July 29, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Just inside Castle Crags State Park
Miles: 25.5

Adrian: A special thanks to Steven, Suzy, Sven, Cuddles and Holly for signing the guest book. We miss you guys!

So, I should start by saying that today we hit the 3-month mark of our trip. It's been a great few months with many ups and downs. I can honestly say that I truly feel trail hardened and accustomed to life on the PCT, which makes life a lot easier. We need to pick up the pace and reduce days off if we want to finish by Oct. 1, but we couldn't be more pleased with how things are going. I no longer wonder if I can finish the trail, I know I can, I just need to stay healthy.

What a difference a day can make with smoke. Today it was totally hazy and visibility was cut down to about 3 miles. Shasta, which was in full view yesterday, is completely hidden from view even though it is only 15 or so miles to the north. Ouch.

We ran into Miss Potato Head today, hiking with her the first time. We had a great time-sharing new trail gossip and news about old friends on the trail. We also found out Beautiful and Gorgeous are not far behind while Lil' Wrangler, Squatch and a few others are heading southbound for a bit and will be catching up with us in or around Castella.

We arrive Castella tomorrow after a 6 miles morning walk. We were thinking of hitching up to Mt. Shasta City for a motel and meals, but we've decided to try and resupply out of the store in the small town of Castella. We'll save time and money employing this strategy, but will not be able to do laundry and have a good selection of trail food. A world of trade-offs.

Today's hike started with a 1,500-foot climb followed by a 1,300-foot descent followed by a 2,100-foot ascent followed by a 2,000-foot descent. The trail was well graded so the climbing was not too hard and the descents not too punishing. There are still plenty of springs in the area, so water is plentiful and safe to drink untreated.

Tomorrow we'll try and still do 15 miles even though we need to hitch, take showers, do laundry by hand, eat, resupply and relax. We also need to get info on the fire near Etna that has the trail closed. Let's hope for the best!

Kirsten: So I want my $20 now from any of you who sided with Adrian and thought we would head into Mount Shasta City as originally planned.

We met - as Adrian mentioned - Miss Potato Head and hiked with her for most of the day. We passed through quite a few clear-cut areas and our campsite is surrounded by logging operations. Toward the end of the day we found ourselves crawling over recently downed trees and branches. I realize that logging operations are bound to happen. Walking through them is a bummer especially when the trees are lying haphazardly along the trail.