PCT DAY 133 and then… – CA Section P

I had a nice view for sunrise, although the angle of the sun to Mount Shasta meant that the sunrise didn’t really light up the snow on the mountain.

It was still a nice way to start the morning.

And then I headed south.

Yes, South. 😞

Even after avoiding the rain that had been forecast for the previous day, my knee pain returned. My two zero days in Mount Shasta had not bought me enough rest and recuperation for my body (and knees in particular).

Looking ahead to the 165 miles left to reach the Oregon border and then 27-some miles to Interstate 5 (the end of the section and first chance to leave the trail and return to civilization in Oregon), I decided that my body wasn’t going to last that far.

Probably.

A lot of other things added to the decision: How long it has taken to reach this point, how there was no way I’d be able to finish Washington (due to the fires and oncoming Winter), going far into Oregon would also be hard due weather, and the toll 5.5 months on the trail had taken on my body and mind.

It would have been nice to finish all of California this year, but at what further cost to my body?

So, after thinking it over for the past day, I decided that it was time to end my PCT trek for THIS YEAR.

I would pick it up next year at mile 1528 and complete California and then do the entire Oregon and Washington parts of the PCT.

Hopefully, Mother Nature will be kinder to those last two states next year.

Once I reached the paved forest road that intersected the PCT, I hiked down to Lower Gumboot Lake.

Since it was Labor Day, I figured there would be a good chance to get a ride back into Mount Shasta or Dunsmuir.

I was right, I only had to wait for a short time until the second vehicle that drove by gave me a ride into Mount Shasta.

It was a little disappointing to see Mount Shasta from the city again after such a short time. Still looked beautiful.

I stayed at the BW+ Tree House Hotel again and started planning my return home.

As usual for the end of hike decisions, I wondered if I made the right decision.

I may never know if I could have continued north and made it to Oregon on a bum knee.

Mile 1528 to 1527.3 – Minus 0.7 miles total hiked on PCT 😕

There was an Amtrak train that went from Dunsmuir (a small town just to the south of Mount Shasta) to Martinez (a city fairly near my home), but it left at 12:45 AM!!!

With the hotel’s check out time and the bus schedule between Mount Shasta and Dunsmuir, I would have to wait for the train in Dunsmuir for 12 hours. It was a small town so there wouldn’t be much to do as I waited.

I didn’t bother doing any laundry at the hotel because I’ve only been out on the trail for two days, so I didn’t stink too bad. 🤣 Hopefully whoever sits next to me on the train doesn’t complain. 😛

I went through my backpack and threw out some equipment that I know I would not be reusing next year, but I did keep my tent, even though I know I will be replacing it.

I also got rid of some food that would be expired by the time I restarted next year. I kept all the candy and snacks that I could eat while waiting for the train, on the train, and once I got home, of course.

Then I had to start worrying if my cats would even recognize me after 5 1/2 months away. Probably, but my now very long beard might scare them. I decided to wait to trim that down to my normal short beard once I got home.

In time, I’ll post more pictures of my earlier days when I wasn’t posting most of the pictures just a few select highlight pictures. And I’ll try to enhance and add to the descriptions and text of the day reports.

And probably some information on how my equipment held up, how my body held up, and everything I learned (good or bad) from this long trek.

And start planning for next year’s long trek, of course.

1528 miles in one continuous hike is a great achievement for me. It certainly beat the 211 miles I hiked continuously on the John Muir Trail in 2020.

1127 miles to finish the PCT next year.

133 days on the trail.

30 zero days when I did not hike any miles at all, and usually spent in a trail town.

I’ll have to look at my notes and receipts, but there were some ‘zero nights’ where I stayed at a hotel between days on the trail.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to calculate exactly what this long trek actually cost me in full (and might be better if I never find out 😜). There was the equipment and the food that I bought ahead of time, the food I bought while on the trail, the equipment I bought while on the trail to replace broken or badly behaving equipment, restaurant meals, and of course cost to stay at various hotels, cabins, etc. along the way.

Unlike most trips, I did avoid buying any souvenirs along the way. I just couldn’t add the weight of souvenirs to my pack.

Although I did have some medical issues along the way, I’m fairly happy with how well I held up. I did get some blisters and foot problems at start, but I gradually took care of those with the the pairs of new boots I went through along the trail. Of course, my head wound from the killer tree was one of the worst injuries I had to deal with, but I worked through it and I got back on trail. The floaters in my eyes just ended up being due to my advancing age. I was a little surprised at how quickly after my 60th birthday that they appeared. Don’t usually get that much precision with aging issues. 😊

Dunsmuir was a nice little town, but there wasn’t much to do for 12 hours.