Day 73 to 77: Deers, heat and goodbyes.

Day 73

‌16 June 2019

Mi 1411 - 1398

After a great night at the Shasta Pine Inn in Burney we resupplied and got a nice breakfast at a local restaurant. The owner of the motel we stayed at offered us a ride back to the trailhead at a time of our choosing, she was super nice!

We started hiking at 1pm and that was probably a mistake, there was almost no shade for the next 8 miles and it got really hot. It felt like the desert was back!

We found a nice spot under some pine trees to set up our tents. While the campsite itself was a mosquito hell hole we enjoyed dinner on some rocks nearby free of them! The sunset was spectacular but I don’t have a great picture of it unfortunately...

Day 74

‌17 June 2019

Mi 1398 - 1377

A long day as the goal was to get to Old Station, a small town along highway 99 which has a nice restaurant and a gas station which is open late, serves pizza and allows hiker to camp at the back in a nice pine forest.

We got there at 8pm, glad to finally make it. Cecile’s knee has been getting worse so she was in a lot of pain today, but she made it!

Day 75

‌18 June 2019

Mi 1377 - 1367

We had a nice breakfast at a nearby restaurant and left relatively late at 10am.

Due to restrictions we aren’t allowed to camp without a bear canister in the upcoming Lassen National park so we camped right before it, hoping to tackle the entire park (around 20 miles) tomorrow.

Sometimes it’s nice to have shorter days, we were able to take our time and rest in anticipation of the big day tomorrow.

Day 76

‌19 June 2019

The big day! We got up at 5am and were on the trail at 5:30am. We knew there was some snow ahead we got up early in the hopes that it wouldn’t be as slushy when we got to it.

As soon as we entered the park we saw a bear! He ran away before I could take a picture but it was funny to see a bear that early in the park. I guess regulations aren’t for nothing after all!

The park was really nice although some sections were recently burned so it looked a bit desolate.

We tackled 10 miles before 10 am and got some rest at a lake that had recently became unfrozen. After that the snow started and the next 7 miles were quite challenging.

We exited the park at around 6pm and camped right after the boundary pretty exhausted after more than 11 hours of hiking.

Day 77

‌20 June 2019

Cecile’s final day on trail. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and it is time for her to get back to France.

We tackled the last 15 miles before Chester rather quickly and hitched our way to Chester at 1pm. Chester is in my opinion one of the most depressing town of the trail so far. Every building seemed dated and many shops were closed. Also for some reason every « cheap » hotel were fully booked so we had to settle for a $190/night bed and breakfast which was way overpriced but it was the only place with rooms still available and we really needed it so what can you do?

We got beers at a local bar which looked like it had stayed like that since 1998, the clock certainly did as it was stuck showing June 20 1998.

After 12 days it was over, Cecile started her way back to the country of real bread and small cars, my pack certainly got lighter but my heart didn’t (yes I like cheesy sentences, sue me).