Belden to Dunsmuir

Ah yes, Northern California, the shortest of the three main sections of California, but contrary to popular thru-hiker belief, not nearly as flat as expected. The climb out of Belden is burnt, dry, and exposed, and will bake you like a casserole in the afternoon heat. This is why it's best hiked after copious amounts of Ice cream and cold drinks from Belden town resort, where I stayed until 7pm the day Straps got off trail and I continued on.

Straps and Copernicus

Looking back across the Feather River at Belden Town

Hiking out of Belden, it's a short 40 miles to Chester where I got off trail to resupply from the grocery store there. Each time I walk into a store nowadays, the stares from the other customers get increasingly hilarious, at least from my perspective. What isn't funny is having to figure out what I want to eat for four days while immersed in a sea of food, most of which I can't buy because it's too heavy. Sure, I'd love to eat a broiler chicken with a side of grilled veggies tomorrow night, but unless they find some way to dehydrate that into something less resembling artificially flavored cardboard, it's just not in the cards. Oh well. Ramen? Check. Instant mashed potatoes? Check. Whole package of Oreos that'll be good for, oh, two days? Double check.

Mount Lassen (sideways)

From Chester it was only one day to Drakesbad resort where the owners kindly let hikers use the laundry and showers, as well as giving us discounted meals from the restaurant there. At this point, the trail is going right through Lassen national park. What's in this park? Oh, not much, only boiling lakes and steam-spewing geysers! Awesome. Super awesome. Out of Drakesbad smelling a little better, it was only hours before I once again was soaked in sweat from the repeating climbs and treeless stretches. Although, it was only 20 miles and the town of Old Station appeared through the trees promising a shop with ice cream, cold soda, and snacks of all flav...WHAT?! The store is closed? Queue Episode 3 Darth Vader when he learns of Padmé's death: NNNNOOOOOOOOO!!! At that point, Occupy Old Station store patio was in full effect in protest of this absurd unavailability of ice cream. There were about 10 hikers who all were hoping for the same thing, so everyone sat there, cooking their food, me included, as discussion about what we could have been eating slowly evolved into how far a walk it was to the other store. 2 miles? Well that's just absurd, who would want to walk that far anyway?

Terminal Geyser in Lassen State Park

Boiling Lake (literally, you can see it boiling in the middle)

Onto the next section which included Hat Creek Rim, a ridge walk around a lava field and 30 miles of waterless, thin forest. Alright! I needed a new challenge. But myself and those I was hiking with were rewarded for our efforts two days later with ice cream and cheap camping at Burney State Park. Over the next few days, the trail meandered through densely forested areas where logging was still very popular and signs everywhere warned hikers of heavy equipment operating nearby. I made eye contact with a rather large black bear st one point and was glad when he opted to run for his life versus me, afterall it's hard to run with a pack on anyway. The rest of the walk into Dunsmuir was fairly uneventful, save for another bear sighting, this time a cub and its mother. I stayed back a ways upon spotting them, as one of the few things I know about bears is that they will do drastic things to protect their young, and I didn't want to be a part of one of those drastic things.

Looking northward at Hat Creek Rim (trail is on top of the plateau)

What happens if you don't carry enough water over the Hat Creek Rim

Stay tuned for Dunsmuir to Ashland. That's Ashland, Oregon. Oh yeah, California is quickly becoming yesterday's news. Now, Where can a guy get some ice cream around here?!

-Copernicus

Update: Oddball just crossed the border into Oregon, Copernicus is leaving Etna today and will cross the border on August 31.