Sunday, August 12th: Zero day in Mt. Shasta. I woke up immediately craving coffee. I knew I was in town and could actually get a real cup of coffee so I set out in search of one. On my journey to find coffee I discovered that Shasta has a movie theater. So, naturally I saw the new Batman...for the third time. I also saw The Campaign. I decided that I could eat an entire large popcorn by myself (and possibly the free refill) so I headed into the first movie with my giant popcorn and soda. I walked out of the movie theater positively sick to my stomach. It lasted until the following morning.
Ranee, Luann, and Cooper got a hold of me in the afternoon inviting Baboon and I to their friends house for dinner and to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics. We happily agreed and shortly thereafter were on our way. I was greeted outside the house by and adorable little kitten named Paws (who I just couldn't get enough of). Theres nothing like hugging a kitten. I got to watch the Olympics, eat grilled veggies, and enjoy pleasant company. It was a well spent zero! Thank you to everyone involved!
Monday, August 13th: Todays miles = 17. Total PCT miles = 1,523. I only hiked 17 miles today because my laziness got the better of me and I didn't end up leave Castella until around 1pm. Ranee and Luann made breakfast for Baboon and I in the morning (they let us stay another night at their home). After breakfast they even drove us out of their way to the Castella post office so I could get my packages that I was waiting on. My new pack arrived along with a package from my mother. It feels similar to opening presents on Christmas. Sometimes you know whats in them but other times you do not. I then used the excuse of having to repack and organize my new pack to delay hiking out in the heat of today. It turns out that my procrastination caused me to in fact hike out during the hottest part of the day. The trail today was mostly all uphill. I wasn't bothered by the inclines at all. My time in town refreshed me and I was ready to begin hiking again. My new pack is also exactly what I was looking for. After hiking 17 miles with it I can say that it fits significantly better than my old pack. The way the weight is now distributed makes the pack feel lighter than it is. I'm definitely pleased.
I'm trying to get to Etna on Thursday so I'm planning on a 30 mile day tomorrow. The terrain looks relatively decent so hopefully I wake up early enough tomorrow to have enough daylight.
Tonight I'm camped with Baboon and the bears. I saw one bear today. Baboon saw THREE! There was also very clear bear prints in the mud almost the whole day along with bear scat.
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