6/20/17 – On the Move Again
Day: 58
Miles: 1,328.85 to 1,332.22
Total miles hiked: 748.37
Many things could have gone wrong today, or at least not smoothly, but they haven’t. Driver from Rancheria Transport picked us up at 10:30 a.m., just as the company promised and we spent an hour and a half in the comfort of the air conditioned van making our way to Susanville.
Shuttle to Susanville
In Susanville we only had a ten minute wait before catching a bus to Chester. We didn’t expect to catch the earlier connection, and we were quite happy that we did. This bus got us to town at around 3:00 p.m. compared to the estimated 6:30 p.m. arrival.
With some extra time on hands, we stopped at Locker Room for quick lunch, and then headed to the market to get supplies for next four days. Chester has two places hikers can resupply. The Dollar General with limited selection but great pricing where we were able to pick the basic staples, and the Holiday Market which is actually really nice and can provide a full resupply.
Pretty forest scene. Something we missed in the desert.
Originally we planned to camp at Lutheran Church right in town where hikers are welcome and have a space set aside to pitch a tent for free but it was still relatively early and the trail was calling, and so we stopped at Frosty to get milkshakes and afterwards we were back on the road with our thumbs up trying to get the 6.5 mile ride to the trail.
Older roofer, originally from Bellingham WA, picked us up and took us all the way, even though his house was at least couple miles before the trail.
Still heading the right direction
The trail was gentle and I was thankful for that. It was hard to get moving again after our little break.
Evening chores
It took us couple hours to make 3.37 miles to camp by Stover Spring where water and campsites were plentiful. We met a group of hikers who skipped the Sierra as well, and another hiker who was out with Noro virus since Hiker Town. Today was his first day back on trail. We spend the evening with them. Tomorrow we will likely have a chance to get to know them better since they have same destination in mind as us.
Comfortable site by a creek
I’m excited about tomorrow and the change of scenery our skip will bring. Everything already felt greener and fresher, and we camped by a lively stream, a luxury the desert did not offer often.
At the same time I’m little worried about the heat wave we are currently in. We started hiking at 5:30 p.m. today and it was still uncomfortably hot and muggy. The air did not cool down until at least 8:00 p.m. I have a feeling that tomorrow’s miles will be hard earned.