June 30
19 miles
We head out around 8, slightly after the boys, taking our time enjoying hot cocoa and granola cereal.
It's only 9 miles to Drakesbad, so we plan to get there between 12 and 1.
Last night we decide we might try and go even further before Kacie's flight, perhaps making it up to Burney, and staying with this group on the way. This means that we have to do bigger miles, getting to Old Station in 2 days instead of 5. My foot feels so much better, so I feel up to the challenge. We plan to do the first 9 miles to Drakesbad, meet everyone for lunch and relax for a few hours, and then do 10 more miles in the cooler evening hours.
It takes us longer than expected to walk to Drakesbad--but we did take a side trail to see Terminal Geyser, and then spent time taking pictures at Boiling Lake. I put some geyser mud war paint on my face--I've heard it's special healing mud, but don't want the hassle of taking my shoes off and then cleaning my feet. Plus, the water is ridiculously hot.
Boiling lake is jade green, and stands out among the other lakes we've come across. As you stare at it, you can see that it really is bubbling. Not the place for a swim.
We see Drakesbad from the trail around 1pm, and come to a sign pointing in opposite directions for Horses or Hikers. The Hiker trail looks like it leads us far away from the Ranch, and I'm tempted to take the Horse path, thinking it's shorter. We debate for too long, eventually going with the Hiker path. It does lead us away from the Ranch, and then to a road, so we end up going maybe a mile out of the way. A mile too far for two starving hikers. We are Hangry.
But, like all things, we eventually arrive, only to find out that there is no $10 all you can eat spaghetti buffet, and instead it's a sandwich buffet. Okay. But wait, we are 30 minutes too late for lunch, and almost everything is gone, given to the workers. It's $14 per person, but they say they'll let us do a two for one deal...meh, we are too hungry to haggle. We each load up on sandwich meat and the rest of the pitiful salad. We take two cookies apiece. Damn straight.
We see Rei sitting outside, and we join him for our meal. I'm eating so much these days, it's still weird for me to process. I eat my piled sandwich, salad, cookies and fruit faster than Kacie. This has never happened before. I am a champ.
There is a guest pool and showers for guests to use, and we are told (by another hiker) that purchasing a meal makes us guests. Works for me. We take showers, and I wash out my clothes in the shower with me. I am getting so good at hiker laundry it's not even funny.
We lounge by the pool for a little while, Mountain Goat and Burning Daylight join our group, and we chat for a bit until it is decided that we should get back on the trail, around 4pm.
On the hike out of Drakesbad we pass a guy setting up archery practice, who tells us about the cinnamon colored black bear that we just missed. Dang! A quarter mile later we pass through a campground, and see a couple banging on a pot and tossing sticks into the trees. They tell us there was a bear lurking around, and we just missed it. Hmm.
So we continue on, and sure enough, I spot the bear! Holy hell!! It is certainly cinnamon colored (but NOT a Grizzly--those were hunted out of California). It's about 200 ft up the mountain from us, staring down at us, as we're staring back up at him. We keep walking, he keeps walking. We're going the same pace, and it's a little unnerving. I keep thinking that at some point he'll feel threatened by us and charge, but Kacie keeps taking pictures and making noise, telling me all is fine.
Eventually we realize get to a switchback leading up he mountain, and realize that he has been walking along the trail above us this whole time. We decide to stop and let him go on his way, before heading up the trail--I don't need to get any closer to him. Kacie takes out my bear bell (a jingle bell she gave me as good luck), and HA! I'm finally using the bear bell!
We keep it out for a couple of miles until Extra Smiles and REI catch up to us, and REI starts playing "hit the bear bell" with his trekking poles, and I finally tuck it away. We keep up with them for a couple more miles, and then let them pass on the uphills.
Eight miles in we come to Lower Twin Lake, and meet a young guy named Tiger and a girl named 300. I've heard about her--she got her name from walking 300 miles without taking a shower. Not even a stream bath. Hard. Core.
I expected she was much further ahead, and she tells us she took 2 weeks off because she was starting to feel like she was losing it. She doesn't need to explain to any of us--we all know what she means.
The group of us make dinner, debating whether to camp here or walk two more miles to another campsite, and have less to do tomorrow. My vote is to stay here, but REI and Kacie talk me in to the two more miles, REI heading out before us. We only have about an hour of daylight left, which should be okay.
The terrain has suddenly turned totally flat. The trail is sandy, like walking on a beach, and I'm pretty sure we'll make it there in no time. We pass a guy camping on the other side of the lake, and he tells us that the direction we're headed for a is a burn zone. He seems weird so we thank him and keep walking away.
Sure enough, soon we enter a somewhat recent forest fire burn zone. We will end up walking through this for the next 14 miles. Sad.
It's almost dark and we see an arrow drawn in the sand, pointing up trail. In other quarter mile we catch up to REI, who tells us that was the campsite spot, but there was nowhere to camp because of the burn. We decide to keep walking and hope we find a suitable area before it gets too dark.
We pass by a couple of spots I think are good, and end up camping on lumpy patches of grass, among burned out trees and soft ground.
We here what sounds like someone/something walking in the brush, and are reassured by REI that it's just bears, mountain lions and creepy people. Whew! :)
It was a long day, made even longer by splitting it up in two sections, but tomorrow we only have 14 more miles until Old Station, and then a possible night hike across part of Hat Creek Rim. Thirty miles with no shade or water sounds like a challenge. We'll see how it goes.
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