Tues. Sept. 27      Miles today: 23.7     Total so far: 2,432.7      Miles to go: 206.2     No. CA Section P

Bill and I slept very well last night!  It was a pleasant night, not cold at all, and we were very comfortable.  Bill wanted to wait till a little later to get up, so it was 6:30 before we left our sleeping bags, packed up, and then (very civilized, indeed!) we ate breakfast at the TABLE of the hiker campsite.  It was our usual granola, but with the addition of some V-8 Juice to drink.  But when we went to put on our packs, you should have heard the groans and moans!  We had FULL loads of water (because the guidebook said it was over 22 miles to the next reliable water source) and SEVEN days of food.  Oh man–I could hardly even lift my pack to put it on.  I told myself, “Too bad, so sad–and it won’t be this heavy once we drink the water and eat the food!”

We had a bit of trouble finding the PCT, but in the end, there it was, just running a nice level course through the forest.  We couldn’t see Castle Crags at all.  But we walked along saying, “On to Seiad Valley, and we’re almost done!”  Then surprise!  We began to run into FLOWING creeks, which this time of year is very unusual.  We crossed one after another, saying, “Murphy’s Law–when you carry lots of water, you will find lots of water.”  Oh well.  And at last we began to see the Crags again.  At first the jagged peaks were just visible above the treetops, but as we circled to the west of them, the views became more and more stunning.  We were amazed to find even MORE creeks!  What a contrast to Section O, where a lot of the “creeks” were dried up.  The creeks here in section P are sliding over slabs of smooth granitic rock, which is very hard and very slippery.  We had to be careful when we crossed them!

The PCT climbs and switchbacks steadily up right alongside the Crags.  We felt as if we were in the High Sierra again, with heavy packs, rocky trail and awesome views.  And thankyou, Lord, Bill was having a “good” day today.  He was able to climb steadily, without plodding and having to stop a lot.  In fact, he was doing better than I was! Because I was worried about his health, when I loaded the food bags, I gave myself a lot more weight to carry than I gave him, so I was actually carrying a heavier pack.  Not only that, but it had turned into a very warm, sunny day, and I never do well on big uphills when it’s hot.  So this morning, it was ME who had to ask a couple of times, “Could we stop a minute so I can rest?”  Actually, till about 11:00 in the morning, there was a little cloud holding steady overhead, which was just big enough to block the sun.  I started calling it “God’s umbrella” because it didn’t blow away, and boy, was I grateful to have it there!  Once it finally did blow away, it got HOT on the trail!

We climbed and climbed all morning and into the afternoon.  One of the springs we came across was still running and it had a whole “grove” of pitcher plants growing around it.  I had never seen anything like it, and had to stop and do some “ooh and aah”-ing.  I also saw the leaves of many, many Douglas Iris plants, which  also surprised me because I didn’t know they grew up here. 

The PCT finally turned to the west and away from Castle Crags, but that just made for more awesome views as we looked back!  To be honest, I think that the SOBOs on the PCT have it better in this part of Section P, because the Crags are ahead of them instead of behind them.  AND they can see Mt. Shasta, too, while we NOBOs have to turn around to see any of it.  Finally we began a 3 mile westward crest walk toward the Trinity Divide, which separates the Sacramento and Trinity River drainages.  The air looked and smelled rather smoky, so we figured there must be a forest fire somewhere.  Down below us, looking lovely in the early evening light, were a number of pretty lakes.  We pushed on till we reached the Divide, thought about camping there, but Bill said (hooray!  Thankyou, Lord!) that he felt OK and could go on a bit. 

So we did mush on, and finally ended up in a tiny campsite on a ridge near the trail.  Oh, boy, did it feel good to lie down!  Our poor feet were SO tired from the constant climbing, heavy packs and rocky trail.  But it was a beautiful night–clear, pleasant, and calm, with a skyfull of stars.