Adam, Leigh and the Trees

Sunday 18 August 2019
Day: 112
Location: Mile 1,518.9
Distance Travelled: 17.7 miles / 28km

As has become standard practice, we enjoyed one final Town stuffing of our faces for breakfast before packing our bags and getting a ride back to the trail head in the morning.

We entered the Castle Crags Wilderness and had a full day of climbing. In the steepest section we climbed 3,000 feet in 3 miles and we sure felt it.

The first few miles were pleasant, gentle climbing under the protection of an overhead forest canopy. I was enjoying being back out on trail after a full day off and I felt like I was walking on air in my new shoes. They feel so supportive and springy compared to the old pair.

After downloading a wild berry ID guide just before hitting the trail this morning I was keen to put it into practice. I spotted a couple of Blackberry bushes at the trail head but for the rest of the day only managed to ID either poisonous or extremely poisonous berries. Adam’s response to my new found interest in wild berry foraging was simply ‘you’ve seen into the wild right? I’m not eating any of them’.

After a relaxing lunch break next to a stream under a lush canopy of trees, the trail began to lead us out of the forest and up towards the Castle Crags.

While the climbing was steep, hot and exposed the views were spectacular with the impressive granite towering overhead.

Following an afternoon break to fill up on water, we began to traverse the mountain range just below the ridge line. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky and as golden hour set in the light on the valley below us was breathtaking.

As we rounded a corner, less than half a mile from our planned campsite for the night, Mt Shasta came into view and it was looking magical!

We set up our tent and enjoyed dinner watching the changing pink and purple colours of the setting sun over the Castle Crags. It was the best campsite we’ve had since the Sierra’s.

As we were settling in for the night we were greeted by some local visitors, namely mice and deer who were a little too interested in our things. Despite my food being in the tent the mice were trying to get into my empty pack so I resorted to storing it atop the tent. Deer like to chew trekking pole handles, attracted to the sweat from our hands so those too were stowed away from deer reach but attached to the tent so they couldn’t be stolen during the night.

Monday 19 August 2019
Day: 113
Location: Mile 1,548.0
Distance Travelled: 29.1 miles / 47 km

Non stop breathtaking vistas, today both started and ended with incredible views!

Starting with a spectacular sunrise over Castle Crags, the sky was streaked blood red and vibrant orange as it made it’s way into the sky above the impressive mountain range.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that we didn’t end up back under a thick canopy of forest but spent most of the day out of the trees, above the tree line, able to enjoy the mountains.

The trail sidled the mountain range and followed ridge lines affording us spectacular views. Yesterday’s climb up may have been tough but all of these amazing views were definitely worth the effort.

We had views down to several lakes during the day, all off trail unfortunately. When the hot sun was beating down they sure looked like they would have been refreshing to take a dip in.

I was glad to find that we hadn’t left the views of impressive Mt Shasta behind us, throughout the day it popped back in and out of view.

We ended the day at a great little spot overlooking Bull Lake. Mt Shasta was again, showing off in the distance.

We arrived into camp just as the sun was setting in the sky. The temperature had cooled off so I wasn’t in the mindset to be on the lookout for snakes. I was startled to say the least when I heard a particularly aggressive rattling in the bushes beside the trail on our way into camp. We never actually saw the rattlesnake but after jumping out of it’s way, gave it a wide berth as we made our way back onto the trail.