25 July - Day 95 - Another Day, Another Marathon

From high ridge camp (Mile 1525) [at elevation 6677] to ridge above Chilcoot Creek (Mile 1552.7)
Total PCT Miles Hiked Today: 27.7

Dionysus here.

Woke today in one of my favorite campsites of the trip. Wide open ridge with views of Shasta and the mountains we've hiked out of to the southwest. Good, restful sleep. Sean saw 22 shooting stars. Morning sunrise and coffee in tents. A slow and enjoyable start to the day.

Sunrise and Mount Shasta from our sleeping bags. Photo by Seano!

Seano's morning face.

Pan and Dionysus packing up.

The trail in this section is quite remarkable. Although it winds in and out of several valleys bouncing from one side of a ridgeline to the other the trail stays at virtually the same elevation throughout. We spent the entire day between 7000 and 6000 ft. -- great it makes for easy hiking at a comfortable pace and level of effort.

Seano and Pan having Second Breakfast (breakfast cereal and instant whole milk!).

Our hiking buddy Data got out of camp early this morning in order to have time to swim at Deadfall Lake this afternoon. We ended up missing him there (he had evidently moved on by the time we got there). But the lake was beautiful. We ate lunch on the ridge overlooking it.

Dionysus refilling water. Cornhusk Lilies growing here let us know we're getting up to higher altitudes.

We also ran into our own personal trail magic at the highway crossing in the evening. A naked section hiker and his friend passed us while we ate dinner -- and we cheered him on -- and when we got to the highway/trailhead a couple hours later, they were at their truck getting set to leave. They hailed us and gave us a beer for dessert. Thanks guys, never did get your names but we so appreciate the magic!

Pitcher Plants -- but we preferred their local name of "Cobra Lilies"

The last leg of he day was a bit death-marchy as we hiked on and on looking for a place to throw the tents. A wet valley full of mosquitoes was our first option -- after 9 pm and already inhabited by five or six sleepy thru-hikers. Not our preferred sleeping habitat. Finally we humped up a ridge and found a perfect spot for sleep. The mosquitoes harried and bit us as we set up our tents -- and we felt exhausted and aggro when we finally climbed in. Tequila all around!

There. Another fine day.




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