July 24th
Today’s miles: 23
My total mileage: 1213
PCT mile 1394
We went to the sole breakfast cafe in Old Station this morning. There were so many hikers, we kind of all jostled for access to power outlets. I had to smile at their menu. There is quotation from Cheryl’s “Wild” on the front of the menu….referencing the cafe, and how she had felt “right” about reaching Old Station.
It was mid to high 80’s as we left town, but this stretch wasn’t half as bad as I had expected. It is notoriously hot and dry here for 30 miles. I think we got lucky with a breeze. We had also heard that the famous Cache 22 was no longer going to be stocked this year, but were pleasantly surprised that it was there with ample water. Someone had dragged branches and brambles together and woven a kind of large nest-like shelter around the cache. We rested briefly there with some others. Unfortunately, the cache had a really bad odor of decay…we think some small animals had died within the brambles surrounding it. We pushed a few more miles on and then called it on a stretch of trail with dry cow patties and beautiful view of the sunset.
Mt. Shasta is finally in view!
