July 18th

Trail Leaving Camp

We leave our camp by West Trough Creek at 0745. We hike back into the oak forest and travel 2.8 miles to Squaw Valley creek. It is a nice spot and we have to get water as the next water is 10 miles away. This forces us to take a break which doesn’t sadden any of us. The next 4.5 miles will gain over 2,000 feet in elevation.

 

Golfer Over Squaw Valley Creek

 

We cross the creek on the nice wooden bridge that has been so kindly provided and begin our uphill trek. The grade is not too bad. When we are climbing, the grade makes the difference between a hard slow climb and a nice paced climb. We are able to push on for 5 miles making up to the top of the climb. We find a spot by a campsite where we can have lunch. The only down side to this lunch spot is that there are a few pesky bees here. One seems to take a particular liking to Carol but luckily never stings her. The bee situation shortens our lunch time and we pack up and move on. We do another 5 mile plus stretch. Along this stretch, we start to get some really nice views of Mt Shasta and the surrounding area. We are mostly walking along a ridge and the views keep improving.

Craggy View

The next area we get a glimpse of are the Castle Crags. The crags are in a state park and we will be hiking up them after we have our town stop. They look beautiful but imposing. We end this 5 mile stretch at Fall Creek which was the next water source. We had thought about camping here but the terrain is not conducive to it. After refilling our water, we continue on in search of a tent site for the night. We get into several areas where logging has been done. About 1.5 miles from the creek we come to a dirt road that the trail crosses. The road curves up above the trail and it looks like it may flatten out there so we check it out.

Hungry Hikers

We find some flat spots just off the road. The view of Mt Shasta from here is unimpeded and incredible. To top it off there are no bugs. We have found home for the night. We can see logging roads below us but there is no activity. We set up our tents and get to the chore of making dinner. When we are through, we have a time to relax and hang out. Bed with a view ends our evening. Tomorrow, we will get a real bed in the town of Dunsmuir. Today’s mileage was 15.1 miles. We did 2.6 mph and the high point was 4,667 feet. We are camped at 3,784 feet and tomorrows hike should be mostly downhill. Good night.