Day 83 - Logs and Thunderstorms

Tuesday July 7

I didn't sleep well last night. It was late when I finally went to sleep. Unfortunately the campsite was a bit too sloped, so I kept sliding to the bottom of the ground cloth. It was also a bit breezy, so I kept wrapping my sleeping bag different ways to stay warm. My biological clock, however, was still working well, and I woke up at 4:45. 

I was on the trail before 5:30. The trail had few climbs, so the hiking was easy. However, I felt like someone had attached an anchor to me, as I found it hard to make a good pace. I blame the lack of sleep. This was the sunrise behind Mount Shasta.

I did come across an odd plant named Whitney's locoweed. The red-stripped balloon-shaped seed pod is poisonous. If eaten by grazing animals, it causes them to behave oddly.

One of the frustrations faced by hikers are the trees that fall across the trail. Getting around these obstacles can sometimes be difficult. For example, in the picture below, the easiest way was to take off my pack, crawl under, then pull my pack under.

In many cases, the tree is small enough to step over. If it is too big, often there is a trail around. Today, however, I managed to land on my back (a turtle), trying to step over a tree. This tree was high enough off the ground that my leg wouldn't touch the ground on the other side. Normally this is not a problem. I just bring the other leg up and rotate my body until my leg touches the ground. Today, though, as I brought my other leg up, it got caught on a broken limb. I leaned back to free my leg, but forgot how heavy my pack was. The weight of my pack pulled me back and down I went! I managed to scrape up my leg in the process. I know I uttered some words that I shouldn't have, and it took me a while to untangle myself from the bushes. This would have made an excellent "America's Funniest" video!

The other excitement today was the thunderstorms. The clouds had been building all afternoon. Around 3 the thunder and lightening began. I decided it was time to make camp. I got everything set up and ate my dinner early. There was hail and a torrential downpour. Hopefully by sleeping in my tent tonight I will sleep better. I'm sure glad that I stopped early!

I am camped tonight at PCT mile 1553.7. I hiked 24.9 miles today. The elevation here is 6,932 feet.