Mile 1591 to 1618.
Some fine soul once told us that Northern California would breeze by because it is flat as can be. Today is solid proof that this is complete bologna.
Hawkeye grabbed a quick hitch into Etna (a notoriously desolate road) to go sort out his feet issues by spending lots of money on new gear. I’m hoping to see him again in Ashland where he will pick up the trail.
From this point forward, it was just me. I’ve been hiking “alone” for a few weeks now, but I’m never really alone. We know many people along the trail, and we purposefully coordinate to hang out for lunch and dinner. But the group of rock stars I have been hanging with were all dispersed for various reasons… And so it was just me!
I ate dinner overlooking a valley and watched the shadow of a mountain ridge slowly rise up the other side of the valley. It was quite peaceful having the whole place to myself. I enjoy having the group, but I realized the value of changing things up every once in a while and taking time to simply be alone in this wonderful wilderness.
