Thurs. Sept. 29    Miles today: 23.2    Total so far: 2,479.1    Miles to go: 160.7    No. CA Section P

This morning was again clear and pleasant–53 degrees–for which we were very grateful.  We’ve had wonderful weather for the last several days.  Looking to the south in the early morning, we could still see some forest fire smoke, but had separated into layers, and didn’t look like the fire would be a problem to us at all.  Bill was feeling better, and that was good, because the day’s hike began with a 2-mile gentle uphill.  We stopped for breakfast near the top, with a view of miles of mountain ridges, near and far. 

Then the trail took us curving around above little Bull Lake, with Mt. Shasta in the distance.  Shasta had a very unusual low, horizontal, veil-like, delicate cloud at its base.  Very pretty!  The PCT did a lot of contouring, and at one point I could see up ahead what looked like a whole lot of shiny things on the mountainside.  When we got there, it turned out that they were ROCKS, all a beautiful green and black color, and when they break, the fracture plane is very flat and SHINES when sunlight hits it at the right angle.  Wow! 

According to the guidebook, there was a spring by the trail up ahead, and we figured on reaching it by lunchtime.  Well, we did, but what a disappointment!  It was all tramped up and messed up by cows.  So instead of getting all the water we needed for our usual COOKED lunch, we ate our “supper” instead of tortillas, salami and cheese.  Bill ate some of his, but could not finish it.  He said he had to force himself to eat because the food makes him feel sick.  He is convinced he is actually SICK, but I looked at him turning into skin and bones before my eyes, obviously in dire need of food, and was convinced his body was just collapsing under the strain of hiking 2,400 miles without ENOUGH food.  I spent a lot of time begging him to “just eat another bite.”

Our water situation was solved a little farther on when we found another spring, clear and clean, which also had some beautiful fall foliage nearby.  Getting the water was tricky, though. I had to cup my fingers to get it to run into the water bottle.  Later in the afternoon we were hiking along, when there was a white ribbon tied across the trail, and the sound of heavy machinery ahead.  Well, we stepped over the ribbon, and proceeded (with caution) down the trail.  Oh boy–a big mess!  Obviously the area had just been logged–there were freshly cut stumps and you could see where the cut tree had been dragged down the hill.  Only the really big trees had been cut–the smaller ones were left alone. 

Turned out that the noise we heard was a guy hard at work with a combo bulldozer/log hauler.  When he saw us picking our way along the very messed-up PCT, he stopped what he was doing and came over to chat.  He was amazed when we told him about our hike.  “Y’seen any critters?” he asked, and we assured him that yes, we’d seen bears, elk, deer, and lots of rattlesnakes!  Then he went back to work, basically cleaning up the logging mess, and we went back to walking.  We crossed Highway 3 at Scott Summit, where an historical marker described how the route had gone from passenger mule service, to stagecoach/sleigh service, to a highway.  The sleigh part sounded interesting!  But I guess those wintertime sleigh passengers really had to bundle up. BRRR!

After a rest by Highway 3, we began the big climb up into the Trinity Alps.  It was up and up for 4 miles, on a very warm afternoon, but we finally made it, and there they were–the gray, rugged, dramatic Alps peaks.  Years ago, we did a one week camping trip to Tangle Blue Lake, which is in a different part of the Alps, where the PCT does not go.    It’s a very lovely lake, and we kept saying we should go back and see more of the Trinity Alps, but never did till now.  We enjoyed the views as we walked along, and eventually found a nice place to stop and cook supper.

After that, we had a lot more climbing till we found a fine campsite with a view of the mountains and Big Marshy Lake.  But when I took off my hiking socks to put on my sleeping socks, I was horrified.  My feet, which have been fine ever since Campo (other than a couple of small blisters in the first month) were a MESS.  One little toe was bleeding, and many of the rest were rubbed raw.  No wonder my feet were so achy today!  I spent some time in cleaning and bandaging them, and concluded that it was a combination of WAY heavy  pack (I am still carrying all the food, in order to help Bill, who is too weak) and dirty socks that have not been properly washed since the Heitman’s house in Old Station.  So I took all the precious water from my Platypus and rinsed out my socks as well as I could.  I hung them on a tree by the tarp to dry, and hoped that would help.  We only have 138 miles to go!