Friday, October 2nd, 2026

So after a shower and a very, very pleasant evening sleeping in a bed, I got up and took another shower. 😄

Finally, I managed to arrange a trail angel to take me back to Etna Summit trailhead then I went and got a breakfast burrito.

While I was waiting for the ride, I filled up my 2 L collapsible water bottle halfway.

Soon, I found that it was leaking. Not a good time to find that out.

Fortunately, the food store was nearby and I could go over there and I bought a couple one-litre smart water bottles. The bottles were a little heavier combined than the collapsible bottle, but it was the only choice I had at the time.

I got picked up and on the drive up to the trailhead, some of the colors of fall started to show themselves. At the higher elevations, it’s mostly evergreen trees, so you don’t see a lot of color, but maybe this is a sign that I will be seeing more color as I go north.

Sadly, there were pockets of burned forest as I climbed. But not everything, so there were some pockets of green as well.

Ah… mount Shasta makes a reappearance! Ever since Old Station, it’s been visible from various parts of the trail. And since the PCT snaked around the south and then the west and now the north side, you got to see pretty much every face of it.

Jack Rabbits are fast.

If it was later than day, I might’ve stopped at some of these campsites.

Love the 360° views you get on some of the saddles and crests.

So I decided to camp on one of the saddles and enjoyed the view for the night and morning. 😄

Short day, but I got to the trailhead around 11 AM, so I couldn’t do a full 14 or 15 miles.

Mile 1601.2 to 1610.2 – 9 miles total hiked on PCT