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

June 28 Mileage 25 Mile 1377.5 to mile 1402.5 We wake in the woods next to Old Station at seven a.m. Seven a.m.! My god, I needed that sleep. We get up slow, wander to the road. Our plan is to eat breakfast at JJ's cafe, so we're not in too much of a rush. … Continue reading Day 65: hat creek rim of beauty

June 27 Mileage 23.5 Mile 1354 to mile 1377.5 I'm groggy in the morning, slow to warm up. Tired, should've gone to bed earlier. It's so hard, though, when the sun is up so late. And when you're cowboy camping next to someone jacked up on mountain dew. Hiking uphill, joints and muscles stiff, I've … Continue reading Day 64: cruising into Old Station

June 26 Mileage 35 Mile 1319 to mile 1354 It sprinkles on and off all night and I sleep awesome, cozy under the tarp. In the morning the rain has stopped, although it's still damp and overcast, and I feel amazing- if yesterday was a tired climb of slowness then today I'm super-pumped, powering up … Continue reading Day 63: resisting the temptation of free pizza and 35 miles to victory

June 25 Mileage 30 1289.5 to mile 1319 + .5 miles to water I wake up in the dark bedroom to the sound of someone vomiting. After a moment I realize it's Wildo- did he have too much to drink? Most people stayed at the bar in Belden later than I did. There's the sound … Continue reading Day 62: weary climbs and a storm’s a-brewin