July 17th

Saving the Trail

We got up early this morning and met Tyson, who is from Atlanta. He camped near us last night and started his journey at Kennedy Meadows. We leave our camp at 0715. We are hiking through forest and there are some very large trees in this area. Some look like they are ready to fall over onto the trail as they are slanted above it on the slopes. The terrain around us gets steeper and the trees change from large pines to smaller twisted oaks.

Grouse on Trail

We cross a small creek and then I spot a grouse on the trail in front of me. I manage to get a few pictures before he heads into the brush. About 3.25 miles from camp we reach Butcherknife Creek. I am not sure how it got its name but it is a beautiful spot and we take a break here. The surrounding vegetation includes some large leafed plants that makes it feel more tropical. We camel-up while resting here which means we fill our gullets with water to rehydrate and so we can carry a little less to the next source.

McCloud River

We leave our watery oasis and head back into the oak forest. The trail is fairly flat but everything on either side is a pretty steep slope. The forest is spooky looking with old gnarled trees many of them covered in moss. As we get closer to the McCloud River, we pass a trailhead for Centipede Gulch. It sounds like a place you might not want to stop in as I envision being swarmed by thousands of centipedes. Shortly thereafter, we reach the infamous McCloud River. It is a popular fishing river and we pass a campground with an outhouse. We make use of the rare human facility and then we meet a forest ranger who is checking on the campground. We chat for a bit before heading back onto the trail. The McCloud River is moving fast but lucky for us there is a wooden bridge going across it. Our feet stay dry on this river crossing.

Small Rattler

We hike along and spook a small rattlesnake. I take a picture as Golfer catches up to me and I tell him there is a rattlesnake just off the trail. Golfer says “where is he?” and then dives into a bush after it. Luckily for all concerned, the snake evades him in the brush. The rest of us are convinced that Golfer is a touch mad. We reach Fitzhugh Gulch Creek at noon, where we stop for lunch and a water resupply. The pit stop girls are impressed that I have us eating lunch at an actual normal lunch time. We hang out for over 1.5 hours before continuing our hike. The creek was our planned stop for today but we have been doing more miles than planned so we continue that trend today. The end result should be a much shorter day on our last day into town. The creek is just below 2300 feet in elevation and the next stretch climbs up to 4,000 feet. The climb is steady but the grade is good. We go about 3.5 miles and take a break, then another stop in about 2.8 miles. This stop is near the top of the climb and by an old road. We have cell service here and take the opportunity to talk to Half and Half (ed) who will be picking us up in two days and taking us to Dunsmuir. We give him and approximate ETA as we should get there earlier in the day than we originally thought.

Oak Lined Trail

With our ride out confirmed, we move on and hike another 2.3 miles to Trough Creek where we thought we might camp tonight. This is not to be as we have to bushwack to the creek for water and there are not any suitable tent sites in the nearby vicinity. We filter the necessary water and hike about another .5 miles and find a nice spot for the night. We are in the woods with no views but the ground is flat and fairy soft so we are not complaining. We ended up with a long day at 18.9 miles and walked at a very good pace of 2.8mph. Somehow I have formed some new blisters all on my right foot. Three in total, one on the small toe, one on the large toe and one on my heel. We did see some wildlife today which included a garter snake, grouse, deer, and the rattlesnake. Our high point for the day was 4,272 feet and we are currently camped at 3,270 feet. We are tired and I am sure it won’t be long after dinner before we fall asleep. Until tomorrow.