July 6 Mileage 34 Mile 1537 to mile 1571 Chance's alarm goes off at 5 a.m.- she's hiking by 5:18. Chance wins the award for fastest packing up in the morning, hands down. Mack is out a few minutes later, in his pink shorts with the broomstick he uses as a hiking staff, and I … Continue reading Day 73: giardia schmiardia, I feel strong!

July 5 Mileage 27 Mile 1510 to mile 1537 It's hot and I can't sleep, again. Why is my sleep so bad right now? Maybe because the sun is out until 9:30 p.m.? I miss the days in the desert, when it got dark at eight. So easy to go to bed at eight p.m. … Continue reading Day 72: castle crags of enchanted magic

July 4 Mileage 3.5 Mile 1506.5 to mile 1510 Twinkle gets up at 3 a.m. to try to climb Mt. Shasta- he and Sherri are going to attempt it without ice axes or crampons, just scrambling up the rock. After he leaves I feel strangely awake, alone in the dark hotel room with the air … Continue reading Day 71: sick as a dog, campy 4th of July parades and the hippy party bus

July 3 Mileage: zero I sleep bad, wake up in the night to poop (twice) get up at 6 a.m. and sit in bed eating leftover pot roast and french fries, shortly I poop that out too. I don't have sulfur farts, though, and I still have an appetite, so maybe it's not giardia? Coughee … Continue reading Day 70: shitting my brains out- a zero in Mt. Shasta

July 2 Mileage 24.5 Mile 1482 to mile 1506.5 I'm tired and groggy in the morning from tossing and turning in the heat but you know what? It doesn't matter. It's town day, motherfuckers. We've only got 24.5 miles and after an initial 5 mile climb it's downhill the rest of the way. A few … Continue reading Day 69: town at last

July 1 Mileage 30 Mile 1452.5 to mile 1482 (plus .5 to water) The forest is full of insects. Flying biting insects, crawling and bumping against the mesh of the shelter. But the whining is a sort of soothing white noise, and I fall asleel early, before 9 pm. And I sleep incredibly, minus the … Continue reading Day 68: the lush green forest is trying to cook us

June 30 Mileage 23.5 Mile 1429 to mile 1452.5 I sleep hard- thank god! And wake up at 6, rub the crust from my eyes, eat my granola and protein powder in its plastic container. We're hiking by 6:30- maybe we'll get a 30 mile day today. We climb all morning through the shady forest … Continue reading Day 67: stumbling through the forest in a heat wave

June 29 Mileage 26.5 Mile 1402.5 to mile 1429 I can't sleep. I don't know why, I just... can't. Part of it may be that my farts are so bad they're suffocating me. Whatever the case, I figure I might as well be productive. I turn on my phone and catch up on my blog, … Continue reading Day 66: I kind of forgot how to hike in the heat