Day 112

Etna to Seiad valley to campsite - 11.8 miles

Total - 1669.3 miles We skipped up 50ish miles due to timing to make the Vegas wedding as well as it want a great section

Rocklicker and I woke up and headed to the bakery to get breakfast and try to figure out our plans to get to Seiad valley as there were about 20 other hikers looking to do the same thing. I put multiple hits out on Facebook with no luck as well as DMed a couple of people who had previously commented under other posts. No luck. After we resupplied at the dollar general, we decided to try to hitch. It’s a long drive from etna to Seiad despite it only being 50 trail miles. Most people were paying $50 a person just to trail angels. We didn’t think the bus was running until it pulled up right at the corner we were trying to hitch at. It’s a $1 bus to go to yreka which was the direction we were going so we hopped on for a 30 minute bus ride. We got off at yreka and tried to hitch to the junction that the bus driver recommended. After 30 long minutes (lots of cars) we got a woman to pull over for us and drive us. She drove us further to a different junction which was the road we would have to go down. We got dropped off at a rest stop basically in the middle of no where causing me to worry that we wouldn’t get a hitch. First car we tried pulled over and it turned out to be a man who was meeting his SOBO hiking husband and was meeting him at Seiad valley all the way from texas. It was so clutch. It took us three different vehicles but we made it to Seiad valley in no time (4 hours or maybe less). We also spent $3 doing it. I say we but I mean rocklicker as no one has ones to pay for the bus. Thank you 🙏. The last hitch was about an hour and we got stopped due to construction but we made it. We spent maybe an hour at Seiad catching up with some friends before heading out to tackle the 4500 ft of elevation gain over 10 miles. It was brutal. I sweating so much it looked like I pissed my pants. So embarrassing. The sun was so hot and the grade wasn’t as nice. I was incredibly dehydrated as I haven’t been doing well on the water front. I barely drank anything today and I definitely needed more than two liters for the climb. Rocklicker and I basically had each other in our eyesights the whole time while Caleb ran up the climb practically. Right as we were about to peak, thunder, rain, and lightning came in. We were probably in one of the worst spots you could be during a lightning storm aka on top of a peak, fully exposed. Rocklicker said that it should pass within twenty minutes so we bunkered down wirh his tarp over us. Two hours later we were still there shivering. The rain didn’t initially look like it was going to hit us but sadly it did. The tarp held up and we were kinda wet but not soaking. Lightning came close to us multiple times but never right on top. It was pretty scary though. Both of us were shivering trying to use the other for warmth. Hail started coming down along with day droplets of rain. We used the rock behind us (which if you know anything about what to do in thunderstorms it’s a big no no) to shelter us from rain and keep at least one our packs dry. We threw out any metal on us, sat on a foam pad, and created a circuit with our knees. Again, luckily nothing bad happened. The views before, during, and after were stunning. Regrets, but at the same time no regrets. Finally it passed and we started walking. I wasn’t wet but after walking through all the soaking vegetation, I was drenched. We had texted Caleb that we might push a lil as we wanted better water (FarOut said it wasn’t great) and we had just took a two hour break. We pushed about 2 miles ahead and set up camp on a dirt rocky road. So uncomfy. Tent stayed pretty dry but it was damp. Everything else is safe from the wetness. I had a tortilla wrap as I didn’t want to cook, while rocklicker made dinner. Walking into camp, there was a double rainbow, almost full. It’s cold and everything is damp around me so tomorrow will be hard. Nothing will dry out so a cold shirt and pants will have to go on tomorrow which I will hate.

I was so fucking thirsty all day too. I was rationing water once again. I was so good in the desert and the sierras gave me a sense of security which hasn’t been broken in Northern California. WE ARE SO CLOSE TO OREGON. NEW STATE! NEW STATE! NEW STATE! It’s about goddamn time.