Today reminded me of the hot, dry desert of Southern California. While it wouldn't take me too terribly long to arrive at my next water source, it was hot enough that by the time I arrived at the small stream, I had drank all of my water.
It was not the most interesting of days on the trail. I walk over a lot of rocky trail and I passed by a couple of water reservoirs which contained fish hatcheries, but the coolest stop along the trail was Burney Falls Guest Ranch. Run by a couple of nice women who had recently purchased the place and were working to get it back on the map for weekend vacations and the like. This time of year, the only people showing up were PCT Hikers, and the ladies were happy to help us. There was ice cream!!! sandwiches, soda, cookies, and all the other snacks a hiker could wish for while being in the middle of nowhere, or rather the PCT.
I was in a serious debate over where to camp this evening. I had a resupply box 5 miles ahead at Burney Falls State Park (SP) and Butterfingers was there, who I hadn't seen since Day 66 when she, Early Bird and The Worm went into the Yosemite Valley from Tuolumne Meadows.
After debating over staying at the Ranch or hiking an additional 5 miles, all while eating my second and third ice cream cone, I decided to continue hiking to meet up with Butterfingers. While I had enjoyed walking solo for a little over a week, I was looking forward to seeing her familiar face.
Along the last 5 miles of trail, I walked across countless roads, some larger (leading into the town of Burney) and others... just simple dirt roads. Only a couple miles before tonight's campsite, I was walking along listening to some music when, what do you know, trail magic! All of the candy was gone, but there were still a couple cans of soda. It was nearing sunset, so I took a soda to-go. It did recharge me for the last bit of the day, which allowed me to push it and arrive in camp with just enough daylight to setup camp and hang out with Butterfingers.
Butterfingers knew I was coming to camp with her tonight, so without me knowing it, she picked up my resupply box from Burney Falls SP (a little over 1 mile ahead on the trail) and then carried it back to camp with her! I was rather delighted and impressed. She had carried it in her arms for the 1 mile walk back to camp because her pack was already full from her own resupply. Thanks Butterfingers!
I was pretty tired and was lights out fairly quickly after catching up with Butterfingers and eating dinner. Organizing my resupply box would have to wait until the morning. We plan on going to Burney Falls (the actual water fall) and hanging out there for the morning.
