When I left Castle Crags State Park, I had a huge climb, as always. There is nearly always a long downhill into town and then a huge climb out of town. This one was nearly 4,000′ and took me nearly all morning.
I went through Castle Crags Wilderness and then entered the Trinity Wilderness. Once I got to the top of the hill, my day was flat and then downhill. I passed through some beautiful meadows filled with wildflowers.
Ever since Lassen, I had been able to see Mt. Shasta in the distance. It was slowly getting closer, then the trail took a big turn and I skirted around it without getting very close. I was now north of Mt. Shasta, but at some times throughout the day I could see it right I front of me and I couldn’t tell if I was getting closer to it or farther away.
Often recently the trail has been easy on the feet although sometimes the ground is very hard and dry. However, there are some places where it is very rocky and a lot more difficult to walk over. This was the case coming into Deadfall lake where I camped that night. The trail was like this for nearly half a mile:
I was exhausted when I got to camp. It was nearly dark and I had hiked 34 miles that day. As I was looking for a place to set up my tent I met a section hiker and commented on her hiking skirt. She had been in camp for a few hours and was very excited to talk to someone. I chatted for a few minutes while setting up my tent but wasn’t really in the mood to talk, just to sit. She asked me if I got really pumped up at the end of a 35 mile day and I said, “no, I’m just tired.” I think she got the point after that and I was left in peace to wash my legs in the lake and go to sleep.