Distance hiked today: 23.5 miles / 37.8 km.
More burn area today. I had a long climb for 10 miles or so, hot and humid. Some rivers allowed for lush green grasses and lilly pads to grow while everything else was dead.
After 8 more miles I got to the highway leading into the town of Quincy in one direction and Bucks Lake in the other. Just before, there was a box of books left by trail angels with a trail register, in case anyone wanted some new reading material. I don't know how anyone has time to read out here, but I know some people do!
Now that we've left the higher elevations I haven't seen snow in a while and am having trouble keeping my insulin cold. I decided hitch into town to get some ice, if I could catch a ride. It took half an hour, only about 5 cars passed but finally a truck stopped.
I headed to a restaurant and figured I might as well get a burger while I'm in town. A couple hours later I hitched back to the trailhead. I was picked up by a woman in an open topped jeep, and she needed to make a stop on the way at a ranch to pick up a friend. We hung out there for a bit, had a Whiteclaw, pet the dogs, and the rancher walked me out to the field to show me an open section on the ridge where I'd be hiking to and have a view of the ranch. He offered me fresh farm eggs - tempting, but I had to decline because… backpacking.
Back on trail, I did another 5 miles to a tentsite in an open area where falling trees weren't a risk. I did see the ranch from the top of the ridge which was cool. They were lucky the fire hadn't destroyed the valley here. The town of Greenville wasn't so lucky, having been destroyed by the 2021 Dixie fire and displacing the 1100 residents.
Total trail mileage: 1273.2 miles / 2048.6 km
