Three hundred miles and epic back pain in the middle.

Backpackers: Ed Tucker, Brian Lewis, Ann Lewis, Carl Fisher

July 12, 2017 Miles 9.5 We drove 1 hour from our motel in Mt Shasta and dropped Ed and Carl at the junction of the PCT and Hwy 89. Brian and Ann dropped the car off at a pre-arranged spot and walked 1 mile to join up with Carl and Ed. We all hit the trail at 8:45 which was easy hiking with good tread until lunch at Cross Rock Creek. After lunch it was all uphill, not severe, and hot. It was about 90 degrees and wore all of us out. We arrived at camp at 2:30 where water is 1/10 of mile downhill from and and just a trickle. For supper I had a homemade meal of Ramen with chicken and beans. It was very good except the chicken needed more time to re-hydrate.

July 13, 2017 Miles 13.0 Not a lot of uphill, more rolly up and down. We arrived into camp at 1:00. After discussion about going on 7 more miles we decided to stay put. Good water – we were all able to get cleaned up. Sunny all day with a nice breeze to keep mosquitoes down.

July 14, 2017 Miles 14.6 Sunny and 70 degrees. Easy walking with good views of Mt Shasta. We got into camp at 2:30 but it was a very sunny spot so we didn’t get to lay down and relax until later in the day.

July 15, 2017 Miles 15.8 Mainly downhill with easy hiking. My ear buds crapped out and I’m hoping at resupply to buy some replacements. We are camped at Ash Camp arriving around 2:30. We were able to get completely cleaned up, body and clothes. Lots of fly fisherman in Alder Creek. Very warm today – 95 degrees or more and it was still warm at 8:00pm.

July 16, 2017 Miles 16.6 Lots of up today but great tread and grade. We’ve been getting up at 4:30 to hit the trail at 5:30 hoping to avoid some of the heat of the day. Since we are heading into town tomorrow we plan to hit the trail at 5:15am. Met 3 sisters yesterday and chatted with them today. Twins, Rise and Shine, and Snake Bite are traveling with their dog, Copper. Dry camping tonight meaning we had to haul water uphill.

July 17, 2017 Miles 14.0 Mainly downhill which sucked for me. Stayed at Castle Crag State Park where we were able to get a shower. Resupply at a close by store. Tomorrow will be a tough day for me.

July 18, 2107 Miles 15.4 Lots of views of Castle Crag and we had 10 miles under our belt by 11:00am. After that all uphill for 5 miles. Kept a steady pace so it wasn’t as hard as I had imagined and seemed easier than yesterdays downhill. Our campsite is pretty small but we squeezed in all our tents, sharing stakes and overlapping rain flies. While trying to hang my food (to protect it from bears) I fell and ripped a hole in the seat of my pants, a hole in my sock, a hole in my map case and a hole in my underwear.

July 19, 2017 Miles 14.8 Uneventful hiking – some up, some down. Excellent campsite along the side of Porcupine Lake. Got to swim, clean clothes, and flat tent site.

July 20, 2018 Miles 14.6 Very easy walking today. Got to camp at 2:30, the seasonal stream has water! I was able to get cleaned up, napped, read, and relaxed. A small blister on my right little toe has returned. A number of thru hikers, about 8, ended up here. They were from England, Switzerland, France, and some from USA.

July 21, 2017 Miles 14.3 Easy walking, mainly downhill. Got to camp at 1:00pm with a 6:00am start. Calculates out to walking more than 2 MPH with breaks. Staying at Scott Mountain Campground. We are the only ones here – picnic tables but only limited pool of water. Small blister starting on my left foot – treated and seems OK.

July 22, 2017 Miles 17.1 Started the day uphill and then rolly-polly then rest of the day. I felt strong all day but lost energy in camp. Excellent view in the Trinity Alps and one of Scott Valley

July 23, 2017 Miles 16.7 Clear and sunny like all the previous days. Started the day with minor back pain – lower middle, left side. Ended the day with severe pain, spasm when change positions Brian gave me a back massage. The pain was so severe that I was unable to stand in the lake and bend over to clean up. No way was I going to swim which had been my hope.

July 24, 2017 Miles 5.7 Woke up with less severe back issues. After the initial climb of the morning to be safe Ann, Ed, and Brian took some of my gear. I was able to finish with no additional issues and made it to our pre-arranged shuttle point at 10:30. The shuttle took us into the town of Etna and to our hotel where we were able to clean up and do laundry. Etna is a very hiker friendly town. I went to the medical clinic for my back pain. The doctor diagnosed tight muscles and cleared my to keep on hiking if I could stand the pain. She have me a prescription for muscle relaxers (which I didn’t take) and told me I could take Ibuprofen (which I did take).

July 25, 2017 Miles 0.0 Took a zero day in Etna.

July 26, 2017 Miles 14.1 Ann decided to leave the trail due to rash issues. She left on the bus at 6:45 and we caught our shuttle back to the trailhead at 7:30. Easy hiking all day and we pulled into camp at 2:30. We camped with Hobo Max and Scuba Steve. The three sisters and Copper stopped for a quick chat before moving on. They zeroed in Etna the same time we did. Light sprinkles today but sunny otherwise.

July 27, 2017 Miles 15.2 Despite being named Paradise Lake – the lake is no paradise. Shallow, muddy and warm – a good breeding ground for bad things. I did not get to swim. The stream feeding the lake was nice so did get cleaned up.

July 28, 2017 Miles 12.6 Easy climbing for the first couple of hours and then pretty easy down to camp where we were able to clean up in a stream. Tomorrow is all downhill and I’m hopeful it doesn’t hurt too much.

July 29, 2017 Miles 14.3 Mainly downhill so I walked most of the day without my poles into Seiad Valley. Was able to get a good connection and had a good talk with Lori. Ate a 1/3 pound burger at the diner and food from the store. Ed and I shared a bottle of wine. Hard hill tomorrow. The afternoon temperature was 106 degrees but it cooled off nicely for sleeping.

July 30, 2017 Miles 10.1 Eight to ten hikes stayed in Seiad Valley. We were the first up and hit the trail at 5:40am. At 6:00am we started the uphill portion- we gained 4500 feet over 6 miles. Not terribly hard but not easy. We pulled into camp at noon and decided to stay here at Kangaroo Spring because going on an extra 5 miles to the next campsite didn’t set us up for better miles in the future. 75 degrees throughout the day with clear skies. It got windy around 3:00pm. So windy that ED and Brian changed to site of their tents and we all used rocks to try and deflect the air away from out tents.

July 31, 2017 Miles 13.3 Started hiking at 6:30 and got into camp at 2:30. All sites were sunny so we sat in the shade and talked and read till about 5:00pm when we set up our tents. Walking was pretty easy today. After we set up 4 or 5 thru hikers set up near us, including Shaggy and Mozart, who we met in Seiad Valley. Warm temps all day. Planning to do 18 miles tomorrow.

August 1, 2017 Miles 16.8 Uneventful day that seemed easy even thought one of the longest. Ed and I decided to go head and hike out tomorrow – 22.3 miles. Brian is going to hike ahead, call Ann which will make shuttling easier.

August 2, 2017 Miles 22.3 Long day but easy hiking. Ended the day at Callahan’s where we contacted Brian. Ann and Brian showed up about 45 minutes later to pick us up to shuttle to a hotel. A mile for the hotel, while still on the highway, the traffic came to a complete stop due to a semi trailer on fire. If Ed and I hadn’t poured out all our water we would have walked the final mile to the hotel. Instead we had to sit in the air conditioned car for over an hour, allowing our muscles to stiffen, all the while dreaming of a shower and cold beer.