Day 89; Tue July 24 2007

(Dr Bug) A great start at 6am today. The sloped crevice where we camped last night was not the best so both were up and ready to go. It was however, the first time I slept on top of the sleeping bag without bug netting in shorts and T shirt. It was hot and no skeetters!

We climbed and climbed, then climbed some more today. The incline was managable, the trail was mostly pine straw and not rocky. Thank God it was mostly shaded by the large pines.

We stopped and washed at Squaw Valley creek around 10, lunch at 12 and a short break around 3. We got some great vistas of Shasta. This mountain is above 14,000 ft and is a 'cloud catcher', like Mt. Washington in the east. Weather seems to fly over the other lesser mountains, but hangs on Shasta and creates more clouds. It looks like it would be a technical mt. to climb.

Our decent to Interstate 5 and the Castella PO seemed like an eternity. High up, we could hear the traffic for hrs. before we got there, about 4 hrs. of walking.

We arrived at the interstate entrance ramp at 4pm. The PO closes at 4:30, and as luck would have it, the first car that comes by gives as a ride. We make it to the PO 15 minutes before closing. There we pick up two envelopes from Tim forwarded from Belden containing the maps and data book, plus extra food we mailed to ourselves from the extra big food drop (overflow) from Susan's parents and our friend Cindy Tufford. They also gave us a note on a yellow stickie from Charlotte and shirley, who had apparently driven through the area, to look for another note at the gas station/grocery next door.

So next it's over to the food market. The note from Charlotte and Shirley...had been thrown away. "We can't keep these [messages for hikers] forever", the manager said. Thanks, buddy.

We did, however, buy burritos and additional supplies for the next 99 mile leg. We were sitting on a picnic table eating, when a young guy joins us with his own burrito. Turns our he works for Clif Bar (we eat them on the trail all the time). Mike gives us 7 bars from his car! ahe especially like the story we told him about the John Muir Trail hiker we met near Mt Whitney that did the entire trail (JMT) on 4 Clif bars a day.

We ended the day with a shower in Castle Crag State Park 1 mile up the road and are camped at the site they set aside for PCT hikers. This was a pretty good day. We hiked about 20 miles to get to Castella. Susan is being a real trooper with the shin splits. I don't think it would possible without "vitamin I".