Northern California blues - 7/26

Many hikers experience a low point on the trail in Northern California. We've finished hiking in the beautiful Sierra Nevada, it's hot and humid, and the pressure is on to finish before the snow falls in Washington. I am no exception. I felt the lowest I have felt on the trail in the past few weeks. In addition to the challenges mentioned, my reliable trail family disbanded. My hiking partner Garlic (Garik) went home to Oregon in South Lake Tahoe and I started traveling ahead of Mouse and Thumb. I got lonely and bored! I also developed new blisters on my feet, some of which were very painful. I found it is a lot more difficult to enjoy hiking when every step hurts.
I came the closest I have to getting off the trail, though I did not entertain the notion seriously.

During this time, I was researching the Mount Shasta Buddhist Abbey and realized I could make it for their Sunday service, as long as I maintained a 25 to 30 mile-a-day pace for the next week. This goal proved to be an excellent motivator. I persevered through the hot and dusty miles to get to the town of Mount Shasta by Saturday. I even got a hitch into town with the state park ranger and sat behind the fence of the patrol car, which was a new experience.

The service at the Mount Shasta Abbey was beautiful. It was so nice to reconnect with my spiritual self and visit the monastery that started the Wallowa Buddhist Temple, a place that has been an important part of my life and helped me find my way to the trail this year.

I did several other wonderful things in Mount Shasta: took a full zero, ate a ton of food, and decided to climb the mountain itself. I climbed it with three lady hiker friends: Cheetah, Upstream, and Sarah. We actually took an Uber to the trailhead and then spent 6 hours hiking 6 miles and 8000 ft to the summit and another 6 to come down. It was tough and so fun. It was just what all of us needed to break out of the funk of Northern California - doing something adventurous outside of the daily slog of the trail.

Now, I'm feeling better. I have more companions and I'm looking forward to my birthday tomorrow. We reserved a hotel room so I get a real bed!  Then, about 2 days later, I'll reach Oregon, where lots of smoke and flat terrain and new experiences await!