July 21st, 2021
Mile Marker: 1460.6
Miles Hiked Today: 26
Today’s sunrise was magical. We watched as the sun started to make the sky come alive and then eventually light up just the top of Mount Shasta.
I was appreciating it since I didn’t sleep a wink last night unfortunately. The moon was extremely bright, the few mosquitos present wanted to buzz around my ear, and I was hot. I could go on and on but ultimately, to put it simply, it’s sucked.
So thank you sunrise for helping me wake up. We all didn’t have much water so we hiked 4 miles to the next water source for breakfast.
I was dragging. I just felt exhausted so I figured some oatmeal would help do the trick. We sat for a while then hiked on another 4 to the next water source.
As Journey and I were hiking down the side trail I pointed out some bear tracks and Journey verified them. My skin stood up with excitement, I felt like it was just around the corner.
My ears perked up and I kept my head on a swivel but unfortunately, we didn’t see one the entire way up and down. I can’t believe I have yet to see a bear!
I hiked on slow to the halfway point of 12ish miles to a water source for lunch. Once I had sat down, I knew a nap was going to be needed.
It was even needed for Journey and Kale. We ended up napping for close to two hours.
I can’t explain the amount of exhaustion that was overtaking my body. I should have taken another zero, but now we had no choice but to continue on.
After fighting with myself a bit, we got up and continued on. I at least wanted to make it 24 miles for the day which meant, if we were going to keep my slow ass pace, we needed to get a move on.
The trail led us to some open ridegelines and we could see how close we were getting to Mount Shasta. It was fun going into the woods and popping out miles later and recognizing how close we were. It was incredible.
Most of the day went along like this and after 24 miles, where a water source was, I had announced that I would be down to camp if there were tent spots. I must have jinxed it because we didn’t hit another tent spot until 2.5 miles later where at the beginning of the day was where I thought we should end up.
It’s hard when you want to be done for the day but you have no place to lay your head.
My mood was sour for much of the evening. I had no appetite, I was lethargic, and it was making me miss my tramily. It was making me wish that I could feel 100 percent so I could catch up or that they could slow down. But it simply was what it was.
I may have been ready to lay my head but it was an incredible time to be crossing the ridge line.
The lighting was spectacular and the moon was shining out bright and early.
I could feel my mood start to dissolve. The truth was, I was still relatively healthy and I was still able to hike.
And this beauty… was just unreal.
We made it to a great camp spot and quickly got ready for bed. I feel certain that tonight, with how tired I am, I will fall fast asleep.
Every little thing, is gonna be alright.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 