July 23, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Summit Lake Junction
Miles: 21

Adrian:
We woke up this morning at 7:30 a.m. for our rendezvous with Frodo for the bike return. I ate yogurt, an Odwalla Super Protein fruit juice, and a fresh mango. I hear the yogurt offers probiotics to help replace the good bacteria in my gut being killed off by water treatments we've been using. The mango and fruit juice is to stave off scurvy :)

Frodo showed at 9:30 and we drove to the trail on Highway 36. Gazelle was there, as was Squatch, Mike and Kat.
Yeti caught us again. We haven't seen him for more than 900 miles. I'm happy to hike with him again.

The days walk was through thick evergreen forests with trees over 200 feet tall. Big Jeffery Pine cones littered the floor of the forest. We passed many Forest Service roads and the trail was well marked.

At mile 16 for the day we hit the Terminal Geyser. More steam vents than geyser, hot air and boiling water jetted from holes in the earth. Scalding water flowed from the spring and the rotten egg smell of sulfur hung thick in the hot, moist air. Kirsten scolded me for walking too close to a vent.

A mile later we hit the junction to Drakesbad. A German immigrant from the late 1800's (I think) started the resort. It features hot springs, a main lodge, dining lodge and several cabins. Kirsten insisted we go, so I was trapped. I'm glad we did. For $10 we ate a full BBQ buffet with steak and hot dogs with all the fixins. They even served Gallo wines out of 5-gallon boxes...bliss.

We are camped with the "6 pack". More on them tomorrow. They are a fun group. A birthday party is coming up tomorrow as well, so stay tuned!

Kirsten:
Guess what happens when you follow Adrian. You get to watch him nearly burn his fingers off in scalding hot water. On this 0.2-mile detour off the PCT, visitors can walk along a path with steam vents and small mudpots. Giant red signs, maybe three or more, strategically located near the boiling creeks and vents. These signs basically say stay on the path and don't touch anything. This is about the time Adrian dipped his hand in some water and ten paces later stepped off the path to "get a closer look."

An hour later we were sitting with some other PCTers sipping wine and eating steak. Drakesbad, which has a hot springs pool, was awesome. I wish our stay was longer - at least to squeeze in a soak.

So the six-pack is Evie, Spaceman Spiff, Six Toes, V-nick, Treebeard and Jellybean. Glo-worm also is part of the 6-pack. The 6-pack were among the few hikers who roadwalked the fire closure. Spaceman Spiff and I were talking and I noticed Spiff was wearing a pair of Prana pants that looked just like the ripped ones I had placed in the hiker box at the Saufley's. It turns out Spiff rescued and repaired the pants and has been wearing them ever since. Spiff is clearly much more crafty than I. The 6-pack are always laughing and generally having a good time. I'm looking forward to hanging out with them over the next couple weeks if we stay on a similar pace.