No surprise here, Goat Beard was gone before we woke up. I woke up while it was still dark to go on old man sentry and I think he was already gone then. It couldn’t have been much past 4:30. Goat Beard had said he might get up at 4. If he did a 30 mile day today, he’d only have 10 miles left for tomorrow which would give him enough time to drive home. I got the feeling he missed his wife and kids.
The terrain was wonderful. It was mostly level all day. We spent most of the day above 7000’. Bunny had her eye on Porcupine Lake. The Guthook comments said this was a popular spot and often filled up. Since this was a weekend, Bunny’s mission was to arrive early to make sure we got a spot.
It was another slim traffic day. We only saw a solo nobo not too long after we left camp. He had in earphones so we didn’t catch his story. It wasn’t until we passed a parking lot that we saw a couple of older, mature women heading towards Deadfall Lake. We leapfrogged them a couple of times in the 3 miles to the lake. Deadfall was our original designated stop for tonight, but we changed those plans yesterday. It was a beautiful little lake and it was very tempting to stay, especially after I took my shoes and socks off to soak my feet. Bunny was on a mission and it was only 1:30 when we were finished with lunch.
Blue skies over the Trinity Alps all day with great visibility. We could see a little smoke haze way to the West, but it didn’t impede our views in the least. We crossed several side trails. There seems to be an extensive hiking trail network here with very few people taking advantage of the network. We could definitely see ourselves returning to this area in the future to explore it more in depth.
As we neared the final couple miles for the day, we turned East and got a full view of Mt Shasta. Earlier this year when heading south through Oregon and all of last year when we were heading north from Old Station, Mt Shasta was completely covered in snow. Today, she was almost bald. There are a few small snow fields at higher elevations, but they aren’t numerous.
Bunny mistook Toad Lake for Porcupine Lake. It’s easy to do from a ridge looking down. She was hopeful Toad was a Porcupine because she was tired of hiking. We made it to the right place at 4. This popular Lake didn’t have anyone here yet. We had first choice of campsites. We headed down to the lake to be close to the water, but we like to be surrounded by trees. We picked the best spot, set up camp, and then went for a swim.
We wanted to get cleaned up before the hoardes arrived…this is Friday night. I went back to our site to filter water and cook supper while Bunny dried off in the sun. It wouldn’t be long before people would start arriving and she’d have to put shorts back on. We ate then explored around the lake a bit more. No one ever came. We have a little spot of heaven all to ourselves. We contemplated building a house here, but Bunny insisted upon a road all the way up. I guess we’ll just have to keep looking for someplace else to live.
EFG