Ascent - 1614’ , Descent - 3003’ - small creek (1404)
to Burney Falls State Park (1419.0)
I don’t have mileage to do today. Just 12.5 to Burney Falls State Park. There I hope to just sit most of the afternoon and let my body recover from 2 - 30+ days. Even though the mileage requirement was low, I still got up at 5:30 am to avoid the heat and to get a full day. Riley had texted me yesterday while I was on the Rim that she had woke up sick and taken a taxi to the Burney Mountain Guest Ranch and taken a room. This morning I hike within 0.3 miles and will stop in to see how she is doing.
The first part of the hike took me past a power plant. No one was around at 5:45 am. I felt like an intruder as I walked past the power plant and used their porta potty.
The trail then wound around the shores of Baum Lake. In the early morning light it was stunning, although I believe it would be stunning anytime of the day. Pelicans, swans, geese, ducks, song birds and glades and marches on the margins of the lake all lit by the first rising of the sun. Breathtaking.
In less than three miles I was at the trail junction to Burney Mountain Trail Ranch. 0.3 miles later I walked up to the lodge. I was preparing to enter the lodge when Space Jam told me the woman proprietor wanted everyone to wash their hands before entering. He pointed out the “Goat Shed” where he said there was a sink for washing hands, soap and a shower. hmmmm . . .
I carried my pack over to the goat shed and looked inside. It was a small utility building about 8 x 16’. It had a laundry tub, washer and dryer and two showers. I jumped into one of the shower rooms, stripped, and quickly washed up, head to foot with a minuscule piece of soap. Wonderful!! I put my grubby clothes back on and entered the lodge feeling clean. The PCT hikers there asked if I was going to have breakfast. I said no, just wanted a pop and to check in on Riley. They pointed me to the “store” in another out building. I entered and found all manner of foods and equipment that would be useful to a PCT hiker. I grabbed a Coke and some water filter bags and returned to the lodge to pay.
The owner was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for a group of 6 PCT hikers. When she emerged to deliver the food I asked if I could pay for my items. She said sure, and got an iPad to swipe my credit card. I asked about Riley. She said she was really sick and was worried about her, thinking maybe the emergency room was the next step. She gave me pad and paper and I wrote Riley a note. The woman running the lodge was super friendly and very kind. She reminded me a lot of Donna at Donna’s Place in Toledo.
I returned to the trail via the entrance road. I noticed I had good signal so I called Sally. She answered and had Robby. I switched to FaceTime and spent 15-20 minutes with Sally and Robby.
I walked the 9+ miles to Burney Falls State Park, arriving about noon. I went straight to the store, bought a Diet Pepsi and retrieved my resupply box. The store charged me $7.00 cash for holding it for me. I flirted with the ladies running the store, three of them. There were no customers even though it was Friday. The nearby fire in Redding had scared everyone away.
On a picnic table I sorted my resupply box, threw away excess food and repacked. Then I headed for the bathrooms to wash my clothes and myself. Luckily the bathrooms were each a private room. I locked myself in one and washed all my clothes in the sink. All my clothes? Two pair socks, one extra underwear, the T-shirt and shorts I am wearing. That’s it. That’s all the clothes I have that I have been wearing.
Clothes clean, I put my wet T-shirt and wet shorts back on and walked around to the other side of the building to the showers. None of the four were in use so I grabbed the far right one. Now for a proper shower. With wash cloth and soap I scrubbed my filthy body and washed my hair.
With everything clean, I headed back to the store for another DP. As I approached the picnic bench I had been sorting and bagging my food on I recognized a couple faces. It was Oak and Hippsy Gypsy. I had met them on the PCT a day out of Casa de Luna and leap frogged them the four days I was on the trail in early May. We chatted a few minutes.
I headed for the Visitors Center to hook into their WiFi and use the plug-ins with my phone. I was hoping to get caught up on my blog . . . But with so many PCT hikers sitting around I got little done except talking to them.
After about four hours of chatting with Space Jam, Grubb, Assless Chaps, Stephen, Squirrel and Shark and giving my body some down time, Double D walked up. Derek was hot on his heels as was the Pocket Family. We stayed and chatted and made runs to the grocery store until 7:30 pm when we decided to stealth camp in the park on the other side of the river next to the PCT. We found a broad flat area in the trees and out of the beaten path, pitched our tents and crawled in. I was tired, and asleep in 10 minutes.
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