August 2, 2017
1343.8 to Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen to Old Station (1374.8)
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike: Day 89

Mid Day Break at Lower Twin Lake

Sitting (laying, actually) 11 miles into Lassen Park at Lower Twin Lake at a real motherfucking beach with absolutely perfect temperature crystal-clear lake water. Lassen is so damn wet and humid, and this lake is gorgeous reprieve from the oppressive, thick heat.

Ran into Trail Name first thing in the morning—man, I do not like that guy. The first thing he said when he saw me and Alex was:

“You guys? How slow must I be going?!”

Whaaat a fucker. So naturally, the three of us went to Terminal Geyser together, which I thought would be a little turd of steam but it was actually pretty impressive! I had Trail Name go ahead so we wouldn’t have to walk with him—er, so he wouldn’t have to wait for us—and it worked! We had snack by Boiling Springs lake and let me tell you, not a whole lot is more appetizing than the smell of rotten eggs at snack time. We’re trying to make it Old Station tonight for a beer and treats, and to keep a good schedule for making it to Etna. It’s 15 more miles, which sounds daunting, but there’s nothing to be done except see how it goes.

Died and Went to Trail Food Heaven

Well, we made it to the Old Station Fill Up. Holy Shit. 31.1 miles. We are only 32 from the Burney Mountain Guest Ranch! We found out late in the day that the Fill Up was actually 4 miles past the first town exit, so we went from thinking we were doing a long 27-mile day to doing a long 31-mile day. But we fucking MADE IT. We spent $35 on ice cream, candy, chips/salsa/guacamole, beer, Naked smoothies, kombucha and, necessarily, Advil. Then while we at it at the picnic table I read the menu for the cafe next door. Dear god. 100% grass fed beef. House-smoked pulled pork. French dip. Homemade bakery goods. Biscuits and gravy with housemade biscuits. WHERE AM I?!?!?! Did I die on the 31-mile stretch and end up in trail food heaven? I have to tell mom about the French dip (once I eat it).

5 at 5? 3 at 3?

I’m trying to think of some catchy way to establish a healthy routine on trail. So far I’ve got 5 at 5, which is once we walked 5 miles, stop and:

Stretch for 5 minutes (at least)
Brush teeth
Journal

But that’s only 3 things. So maybe it could be 3 at 3? That might be a better warm up, but stretching our journaling for only 3 minutes is pretty short. Could just be the quantity of things, not the amount of time to do them for.

Rain and Snow and Sam

We went through a huge burn area in Lassen from a fire 10 years ago, called the Reading Fire, and I want to learn how it started. There was a thunderstorm nearby enough that I got to smell rain, a smell I haven’t had in 3 months and was so happy to smell even if I was in a field surrounded by widow makers.

Lassen Peak could be seen in the distance, huge, epic and beautiful, snow covered. It’s weird that we’ve started to catch up to people, seeing faces we used to see or new ones that we haven’t met yet, but we’re not the type of hikers to catch anyone so it’s a foreign feeling. It’s still a mystery when we’ll see Sam, if ever. He could even be in this campground RIGHT NOW! But, I think he’s still a little further ahead. I hope it’s a surprise when we finally see him. For both of us.