8/9/20; mile: 1,645; elevation: 2,316 ft.
I don’t know why I didn’t sleep well last night. Anxiety, critter worries, loneliness…who’s to know. Just another night on the PCT. That’s the way it is I guess. With the abundance of water at camp, it was kind of glorious knowing that I didn’t have to worry about water for a couple of hours. There were enough water sources along this stretch I wasn’t too worried; if something turned out to be dry, there would be another soon enough. This could nice!
Due to my continuing mood, I started the day with earbuds and smoking a bowl. Not my normal style, but things didn’t seem to be working the way I’ve done them, so I changed it up. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons under the influence of THC as well as the scenery of the Marble Mountain Wilderness isn’t such a bad soundtrack for the morning. I certainly didn’t feel my body complaining since my mind was too busy exploring the sounds and scenery. Time just flew by, which I’m not sure is a necessarily a good thing, but it wasn’t bad, either. Today (and the next couple to be exact) were days that I just wanted done. Most of the scenery was burnt, it was an exposed trail without many views (excepting this morning) and I was also on a new quest for my next resupply: Ashland, Oregon. Sarah and Peter were going to drive up to see me.
I caught up to Polar Bear and Bambi at Buckhorn Spring. This is one of the oddball water stops you find out there. It’s a spring in the middle of an open, sloping field. There’s a nearby tree that provides awesome shade for a nap or even for camping. But there are also some schizophrenic deer in the area. They are not afraid of people AT ALL, even during the daytime. I swear it’s a bad gene strain, mama’s teaching bad habits to their young. Or is it the water? I guess time will tell.
Within an hour we start the descent to the Fire Swamp. Yes, the place of such legendary things as the Flame Spurt, Lighting Sand, and Rodents of Unusual Size (ROUS’s). Following Bambi and Polar for security, we enter the nasty overgrown area south of Grider Creek, south of Seiad Valley. It’s overgrown, there’s poison oak and downfalls, there’s thorns. The upside of those thorns? As Sarah would say, “Well at least there’s blackberries…..”
I pass up Bambi and Polar Bear as they stop on the creek to find my own camp tonight. They’re going to try to make it closer to Seiad Valley. Me? I just want another night alone, and somewhere along this creek looks good to me, despite the amount of undergrowth. There has to be a spot to pitch a tent here in the next 6 miles or so. I finally find one that is barely a campsite, just off the trail, yet difficult to access. Access to the creek is hard too, but well worth the effort. I take a real swim under the trail bridge; the first time since that lake back in Mt. Lassen. It’s awesome! I rinse my clothes and try to get camp set up quickly in case mosquitoes are in the area. I use my hiking poles to prop a pole at an angle to hang my “laundry”. I don’t have high hopes of my clothes getting really dry by the morning due to the lack of sun and the humidity down in this jungle, but I don’t care. Tomorrow is going to be a very hot and arduous day. Moist clothes will be the least of my worries (if not for long).
The climb out of Seiad Valley is notoriously long, dry and hot for NOBO’s. But first, I have to endure several miles of road walking before that even becomes an issue. An early start would be good.
Savior out.
Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em!