Day 76 - Monday, July 12

Tenting on a high point (mile 1251.0). Walked 27.0 miles today.

Woke up at 5 and was on the trail by 6 this morning. We had a short descent followed by a climb to a view and then rolling hills afterwards.

We passed through our first real logged area of the trail which was a mess and the trail was difficult to find in some places.

Eventually we reached a spring and met Dan, a hiker who just got on at Donner Pass. We got water and chatted a bit. Another new hiker came down and we discussed trail names and tried to give her the name Phantom Dooker which is a name Jedi had been trying to give to someone for a while. Dan, Frank and I then hiked off together. After a bit, of walking through another logged area, we entered a massive burned area from last year's fire season.

We hiked through this for a few miles, giving Dan advice, answering his trail questions, and eventually stopped in the shade of a burned tree for lunch. Several others stopped by including Chaparral, Phantom Dooker (who hasn't officially taken the name yet, but that's what we're calling her), and her friends. We finished lunch and continued through the burn area, eventually reaching another spring with ice cold water. Dan hung back here and Frank and I continued on through a section that had been absolutely annihilated by the fire. Nothing left but charred trunks.

We hiked down for a long time (4000+ feet), finally reaching the Middle Fork of the Feather River where everyone else we've been around recently was hanging out (along with another rattlesnake).

The river was closed so we definitely didn't wash our disgusting feet and clothes in it. There was so much dust and ash today in the burned area that we got filthy from just walking.

We hiked another 1.2 miles up from the river to a campsite. Cutie, a hiker we met today camped with us. The mosquitoes were non-existent when we arrived but came out in full force for an hour or so before disappearing. It's so hot tonight that I'm on top of my bag, sleeping without a shirt, and am still hot.