Badger Flat (1,367.8) to Hat Creek Rim (1,388.9)
Miles today - 21.1
A deer wandered into our camp in the middle of the night and wouldn't go away. It was just feet from our tents for a couple hours licking up the salt from our urine.
The trail this morning was almost all flat or downhill, so it was easy walking for 10 miles to the tiny town of Old Station, where Bronco had to pick up a resupply box. We hung out outside the small store for almost five hours with a bunch of other hikers to wait out the midday heat. Plenty of time for a burger and milkshake.
Above: The side of the store turned into a backpack parking lot.
It didn't get as hot as we were expecting, so we hiked out in the early afternoon instead of waiting a couple more hours. We're hiking along the Hat Creek Rim, which is supposed to be one of the hottest and driest sections on the entire trail, exposed and waterless for 30 miles.
We were lucky to have cool, windy weather. It even looked like we might get hit by a storm, but the dark clouds passed right by. It's been over a month without rain now. Through all the clouds and smoke from a distant fire we got our first view of Mount Shasta. It's still pretty far away, but it already looks huge. We'll probably be able to see it for the rest of California.
I read on Just Retired's blog (hiking-the-pct.com) today that he's gone home and will try to finish the trail next year. I met him on the last mile of the very first day as we hiked in to Kickoff together, and I enjoyed hiking with him for several hundred miles with the Usual Suspects. I wish him the best.
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