Day 114: Blackberries and Heat

August 2, 2017
Mile 1739.20 Campsite to Mile 1658.03 Campsite

We really tried to get an early start today since we heard that it was going to get well north of 100 degrees today. The 15 mile hike to town was mostly downhill and pretty chill. The last seven miles of it were along a road that was lined with blackberry bushes. I have never tasted blackberries so sweet in my life. They almost tasted like that had been saturated in corn syrup they were so good. We probably picked close to a hundred of them.

We arrived in Seiad Valley around lunch and immediately grabbed some delicious lunch at the cafe. The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out in the shade (it got up to 110 degrees) with several other hikers that we’ve been hiking around for a week or so. Rocket Man (who we met in Truckee), Scrappy, Nonstop, Sinatra, Jukebox, and Scorch. I really, really love being around these people. We spent hours hanging out, joking, swapping stories, and playing some cards. We’ve finally gotten back in a bubble of familiar faces like in the desert and it’s wonderful. Every time you get to town it’s the same cast and you can catch up instead of always meeting strangers.

We finally left town a little after 8:00 and began the 4000 foot, eight mile climb out of the valley. We only did four miles of it and camped at around 10:00 PM. Sinatra and Nonstop joined us soon after. It’s still really hot, but not nearly as bad as if it was during the day.