Pipe Seat

We woke up at 0600 to try and avoid the ants. They sleep in until the temp warms up. We started out at 0720. We hiked through the edge of the lava fields below the Hat Creek Rim. Eventually we emerged into a more forested area and after close to 5 miles, we came to Rock Spring Creek. We did not need water so we continued on. There was a large irrigation pipe that I sat on for a short break. When I got up, there was a sweat impression of my butt on the pipe.

We hit a paved road and took the bridge over Hat Creek. At this point, we were across from the Crystal Lake State Fish Hatchery where we could have gotten water from a spigot had we needed it. Right before the trail crossed Baum Lake, we took a break in the shade. It was a beautiful spot.

Pelican

We saw deer and pelicans were floating nearby in the lake. We also spotted some quail in the brush near us. It was quite an idyllic setting. The girls started on ahead as I needed to water the local shrubbery. When I went across the bridge over the lake, I noticed them off in the distance to the left. I also noticed that the trail went up the hill pretty much straight ahead. It only took them three minutes to follow the wrong trail which went along the lake shore. I headed left at a fast pace until they could hear me yelling for them to stop. We all turned around and got situated back onto the PCT. The trail climbed above the lake and the hatchery giving us a bit of a workout. We finally topped out and the rest of the hike to the highway was either mostly flat or downhill.

We reached the very busy highway at 1020 and started to hitch. About 15 minutes went by with no luck so I crossed the road to check out an intersection where we might have better luck due to the fact that there was a small dirt parking area there. The girls were still across the highway trying their luck in the direction of Burney. When I was about to start trying my thumb luck here, a car pulled in. The lady asked if I was with the girls across the street. She said that she could not stop where they were so she turned around and came back to give us a ride. This very nice lady was Everlie Nelson. The girls were happy as I called for them to cross the street. Everlie gave us some dining hints and dropped us off right at the Burney Motel. It was a little before 1100 and Carol and Shannon only had one thing on their mind. That one thing; was the salad bar at Gepettos Pizza hoping for bleu cheese dressing to top it off. We were able to leave our packs at the motel and walk down the road to the pizza place. The pizza and salad buffet was very good and quite possibly worth the longer day yesterday to make it here for lunch.

Having satisfied our hunger cravings, we walked back to the Motel and checked into our rooms. Next step of course involved us taking showers. It is always a good feeling to watch the dirt from our bodies leave a circling trail of brown heading down the drain. Cleaned up, Pit Stop and PS2 head up the street to do laundry. I catch up on my journal and map chores until they get back. A short walk across the street nets us some beer and wine and we sit at one of the tables on the grounds lazing the rest of the afternoon away. I am not very hungry at dinner time, so the girls go to eat at a nearby steakhouse and I head off to the local ice cream establishment. We are all happy with our evening choices and hang out until bedtime. Tomorrow we are taking a zero day here so we can sleep in. We hiked 7.35 miles today at the pizza buffet is waiting pace of 2.7 mph. Our high point today was only 3,335 feet and in Burney the elevation is 2,926 feet.