Mile 1599.6 to 1629.9.

We left our ridge top camp in the moon’s glow and started walking down the rocky trail. Somehow we walked by the 1,600 mile marker in the darkness or perhaps there was never one to see in the first place.

We are in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, which has quite a few rock and barren mountains mixed in with forested ones as well. As we made our way, we were slowed by all the rocks on trail. Sometimes the trail was even completely made up of rocks, which were torture on the feet.

We also had a general lack of energy. Perhaps we didn’t eat enough food in Etna? We only had breakfast and a large milkshake in town. Somehow we forgot to get lunch even though we were in town until 5:00.

As we were going down one particular stretch of trail, a tattooed hiker coming the other direction let us know he had scared off two black bears just a little bit up the trail. Totally fine by me. He asked if we had seen a guy in a red shirt and blue. We hadn’t. About 10 minutes later, we saw the guy he was looking for and chatted with him briefly. He told us the other guy was Lint, who is “trail famous.” I believe he is a triple crowner, which means he hiked the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail. He is also one of the experts in Yogi’s PCT Handbook. The guy we were talking to said they we climbing the highest peak in each of the seven wildernesses between Ashland, Oregon and Shasta, California. The grand finale would be Mt. Shasta itself. He asked us if we had seen another guy in a white shirt, but we hadn’t.

We continued down trail and I asked Bedazzled if she had seen any YouTube videos by John Zahorian. He is another triple crowner who makes videos of all his hikes and shares them. I have watched pretty much all of them, and they definitely played a part in turning me on to thru-hiking. Well, guess what? Five minutes later John comes walking down the trail. There must be a little hiker superstar get to gether going on. We talked to him briefly and he asked us about the upcoming water. What a small world.

We continued on and grinded out the miles until lunch. As we walked, helicopters passed back and forth carrying large buckets of water to a nearby wildfire.
After a ravenous lunch, we decided to make a quick pit stop in Seid Valley tomorrow to buy more food. Our hunger can’t be satiated these days.

Feeling better after a big lunch, the afternoon went by quicker and we enjoyed the many meadows filled with wildflowers.

On the horizon, clouds were building, and we could tell that an afternoon thunderstorm was coming in. Soon it was upon us and the rain quickly turned to hail. We marched on and in about 15 minutes it had blown over. Unfortunately, the overgrown trail made sure we continued to get wet from all the vegetation we brushed up against.

As we neared the end of the day, another storm was brewing on the horizon. We were on a ridge and only 2 miles from camp, which was also on a ridge. Probably the worst place to be in this situation. I checked the topographical maps, but the trail for the next couple miles after our campsite also stayed up high.
We raced to the campsite and setup our tents as the first drops of rain started to fall. We threw all our belongings inside and then ran down the slope off the ridge into the forest. The rain intensified and it was like buckets were being emptied on us. Flash, 1, 2, 3…6, 7 BANG!

The rain turned to hail and we were being pelted with M&M’s sized hail. Bedazzled luckily had a rain jacket and pants to keep her warm, but I only had my rain jacket. My shorts and shoes were soon soaked through. I watched as the dirt washed away from my legs. Seeing them clean for the first time since Chester. We huddled together for warmth. Flash, 1 BANG! The worst of the storm was right over us. The hail intensified and it stung our heads and shoulders.

Whenever we thought the worst was past, a new thunder head would role through. Finally, after 40 mintues it had subsided enough for us to return to our tents. Mine had a large puddle forming on one side! I hadn’t chosen the lowest spot in the area, but it seemed there was a depression in the ground I didn’t see in my haste to setup. Luckily, everything was dry inside.

We both stripped down and crawled into our tents trying not to get anything wet. I ate some peanut butter, chips, and sausage before I rolled up in my sleeping bag and went to sleep. I thought it never rains in California.