July 30, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Sulphur Creek, Castle Crag Wilderness
Miles: 12

Adrian: This morning I woke up to a diesel engine firing and workers talking. Camped just inside Castle Crags State Park, we were a bit too close to a logging zone. Earplugs helped for a small time but fear of a 300-foot redwood crashing down on our tent prodded us along.

We completed the quick 5-mile jaunt down to the I-5 and to the small town of Castella. Todd, an eccentric citizen of Orange County, gave us a quick ride to the Chevron where we resupplied for the 100-mile hike into Etna. The fire closure is still in effect from Etna Summit northbound, and people are recommending a bus trip to Seiad Valley, thus skipping 55.8 miles of the trail.

Today we entered Castle Crags Wilderness and left Castle Crags State Park. Towering white granite spires are the gem of this park.

We took showers and clean some clothes at the park campground while other hikers caught a ride into town. We wanted to get going so we could be in Etna by Sunday night. That way, if we needed to, we could catch a bus to Yreka and onward to Seiad Valley.


We hiked up the Bob's Hat trail to the PCT and met up with Moonpie again and met Rooster for the first time. We camped at Sulphur creek, which was very nice and quite spacious for all four of us.

Kirsten: I've discovered a new trick for getting through tough parts of the trail. It's called daydreaming. I did this yesterday and got so involved in my daydream that we had completed 15 miles before I even realized it. My daydream got pretty random. It went something like this: I was hiking out to the Canadian border with Beautiful and Gorgeous and I was maybe 400 yards ahead. Then out of nowhere I see a dark blur moving toward me. A bear! It knocks me over and I barely and able to yell, "Bear!" And then the bear swipes at me, scratching my arm. Out of nowhere the girls run up and fight off the bear. Chaos ensues. Fast-forward two weeks. I hold a gala dinner for them at some fancy hotel with dinner and dancing. I meet Tony Bennett in the elevator and convince him to entertain for the event.

So this is what happens when you have a lot of time on your hands.

We reunited with Moonpie today! It's funny how everything works out. I was sort mad at Adrian for making me hike out of Castella instead of going to the new Batman movie with Lil' Wrangler, Beautiful, Gorgeous and Johnny Two Stoves. And just as I was starting to get over it we run into Moonpie. If all goes well we will be hiking with B & G and the rest of those guys soon.