Near Seven Lakes Basin
Sky Lakes Wilderness
Elev: 6900 ft
Miles: 26
Trip: 958
Today was full of relief. My ankle felt a lot better; not 100% but not as painful as yesterday. Another relief was the cold, pure springs we drank from, such a welcome change from the chlorine tablet-treated creek water and rusty-tasting well water we've been drinking (I know - complain, complain, complain. The people we met were a relief as well, after leaving behind so many hikers by jumping up to Seiad Valley. Carpenter and Creeper, a couple we met way back in Sierra City, camped near us last night and caught us later on the trail.
Shaggy was relieved to hear that Carpenter (along with many others) hadn't conquered the Pancake Challenge in Seiad Valley. The diner there challenges hikers (or anyone equally dumb and hungry) to eat five one-pound pancakes in one sitting. Champions receive their gluttonous breakfast free and get their picture on the diner's Wall of Fame. Shaggy had planned to challenge his stomach and win, until our giardia episode challenged our entire digestive system - and we lost. So, deprived of the chance to try, he feared running into someone who would brag about how easy the Pancake Challenge was. Luckily, we found only the defeated. Carpenter (who finished 2 pancakes) told us the pancakes weighed well over a pound each, and our new friend Hotshot said that even with several pancake-purging bathroom visits (allowable under the Challenge rules) she could only finish about 3 pancakes. I say something smells like a sweet scam...
The relief continues: the north side of this ridge reminded me of the Sierras, with bright, scrappy wildflowers and rock-strewn meadows. The spring-fed creek next to camp is something Sierra-like too. Then there's the best relief of all: finally being done with our Flagyl meds and getting to drink the birthday beers that Andrew has been carrying in his pack for 9 days. That's an extra 48 ounces for 140 miles - that's love.
"If you wait for the perfect moment when it is all safe and assured, the moment may never arrive. Mountains will never be climbed, races won, nor lasting happiness achieved."
Shaggy says:
Today was a lot of fun. It always goes well with a good night sleep. Last night I slept so well. We were close to a highway, but very close to aa raging creek. The white noise produced was perfect for sleeping.
We saw Creeper and Carpenter today, along with Hotshot and Snausage. It was great meeting some new people along the journey today.
The terrain was extremely mellow. It felt like a walk in the park. Very pretty though. Refreshing to be in a wilderness area again. Yesterday we crossed about 30 roads, some dirt, some paved. Today we crossed zero. Its very refreshing to find places without roads, cars, people, shopping malls.
We really enjoyed seeing Devil's mountain today, and walking the ridge around it. It was so beautiful as the sun was setting. We found snow on the north side of the ridge which was an excellent combination for our beers we carried for so very long. It was like another birthday celebration for Lauren. We ended up hiking 26 miles today, not bad.
We have 21 miles to Crater Lake tomorrow. I am very excited to see another park I have never seen before. Should be fun.
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| We're getting closer! (Remember, Andrew and I didn't start in Mexico...but we're about at our halfway point!) |
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| This is very nice trail through lava. A not very nice trail through lava is...well, I didn't feel like taking pictures of those. |
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| I was smitten with these flowers. |
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| Straight out of a Dr. Seuss book! |
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