Day 89, July 15: Quincy/Mile 1268 to 1280
Start: Bucks Lake Rd/Quincy - Mile 1267.9
End: Mile 1280.3
Miles: 12.4
Ascent: 2412 | Descent: 1653
Again, I woke up slow in my motel. As usual, I finish blogging for the last stretch and posted a bunch of entries all at once. When I was done with that, I started packing my up backpack and organizing all my things. By this time, I was getting pretty hungry so I left my room with my pack and swung by Marshmallow’s motel across the street to give her some extra conditioner that I had bought in town.
We walked together to a coffee shop and I was absolutely ravenous, so I got a chorizo breakfast burrito and an iced vanilla latte. It hit the spot. I decided it was time to head back to trail, so I gave Marshmallow a hug and walked to the road to try to hitch a ride.
I only had to wait a couple minutes for a guy named Kirk to pick me up. He lives close to the trailhead and was happy to bring me. Maybe a quarter mile or so down the road, Lucky Charm and Lost and Found had their thumbs out too, and Kirk picked them up as well. It was a funny and welcome coincidence!
After Kirk dropped us off and we said thank you, we wandered to some shade near the trailhead to situate our packs. I sat for a few minutes but then started up a decent climb out from the road. It was hot, and I was sweating immediately. I stopped to grab two liters of water from a stream and got attacked by biting flies.
I continued up the climb and drank electrolyte water to keep me going. Pretty soon, I made it the majority of the hill and it was rolling/flat for the rest of the day. I walked through more burn area for the rest of the day and it was both sad and beautiful in its own way. I was feeling pretty tired but just decided to take it easy on myself and hike exactly as I wanted without forcing myself to go faster or try to meet any specific goal.
I ended up setting up camp on an awesome ridgeline, away from any dead trees and with a beautiful view and cell service to boot. When I went to unpack my backpack, I realized the Bitchin’ Sauce I had packed out had partially exploded inside my backpack. Fun!! Luckily it wasn’t too big of a mess, and I was happy that I just restocked on baby wipes in town to clean up the mess.
I had a random dinner of chips with the dip, salami slices, almond m&m’s and two cheese danishes. I probably should have eaten a heartier meal but I’ll make up for it tomorrow. Night!