Day 99: Last Day in California!

Miles hiked: 18.7

Mile marker: 1680.8

Total ascent: 5000 ft

Total descent: 2600 ft

It’s far too early to be away. It’s 4:10AM, and I soon find the stars painted across the sky as I emerge from my tent like a gremlin, just with very stiff feet.

Voyager is laid out on her mat. I guess she’s ready to go.

“There’s Mars!” I say, pointing to the sky. “And Uranium! And Jupiter! And a UFO!” I’m pointing randomly at different stars and airplanes. I think they thought I knew what I was talking about for a second.

Voyager isn’t fooled. She has a PHD in Super Space Aeronautics (SSA) or something and basically knows all the stars in the universe.

Last night was so hot and almost muggy, I thought I was going to be steamed alive in my sleep. The morning isn’t much better. We begin to walk and I’m already sweating and breathing with difficult in the sticky morning heat. There’s not a single breeze on the horizon!

It’s so hazy outside from the surrounding fires. The mountains are an ocean of dusty blue on a dreary day. The branchless trees stick up like sails.

The hill is steep. Really steep. I’m struggling, but at least I’m not lagging behind too far. For some reason Voyager is moving slowly. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it’s the crack of dawn and humans aren’t meant to be walking at this time.

We round a switchback and I find the others sitting on a flat area. The sky is absolutely gorgeous. Those dusty blue mountains are the ground to a sunrise yellow with wispy purple cloud off in the corner.

Behind me, Voyager isn’t feeling well. It might be the smoke causing her nausea. We did diagnose Rafiki’s illness with an overdose of electrolytes, but I don’t think that’s the cause of her not feeling well.

We divvy up Voyager’s items and Rafiki carries her pack for the next couple of miles.

The firey sun finally breaks the surface of sea blue mountains and lights the sky orange. Morning skies are my favorite!

A cool breeze blows whips my shirt around, and I welcome the coolness in the stifling morning! The hill eases up. I didn’t realize how steep that last section was until this hill, which seems like a breeze!

The terrain turns red and rocky like how I imagine Mars to be. We put our heads together at the dirt road for a plan. We decide to walk the road since it should be a little less hilly and brushy, making it easier for Voyager to walk.

We arrive at our next water source and lay out in the shade.

“Whoa!” Rafiki says. “A rattle snake!”

Sure enough, a spotted and striped rattle snake slithers toward me. We spend the next hour and a half chasing him off. He comes close to us, then we move and he tucks his head in and he slithers away.

Needless to say, it’s not a relaxing lunch! Some trail magic is in the back of an open car. I only notice it’s for us when I read FIRST AID and run over to see if there is some anti nausea medication.

There’s not. But it says it’s for PCT hikers and there is a ginger ale for Voyager!

After a couple hours, the owners of the car come around. They were doing trail maintenance! We chat for a bit then head up the hill.

It’s hot and the sun is frying me like an egg. It takes a long time, but we end up breaking by a tree to discuss the next plan of action.

We’re going to Ashland and hoping to do longer carries — 100 miles from Ashland, Oregon to Crater lake. That should only take us four days when it used to take us six!

We hike on.

We walk into where Manzanitas are born.

It’s a shrubby nightmare.

The manzanitas have flexible thin arms that grab your legs as you walk by, only to stop you as you take a third step, then bounce you back four steps!

We plow through them. I get caught by one shrub and bounced into another, jamming my shin into an exposed branch.

Bumper guides us up a hill.

This is not the trail!

Oh, how it looked like the trail.