Day 100, July 26: Burney/Mile 1411 to 1433
Start: Burney - Mile 1411.3
End: Peavine Creek - Mile 1432.7
Miles: 21.4
Ascent: 3392 | Descent: 1906
I didn’t sleep well but I was grateful on the second night in the church in Burney to have nabbed a spot in the one room that had air conditioning. Sleeping on the gym floor the night before was pretty miserable as I couldn’t escape the heat at all.
I took another glorious free (!) shower at the church and packed up my backpack to head back to trail. I got a ride with a lady named Carrie who goes to the church. She generously offered to shuttle hikers to the trailhead all morning and I was very grateful for the ride. On the drive we chatted about how she wants to work on the Rose Parade floats in Pasadena and I encouraged her to do so.
I was on trail around 8:15am- later than I normally start but I was glad that it was still early ish enough in the morning. The day was already warm but at least the terrain was flat and there was decent tree coverage so hiking wasn’t too uncomfortable.
I soon made it to Burney Falls State Park and wandered a bit off trail towards the namesake waterfall and the visitors center. I stopped for a bit at some tables where I saw another hiker hanging out and charging her electronics. She was named Dirty Dog and we chatted for a bit about how we were both injured and had lost friends who went ahead. I felt comforted that I wasn’t alone in being alone.
I asked her if she wouldn’t mind watching my pack while I walked down to get a better view of the falls. She said no problem and I set off. The short side trail was definitely worth the walk- the falls were so beautiful and spectacular! I was reading the informational signs and apparently the water travels underground for miles through old underground tubes and only a mile or so before the falls does it hit solid rock and gets forced up out of the ground. Pretty incredible. And there was a lovely cold misty spray coming off of the falls. I quite enjoyed standing in the cool valley, watching the water rush down and by.
I walked back up towards my pack and stopped by the general store to buy an enormous soft serve cone and a Coke. By the time I got back to the tables, there was a crowd of hikers charging and hanging out. I met Met Alchemist, McMansion and Misplaced among a few others.
After a while, I hiked out and crossed over the Britton Lake Dam. It was under construction, and I had to walk across with a construction worker escort. I continued back into the wilderness and after a while I made it to Rock Creek, where there was a small but perfect swimming hole. Everyone I met earlier was hanging out there in the shade and I met a few other hikers including Brightside, Prairie Dog and Sherwin. We soaked in the pool, ate snacks and laughed while we chatted.
I then started up a relatively big climb, especially compared to the flatter terrain that I’ve been hiking for the last few days. McMansion caught up to me and we chatted about Colorado (he’s from Avon, near Vail) while we filtered water at a stream. The day was just starting to get dark, and I was so sleepy. I got to Peavine Creek and had wanted to push farther, but it was too late in the day and I just wanted to crawl into my tent, so I decided to set up camp near Dirty Dog and Wall-E. I ate cold couscous for dinner and could barely finish writing my blog as I was falling asleep, my phone hitting me on my face. Zzzz…