Day 98, July 24: Mile 1394 to 1411 and into Burney
Start: Mile 1393.6
End: Burney - Mile 1411.3
Miles: 17.7
Ascent: 875 | Descent: 2450
I woke up extra early so I could 1) avoid the heat a bit more and 2) get into town a little earlier if possible. I was on trail by 4:50am, a little later than I wanted but I’d take it. I hiked out in the dark and watched the sky begin to lighten to the east. At one point in the morning, I passed the 1400 mile marker- woohoo! It was one joyous moment in what was frankly a very hard day from the beginning. The shooting pains up my ankle from the day before returned by mile 10, and it made me upset and sad that I was feeling so crappy. The doubt started to creep in- will I be able to finish this hike, in time before Washington snowstorms? Or at all?
I tried to quell the negative self talk and push forward despite the pain, but I was having a really hard day. It was already blazing hot by 9:30am. Around 11am, I came to a large metal pipe that was connected to the nearby hydroelectric dam. It was cold to the touch and I could hear the water rushing through it and feel the vibration. I laid on top of the pipe, cooling my body, for about 15 minutes. I finally peeled myself up to walk another 0.1 miles to the stream up ahead. I chugged a liter of water and filtered enough for the next 4 mile stretch to the road from which I would hitchhike into town.
After the stream, I passed by Baum Lake, a place popular with fishers. And apparently osprey (at least I think so) as I spotted two circling overhead, hunting. One dove into the water at one point to catch a fish. So cool!
The next 4 miles were a hot slog, but I finally made it just about to the road when I heard a car slow down and stop, and through the trees saw another hiker who had just passed me minutes before walking towards the stopped car. He had gotten a hitch! And I didn’t have to wait, which I was thankful about. A dad and his son picked up me and Jedi and took us into Burney and straight to McDonalds, as we requested.
There were a few other hikers inside Mickey D’s and we all greeted each other. I ordered a couple sandwiches and sat down to charge my phone and chow down. Once I was happily fed, I walked with Jedi to the church nearby that generously hosts PCT hikers for free during the hiker season. I claimed a spot for my sleeping area in the large gym, and went to grab a towel to take a shower. The church even had loaner clothes, which I was grateful for because I was going to do laundry and I didn’t want to walk in the 100° heat to the laundromat.
After I was gloriously showered, I made my way over to do laundry with Jedi. Once all was clean, we dropped our clothes off at the gym and walked to the Chinese restaurant nearby. We had a delicious set course meal of wonton soup, moo goo gai pan, pork fried rice and orange beef. It hit the spot.
By this time the sun was setting, but we walked to the Dollar General nearby to do our resupply. I was being a little fussy over wanting to go to Safeway instead, but I decided to look to see if they had any good stuff. And I was happily surprised, and only spent $65 for 4 days- definitely one of my cheapest resupplies on trail!
At this point I was exhausted, so I made my way back to the church. I was happy to see Marshmallow outside and to chat with her for a bit. Then it was time to brush my teeth and hit the hay.