I got up about 4:45 am and went over to wake Frank who had told me I was in charge of the alarm this morning. Frank and I got out of camp about 6:30 with J-PRO still in his tent. We had confidence he would catch us quickly. We began a series of small climbs and descents, but in general, we were ascending a bit.
Frank fell back and I waited for her at a stream. From here, we began a long and steep section of this ascent. After a couple miles, we rested and snacked. While here, J-PRO caught up to us, just as we had expected. The three of us continued on and climbed and climbed for the next several miles. We stopped at a spring for our last water for about 10 miles. The air is smokey today and the really good views are partially obscured.
We went a couple tenths of a mile more and ate lunch at a campsite, joined by Hocus Pocus and Phantom Dooker. Frank and I left lunch and continued the climb up. The trail was more gentle here and we eventually walked along a ridge and then over to a second ridge where the smoke was a little thicker.
We took our time (as the smoke was affecting our breathing capabilities) and reached a spring just before camp.
We got some of the ice cold water and actually tasted it unfiltered. We got to camp, which was billed as having amazing views of Shasta and the surrounding area. The view with the smoke:
Nada. I had dinner with Frank, J-PRO, Phantom Dooker, and Hocus Pocus. Then we went to bed early so Frank can get more sleep, even as others rolled in to camp. Frank felt much better today after she passed out and got 9.5 hours of sleep last night.
I can see how a good night’s sleep will make a huge difference! So glad Frank is feeling better! Is the smoke from the Dixie fire? I’ve read that it has grown tremendously. Glad you all are well beyond it.
ReplyDeleteEven though that last view was obscured, all of the other pictures have such a cool, eerie quality! It's a shame that it's smoke and not just fog, though. Very glad to hear that Frank was feeling better today!
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