Mile 1502.7 to 1512.9 – 10.2 miles total hiked on PCT

So I ended up taking 2 zero days in the city of Mount Shasta. I just was not feeling good on the second morning and decided I had to stay another day.

It did allow me to see some very spectacular views of Mount Shasta with the new layer of snow on top from the storm that I had hike through on day 130.

One result of taking the second zero day was that the bus that would take me to the trailhead doesn’t run on the weekends. So, I had to once again reach out to the trail Angels to get a ride back to the trailhead.

Once I got to the trailhead, I started from the underpass where I ended my hike three days earlier. This was the start of California section “P”. At 98.5 miles, it was the longest remaining section in California.

“Q”and “R” split the remaining 120 miles between them.

The trail was in very good condition and at least at the start it was a gentle climb. But I knew it would eventually get much steeper. Unless I made very good time at the beginning, it was my plan to split up the big climb to start the section.

Since the PCT wound its way through the California State Park called Castle Crags, I did have the opportunity to see some of the rock formations that gave the park its name.

As I approached the start of the real steep section of this climb, I decided to leave that for the morning. With the possibility of rain that could be a mistake, but my legs and my willpower was not enough to do that 3 1/2 mile steep climb this day. It was almost 2000 feet still left to climb and I was just not going to be able to do that.

Supposedly there are campsite at the top of that climb that have a great view of Mount Shasta. That was tempting, but with the clouds moving in, I doubt there would be much of a view anyway.

The weather report for the night and next day had rain in it. It didn’t look like it would be as bad as the two days of rain that previously went through the area, but you could never be sure how weather reacts in the mountains.

It can surprise you. So, I was focused on getting as far as I could, and then finding a good campsite that is very protected from the wind and also making sure that the rain fly is secure enough not to flap into the inner tent.

If it does rain overnight, we’ll see how that works.