Wooooooheeee. This morning was fun. The trail stayed flat or downhill and we covered the 24 miles to Old Station, CA, my next resupply, by 12:45! Along the way, we exited Lassen Volcanic National Park. I even saw a toddler black bear about 30 feet ahead of me on trail. He broke off into a run when he (or she) saw me. The noise awakened me from my day dreaming of the ice cream id be having later. 

The part of Old Station we were in had a small gas station (although it’s convence store catered to hikers) and a cafe, JJs. We first went to JJs for a meal -- I had a burger, fries, a salad, and a milkshake -- and to charge our stuff. The patio was shaded and kept us mostly cool during the heat of the day. The high for the day was 86° and it felt every bit of it. 

I then picked up new shoes and a Resupply box from the gas station and bought a few extra items. 

We hung out at the porch for awhile until 5 when we walked back over to the store to get a pint of ice cream before leaving town. Nothing better.

We left town around 5:40pm and ultimately walked another 7 miles on the exposed Hat Creek Rim. The last few miles was to a beautiful sunset, one of my favorite ever. There was a rattle snake on the trail, so I shooed him out of the way. The snake forced me to stop and I realized I should stop, sit on a rock, and enjoy the sunset. It was magical.

It was amazing to hike 33 miles AND take a 5 hour break during the heat of the day. 

Miles: 33

Total Miles: 1,616