Day 10 – Castle Crags

Last night my dreams were filled with people and things that people do: politics, sex, enterprise, betrayal, love, art. I think about people all the time now. Before the trail I spent more time thinking about myself, my desires, my agenda, my satisfaction. Maybe I will return to that when in leave the trail. Maybe I will be changed by the trail forever. Maybe I am just tired and need a hug.

I slept poorly last night. I had a headache and could not get comfortable. My Morlon’s neuroma (a nerve condition of the feet) is worse than ever before. Getting back on the trail should help. It does not hurt when I walk. New shoes in Ashland should also help.

At the Cave Springs Motel

The Cave Springs Motel is a collection of buildings. There is the traditional long building with multiple rooms opening onto a parking lot. And then there are these cute little cabins. I am lucky enough to get a cabin.

The cabins are rustic in the way that a 200-year-old farmhouse is rustic. Lots of cast iron fittings and wooden planks. I find it charming. Some might just call it old. All the lights are operated by pull chains. The cold water knob in the shower is a pair of vice-grip pliers clamped onto a bronze valve stem. The cabin was only $74, and I am enjoying it more than room that costs twice as much. The back door opens onto the Sacramento River. The cabin is heated by a propane burner. It looks dangerously unreliable. The blue dots in the photo are tiny flames that you turn up or down with a small handle on the front. When I turned it off for bed last night I was unsure if it was all the way off. Of course, if it wasn’t, you know, Florida Man…

I call Patti before I leave the hotel. She had gone to the movies with here friend Shirley. It was Patti’s first time in a theatre since they had all closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Watching movies together is one of our favorite pastimes. I am happy she found a way to go again. I look forward going with you when I return, sweetie.

I want a friend

As I prepared for this hike, I thought a lot about the first hundred miles – what towns I would enter, the water sources and campsites along the way, the terrain I would walk. I did not think much about the second hundred miles or the third. It was just too much to keep track of. I expected that I would figure things out as I went. So my thoughts about the trail ahead are vague. I have few preconceived notions about what lies ahead. I expect I will find a snow field or two. I expect I will be winded from climbs at higher altitude. I expect I will be stunned by the beauty of the trail. But I did not expect to feel the way I do. Because now, more than ever, what I hope to find are reinforcements – I want some trail friends.

Four people now have told me about a mysterious “Jane” who left Old Station a few days before me. She is heading to Canada like me, and she is doing 20-mile days, so our pace is similar. When I signed that trail log I found in the woods yesterday, Jane had signed it only hours before me! She may be here in Dunsmuir at this very moment. I want to hear her story. I want to tell her mine. I want to be alone out there without being lonely. If not Jane, then please God, let me make some other friend on my way to Etna.

Transitioners

People are trying to limit face-to-face contact because of COVID. The motel office has a bucket on the front of the building for your keys. Above the bucket is a sign that reads “Deposit keys in bucket.” Through the window I see no movement behind the front desk. I want to tell the manager that I am checking out. I put me key in the bucket and sit down on a bench outside the office to try to arrange a ride out of town.

Kellyfish agrees to take me back to the trail at 11am. She says I win the annual “perfect timing” award. She had decided not to go out of her way ferrying hikers today unless it was convenient for her. I called at the exact and only time when she was doing nothing.

With my ride arranged. I try to reach, Sylvia, the hotel manager by phone. When she picks up, I hear her voice on the phone and behind me. I turn to see her standing behind the desk inside the office. She is looking at me through the window. Just then two people walk past me and go through the door to personally hand their keys to the her. They walk by the bucket for the key return. The manager says to me on the phone, “Hold on a minute, I am dealing with people who can’t read.” She says this while the people she is talking about are standing right in front of her! Customer service in the COVID age!

I am still smiling about this as Kelly arrives, and we head off in her car toward that earthen ribbon they call the Pacific Crest Trail.

People, places and things

Today’s hike begins with a 3000ft climb to 5600 feet. I am in the Castle Crags Wilderness Area of the Shasta Trinity National Forest. Only serious hikers need apply.

In the first few miles, the trail is wide and soft. It is Friday and a bunch of local folks are out. Below is Tom from Mt. Shasta.

Tom mentions that he ran into Sandman on the trail on Tuesday. Sandman is traveling at an inhuman pace, because he is trying to accomplish an inhuman feat. Sandman is attempting, in one continuous trek, to complete the Great Western Loop. The Loop connects five major long trails – the PCT, the Pacific Northwest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, the Grand Enchantment Trail, and the Arizona Trail. The entire route covers 6875 miles. Complicating things are winter weather where three of these trails are impassable. God speed, Sandman. You are insane, and I hope you make it.

Later I meet Brian and his three kids. I tell the daughter, Hialeah, that my gaiters attract butterflies. Not to be outdone, she says that a butterfly had landed on her shoe, too!

Onward I go, but I need something to take my mind off this climb. My thoughts return to Brian and his kids. I am my imagination to produce answers to this question: Why is Mom not with Brian and the family? But why should I have all the fun. Put your response in the comments. If you think there is an entirely different reason, add it there, too. Here is what I came up with.

• Mom and Dad are divorced and this is Dad’s weekend with the kids
• Mom does not like the forest
• Mom has taken the middle daughter to grandma’s to cook because the daughter does not like the forest
• Mom is mad at Dad and needs some “space”
• Mom thinks that Dad needs to spend some “alone time” with the kids
• There is no Mom and these are aliens impersonating people as they search for people to abduct.

Later in the morning, I walk through an area that is covered in pink dye. There had been a small fire here too. Maybe the dye is fire retardant dropped from the sky to control the fire and keep it from spreading. Nothing else made sense.

The plot thickens

Then I meet Alex.

He has been high up the mountain searching for a waterfall he did not find. When I ask if he has seen any other hikers, he says that he crossed paths with four women about two hours ago. My heart leaps. This could be Jane and the Wander Women! As I walk away from Alex, thoughts of these four women consume me. Will we cross paths? Will we hike together? Can I even catch them? If Alex saw the women two hours ago, they are now four hours ahead of me. That is a huge distance to make up. It’s probably eight to ten miles! Well, at least it’s something.

As I mull this over, I can’t keep from smiling. Per usual, I am ridiculous. I am now possessed by this crazy quest. Isn’t it enough to just have a nice hike through the mountains of Northern California? No, not any more. I swear, my trail name should be Captain Ahab. “Ahoy mate, did you see a pod of four White Whales hike through here?”

The day ends with rain. I set up my tarp to stay dry. I hope the night goes because I want to start early. The quest calls to me.

• June 11
• Starting mile: 1500
• Ending mile: 1513
• Daily PCT miles: 13
• Total PCT miles: 141
• Whales spotted: 0