Day 97 ~ miles 1571.1 - 1597.1
For the 3rd night in a row, we are bundled up in our sleeping bags, and I couldn't complain a bit. We both slept through our 5:30 alarm, or at least pretended to. As the sun rose above the mountains and shone on our tent, we began to slowly wake up. A cool breeze blew through the mesh walls of the tent, and we were perfectly cozy and content in our puffy down sleeping bags. It was the perfect weather for sleeping outdoors. What I later realized once I was up and hiking in the perfect sleeping weather, was that it was also the perfect hiking weather (this could cause a dilemma at times).
Wide open views impressed us all day long. Hiking up and down all day, we definitely earned the scenery. Most days, I find myself fixating on the maps at every break; checking on where's the next water or landmark, how many miles have we hiked today, what the elevation profile looks like. I didn't look at the maps all day for some reason, and was totally disoriented all day, not knowing how far we'd gone. It was kind of nice being oblivious to what was coming up ahead on the trail, maybe I should do it more often. We continue to get peeks of Mt. Shasta, and it almost seems as if we may never escape her.
After two longer days than we're accustomed to, and also because of our late morning, we decided to take it a bit easier today. We picked up water and hiked on into the sunset to find the next available spot suited for camping. Three or more miles later, our eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness, and we finally found a flat spot. We did our camp chores in the dark, something I really dislike. Another night of perfect sleeping weather!
