Day 96: Into Mount Shasta

Date: Sun 7/22

PCT Start Mile: 1496.4

PCT End Mile: 1501.2

PCT Mileage for Day: 4.8

Total PCT Mileage: 1501.2

The Highlights: 1500 miles down, Mount Shasta, shoe fiasco, coffee and milkshakes

Today’s hike was super short. We had just under five miles to get to I-5, from which we’d head into the town of Mount Shasta. Despite the short mileage, we got up at our normal early hour and were hiking out before 6am.

Last night’s camping spot on the dirt road.

While I’ve mentioned “zero” days in the past – days with no hiking – I don’t mention “nero” days as much.

A nero is basically a short day of hiking – with low mileage, usually either coming into or leaving a town. When we first started the trail, we considered a nero to basically be anything under 10 miles. As we hike further and faster, this definition has morphed to be more like anything under 15 miles. Having less than five miles to go this morning almost felt like it was a zero.

The short hike was mostly downhill, with nice flat switchbacks through the forest. Not far before I-5, we hit the 1500 mile mark! Feels like we’re flying through the miles at this point (sometimes).

Reaching I-5, we didn’t have high hopes for a hitch. Because the route to Mt Shasta was along the interstate, it was known to be a hard hitch. We stood at the base of the on-ramp to I-5 toward Mt Shasta. Not a lot of cars on a Sunday morning before 8am. We decided to give it twenty minutes (until 8) before trying a phone number for a woman who provided rides to/from town for $10/person.

We were shocked when the second car to come by actually pulled over. “Want a ride to Dunsmuir?”, the man asked. We said we were hoping to get to Mount Shasta, but were about to say we’d love to get a ride as far as Dunsmuir and we could continue our hitch from there, when he then said, “Okay, want a ride to Mount Shasta?” Yes, that would be awesome.

He was actually wearing a PCT t-shirt and it turned out he had been up for the weekend for a PCT Trail Town event that was held in Mount Shasta yesterday. We had just heard about this last night. He was actually just starting his drive home to San Diego, so taking us to Mount Shasta was in the completely opposite direction.

Back in San Diego, he actually volunteered with Scout and Frodo – the trail angels we had stayed with the night before we started the trail – helping to shuttle hikers to the southern terminus of the trail at the Mexico border several times each season. It seemed like a lifetime ago when we stood at the point, and yet, it could have been yesterday. We feel that was about time on the trail all the time. Simultaneously like it was yesterday, but forever ago. We thanked him profusely for the hitch as well as his work with Scout, Frodo, and the PCTA.

In Mount Shasta, he dropped us at the Black Bear Diner and soon we were tucking into big breakfasts and several cups of coffee.

Mount Shasta is one of those great small compact trail towns that allow hikers to quickly take care of all the essentials, and we made short work of our town chores, visiting the laundromat, outfitter, Rite Aid, and grocery store.

The dryers at the adorable laundromat each had their own names.

Making our rounds, we also ran into a ton of hikers. It’s funny, talking to people on the trail, it sounded like a lot of hikers planned to head into Dunsmuir or Castella, towns closer to the trail, but with fewer services.

Now it seemed that everyone changed their mind and we had all converged on Mount Shasta. We even ran into a couple hikers we hadn’t seen since Big Bear Lake (mile 266!). I didn’t even recognize Spooked, smaller (as we all are) and with a beard.

Miss Frizzle, Spooked, Megs, Mougs, Butters, and Hot Mess.

Once we were able to check in to our hotel, it was time to lose my shit. If you’ve been following my shoe saga, you know I’ve had a fiasco with Running Warehouse trying to get shoes from them to Mount Shasta.

They had shipped shoes twice to the Mount Shasta post office, only to have them returned to sender both times because they didn’t include my name on the label. Trail town post offices receive literally hundreds of packages so, understandably, they can’t do much with a package with no name, so return it to sender.

My last conversation with Running Warehouse was with a supervisor, who assured me a new box was now being overnighted, this time to the hotel we were staying at Sunday night, and would be delivered on Saturday, so would be there when we arrived on Sunday, so we’d be able to leave first thing Monday morning.

So, we check in at the hotel and – huge shocker – they haven’t received any packages for me. I’m going to spare the details here – but, after phone calls with Running Warehouse and Golden State Overnight – basically they were not overnighted via FedEx overnight, as was printed on the email I received, but sent via Golden State Overnight, and even when initially scanned in on Friday, had an expected arrival of Monday, despite my order email indicating a Saturday delivery. And, from what I’ve heard of the mail here, it would very likely be a Monday afternoon delivery. I probably don’t have to tell you that I was way waybeyond frustrated.

After finally showering, I went down the street to the outfitter and bought a different pair of shoes. They are the same brand but a different model, since they didn’t have the ones I wear, and I will just cross my fingers that they work out for me. But I am not sitting here all day tomorrow to wait for a pair of shoes that do not ever seem destined to make it to me.

They can be returned one final time, this time for refund, and you will not find me ordering shoes from Running Warehouse ever again. All of their customer service representatives have been very nice – I’ve talked to seven of them through this process, as well as one supervisor – but there is obviously a breakdown in their shipping service. Beyond understandable to me.

Hopefully you won’t hear me talk about shoes ever again.

Apparently we are entering the state of Jefferson, and as we get closer to the CA/OR border – particularly in Seiad Valley – we will see more and more about this. There was also a state of Jefferson flag at the gas station we stopped at in Old Station.

Later in the day, we met up with Rainman, Mustang, and Pitch to grab a bite to eat, followed by the requisite town milkshakes.

Back at the hotel, I finished cleaning and organizing my gear and now we are watching some Tour de France highlights. Tomorrow we plan to hit the trail about mid-morning after a good town breakfast and more coffee 🙂