Northern California From Lassen To Etna - The Heat Is On

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 Temperatures increased the following days and most afternoons saw over 100 F. I was able to increase my mileage (winter is coming), but not by much as nothing slows me down like excessive heat. I tried to hike earlier in the mornings and later in the evenings while taking more breaks during the hottest hours of the day. Still, I was struggling with heat exhaustion and heat blisters on both feet, even between the toes.

There Is A Big Hard Sun - Still Charging My Devices


The scenery did not help in the first few days. As I entered Lassen National Forest, I hiked through the burn zone of last year’s Dixie Fire and saw mainly dead trees. The living forest always makes some noises. Light rustling of leaves and branches, humming of insects, singing of birds. It also provides shade and significantly lowers the temperature during the hottest hours of the day.


Lassen National Forest


Dead forest is eerily silent. Many hikers skipped this section, as it is not pretty and not easy to hike. The ground is mainly a mix of ash and fine sand, so you sink in with every step. The silence of the forest and the missing hikers caused a feeling of loneliness. Sometimes I did not see a single person all day. 


Eerily Silent


Camping among dead trees is dangerous, so every night I had to find either an open area on a ridge or a pocket of forest unaffected by the fire. It wasn’t always easy, but definitely worth the effort. In addition to safety, being surrounded by dead forest all day and night is pretty depressing.


The Trail Ahead


This continued on into Lassen Volcanic National Park. Large portions of the park were destroyed by the fire, but most of the sights related to volcanic activity were not affected, so I made a side trip to see the Cinder Cone and swim in Lake Burr.


Cinder Cone


Only when I left the National Park and with it the core of the burn zone did I notice how the devastation had affected my mood. When the forest around me became green and healthy again, it was like a big weight had lifted from my heart. Still, I’m glad I got to see this area. It is part of the PCT and these fires are part of our lives and it was good to experience this.


First Campsite After The Burn Zone

I stopped at the tiny settlement of Old Station to pick up my resupply box at the post office and eat some simple meals (aka ice cream) at the General Store.



The next two days I mainly hiked on lava beds overlooking the vast Hat Creek Valley, slowly seeing Lassen Peak disappear behind me and Mt. Shasta growing more and more prominent.


Mount Shasta

Another nice little side trip brought me to impressive Burney Falls. 


Burney Falls


While the falls were definitely a highlight, I was even more impressed that the store in the State Park had an ice cream machine. When you burn between 5000 and 6000 kcal a day, unexpected calorie bombs become very exciting. 


Yumm!


My next supply package was waiting for me in the tiny town of Castella, just below impressive Castle Crags.


Castle Crags

Hiking out of Castella I found a perfect cowboy camping spot overlooking the Castle. There was no moon and the stars were magical that night. It was the most active night for the South Delta Aquariids meteor shower and I stayed awake for a while to look for falling stars.


Starry Night

Next came Trinity Alps Wilderness and I was back to spectacular mountain views. 


Trinity Alps Wilderness 


The heat wave continued the following days and caused a few violent electrical storms in the area, one of them ignited the forest north of me and caused what is now called the McKinney fire. That fire caused closure of the PCT between Etna Summit and Mt. Ashland in Oregon. 


More Lightning Than Rain

That closure caused many hikers to reevaluate their goals. Some quit the trail completely, some decided to skip Oregon, so I lost quite a few people that I had seen on the trail since the beginning. Sadly, this is also part of the PCT experience.


I plan to hike all areas of the trail that are not officially closed, so I will continue my hike at Mt Ashland in Oregon!


Last Sunset In California



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