Aug 1st
Just past cache @ Rd 22(1397.8)-Burney Falls State Park(1423.6)
Today’s Mileage: 25.8mi

Today was the big day I’ve been waiting for. I got my resupply box with my new shoes! YAY! I was about 26mi away this morning, so I got up after less than 5hrs of sleep and started hiking with Liz. She also planned on camping at Burney Falls State Park tonight. Funyan and Meow Meow had to go into town to resupply, so we are now a bit ahead of them and they will probably catch up as the week continues.

We started hiking the rest of Hat Creek Rim and it was already hot at 6:15am. I didn’t even need my jacket and only wore long pants because of the brush. We were tired from the night hiking and lack of sleep, but definitely glad we didn’t exhaust ourselves hiking it in the heat.

The hiking was mostly exposed today, but thankfully, there were less of the lava rocks that killed our feet.

We were pretty wiped out by lunch, so we stopped for water at a fish hatchery and found a great shaded picnic table. A big treat for us to get an actual table! We even laid down for a good 20mins to gear up to hike the next 11mi waterless stretch. Good thing we were on our way to resupply and our bags were empty because we had to carry more weight in water. I was feeling down that it was draining me so much today because the elevation was easy. Liz pointed out that it was in the upper 90s and then it all made sense. I didn’t realize how hot it really was!

As we got closer to the park, the trail got more wooded and we were thankful for some afternoon shade.

We tiredly hobbled into the park by 6pm. I was happy to see the popular falls.

We both got the soft serve ice cream and chocolate milk. It really hit the spot!

I got my resupply box and have a bit of a new strategy that I think will help a lot. Back before the hike, I planned this stretch to be a seven day stretch at 28mi days. Other years, maybe, but it’s not happening for me. I was able to give Liz some of my food so she didn’t have to go to town to resupply and now we are planning to stick together for this leg and aim for 25mi days for four days into Shasta. It will break it up a bit and hopefully keep me from overdoing it. We both hiked solo a lot of last week just a few hours from each other and we are both happy to have the company over the next few days.

Back to today. I was excited to get care packages from Dan, the Mischlers, Djina, and Ashley.

I’m excited to eat those homemade cookies, Cliff Bars, dinners, chips, etc. It was also great to get some great cards and even some gift cards I can definitely put to use. You all rock and have given me newfound energy to bust out this leg of the trail. I also want to thank Alli for her goodies (I hope I got your name right – it was hard to read!). THANK YOU all!!!

Finally, I can’t forget about my new shoes! I’m really excited to get those on the trail tomorrow. Just look at the before and after. I had those shoes for the past 700mi.

Thanks also to my stepmom who said that after mailing this box, she felt like she had completed a term paper. You got an A+ on this on Robin! Thanks!