Day 93: Burney Falls

Date: Thu 7/19

PCT Start Mile: 1409.7

PCT End Mile: 1436.8

PCT Mileage for Day: 27.1

Total PCT Mileage: 1436.1

The Highlights: Burney Falls, river break, and bushwhacking

I am very tired tonight, so I’m going to keep this short.

Before leaving the Burney Mountain Guest Ranch this morning, I checked the tracking for the new pair of shoes Running Warehouse sent me and about shit a brick. The shoes had reached Mount Shasta and were once again being processed to return to sender. WTF.

It was too early to call the post office, but not too early to call Running Warehouse, whose customer service lines opened at 6am Pacific. After a long phone call that didn’t seem to have resolved anything, I was to check back in with them in a couple hours – whenever I had phone service. With that, we were off.

Another hour down the trail, I called back. Too soon, they were researching the issue, working on a solution. I should call back again in another hour or so. I was beyond frustrated with this order.

Setting that frustration aside – the highlight of our morning – and day, really – was the side trip to Burney Falls, only a short distance off the trail, part of Burney Falls State Park.

We stopped by the park General Store for some snacks, chatted with some other hikers we knew (and met some new ones), and walked the Falls Loop, which circled by the base of the gorgeous falls and back to the short side trail back to the PCT.

The rest of the hike for the morning included some flat forested trail, as well as a climb, with a ridge trail following the valley where Rock Creek flowed. The trail eventually wound its way down to the creek, which is where we stopped for lunch.

After eating our lunches in the shade of the bridge over the creek, we hopped in the river. The creek was cold enough to be refreshing, but not so cold that you couldn’t sit and soak… so we sat and soaked. A few other hikers came and went while we were there – I don’t think anyone went by without stopping at the creek… it was so inviting. Also, even if you didn’t want to jump in, in all likelihood you needed drinking water.

Eventually we peeled ourselves away from the riverine oasis and began the long climb that would last the rest of our day. Almost 12 miles long, the climb was mostly gradual and – thankfully – mostly shaded.

Toward the late afternoon hours the mosquitos began to make an appearance and the trail had several sections that were dense with tall, thick overgrown brush. We pushed our way through.

Both of us had very sore feet today – our soles aching. Shawn isn’t sure why his were so sore, having just started with new shoes in Chester, but mine are definitely getting sore because my shoes need to be replaced ASAP. I’m feeling every little rock, like I may as well be barefoot.

On that note, I did call Running Warehouse back in the afternoon and was directed to a supervisor. He knew what the PCT was and wanted to be sure they got the shoes to me in Mount Shasta. The shoes are being overnighted to a different address in Mount Shasta and if they aren’t there when I arrive on Sunday, I am going to seriously lose my shit.

Tonight we are camped near a spring, where several hikers have set up around the junction and along the side trail to the spring. Both exhausted, we ran through our camp chores of setting up the tent and sleep stuffs, collecting and filtering water, and making/eating dinner as quickly as possible.

Just as we are about to sleep, a few more hikers arrive, noisily talking and setting up their tents or cowboy camping sleep set-ups a stones throw from us, on the other side of some bushes.

Flamingo (one of the hikers), is telling the other two that his snoring has been described as a chain saw and a dump truck. We are not cool with our current proximity to what could be a lot of noise tonight. The group eventually realizes we are there and pipes down. Sometimes I feel like a grumpy old man out here – “quit making all that racket!”

Finally they are quiet and now it is time to manufacture the Zzzz’s.