at a crystal clear Lake and I fell asleep as the sun played hide and seek. The temps today were very pleasant and never did I feel hot. We got to camp early and cleaned off in the frigid creek nearby before I started a campfire. We ate our dinner over the fire and we were in bed before the sun set.
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