Day 85 – Thursday, Aug. 17

PCT Mile 1,363.4 to PCT Mile 1391.1, Cache 22 on Hat Creek Rim
Day Total: 27.7 miles

Today was hands down the flattest day on the trail yet.

We had some gradual downhill in the morning, mostly through pine forests. In the afternoon we climbed a tiny little incline to the infamous hot, dry Hat Creek Rim. It's a 30-mile waterless stretch that is mostly exposed and very hot. It was like being back in the desert.

Fortunately, we had gotten word that the water tank halfway through the 30 mile stretch (which had been dry for the last month) had recently been filled.

The highlight of the day was a short side trail to explore Subway Cave, a huge lava tube that we walked all the way through. It was pleasantly cool inside, like natural air conditioning. I could've taken a nap in there if it hadn't been so busy with hikers.

In other news, Stephen has lost so much weight that the buckles on his hip belt are touching. When backpacking, most of the weight of our packs rests on our hips with the hip belt, not on the shoulders like a school backpack. Because he can't cinch his hip belt any tighter, Stephen is feeling more of the weight on his shoulders. This results in pain. 

Today at lunch Stephen came up with a solution. He cut a couple sections of his Thermarest into extra padding for his backpack's hip belt. (When he got a new inflatable sleeping pad, he kept a small piece of the old Thermarest to sit on during lunch.) Now his little lunch seat is one section smaller and he has two little foam inserts that he puts in his hip belt to protect his bony hips. It'll work for now.

The afternoon was hot, flat, and dry, as anticipated. We listened to podcasts and looked out at the valley below.

I got rattled at by a humungous rattlesnake.

We camped at the water cache along Forest Road 22 with Rooster and Woodchuck, two hikers we had met in the Sierras.