Its been a while since the last update so i'll give y'all a quick run-down of where i've been and what i've been up to.
Train, Sunseeker and I made it across the waterless desert stretch of Hat Creek Rim, there was a solid water cache in the middle that broke it up nicely. Prior to that we also checked out Subway Cave, a 1/3 mile long lava tube near Old Station. The views looking across the valley from the rim at Mt Shasta and back towards Mt Lassen for a solid 30 miles were spectacular. We made it to Burney Falls, which were also very unique waterfalls where the water spilled over and out of hundreds of holes in the walls of the rock face.
Train and I wanted to step up the miles and Sunseeker decided to hitch ahead 80 miles so we parted ways at the falls. We pulled 3 big days(83 miles) to make it to Mount Shasta, which was a unique little town just below to mountain. Shasta is the 8th largest mountain in the world and is pretty magnificent.
After a solid zero day there, where i finally caught Inception (and loved), we continued northward. Whats funny though is that from Shasta we actually curve south for a few days before actually heading towards Oregon. The trail is gerrymandered around logging lands and miner claims. After 3 days of of ridge walking we dropped into to Etna 40 miles earlier than we should have because of some trail magic and a thunderhead rolling in. We're staying at the "Hiker Hut" at the only B&B in town which is a cool little side building with 5 bunk beds, a shower, TV and Internet. The owner only charges us 20 bucks a night. Etna constantly ranks as a favorite town among PCT hikers. They have a small world class brewery here and pretty much one intersection. Its tiny but nice and everyone is very friendly towards hikers.
We're tryin to get back on the trail in the morning and then it should be only 2-3 days to Seiad Valley were i will attempt the 5 lb pancake challenge and then just 2 days to the border where i can finally wave goodbye to California and its 1700 or so trail miles.
Brandon Update: He should be flying into Portland on the 26th of August and finish out this thing with me. I'm looking forward to having my hiking partner back.
I say it a lot, but thanks for keeping up with the blog. I appreciate it.
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Caleb, you can avenge me and right a 20 year old wrong! In Seiad Valley in 1990 I ordered one of their breakfast specials--I think it was 3 pancakes, 3 eggs, and 3 slices of bacon. The pancakes, as you'll soon discover, are the size of frisbees.
ReplyDeleteBut it was only as I was finishing my meal that I learned about the deal with "The Tall Stack" where if you eat it all, it's free. They told me that only the 500 lb. man had ever done it successfully. They didn't even give him a name. It was just "the 500 lb. man."
I couldn't let that kind of immortality pass me by. I ordered one, too, so that the skinny, hiker kid could take a place in history beside the 500 lb. man. Plus, I was still hungry.
But I made the cook mad. I really think I did. I think he resented me ordering a Tall Stack after already finishing my first plate. He made these next six pancakes twice as big as my first three. They were oblong, each as thick as a 2x4, and they overlapped on all sides the oversized plate on which they were served. I gave it my best shot, but after 45 minutes of steady eating I had to stop only half way through. Paying the cashier for both meals after this was bitter.
What would have happened had I met the Tall Stack fresh and with a keen appetite? I think I know, but there's no way to go back and reclaim that lost moment of glory. However, Caleb, if you're able to raise your fork in victory at the end of your own struggle (and manage to get out the door without puking), I'll feel some closure with regard to this unhealed gustatory wound I've been carrying these past twenty years. Good luck!
(Another quick story about Etna: I didn't treat my water or carry a filter on my trip, and so ended up making an unplanned stop in Etna to see a doctor to treat my first ever case of giardiasis. I was so emaciated from the hiking and my hips and back so bruised from carrying my pack that the doctor was at first convinced that I had AIDS. I actually had to talk him out of testing me for it. But it was out of this experience that I learned the word metronidazole, one of the most beautiful words in the English language. This wonder drug made me feel better within hours of taking it. I think I even ate a half gallon that night in the park there. The town just let me camp there in plain sight and didn't hassle me at all. Etna's a cool place.)
Hopefully you didn't drink Etna brewery out of business. Keep a steady pace towards Portland then be prepared for the return of your pace setter. He's born American, Southern by the Grace of God, "heeled" up, and ready to step foot in Canada, correction, stomp into Canada.
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