Burney Falls to Castella

We tried to sleep in at Burney Falls, but 6am was as late as we could stay in our bags. Chief was already on the trail and other hikers were slowly packing their things and heading off. Cowgirl and I helped Maureen clean up camp then rode with her into the town of Burney.

Burney:
Driving through Burney we looked for a coffee shop or small deli. We settled for a picnic table near a drive through coffee hut. This is were we stayed and had a mid morning lunch with Maureen. Eventually she left us to shop and be on her way to find the next spot she would meet up with Chief.

We found out Gumby and Double-It were in town, so then walked over to their hotel. This is where we waited for my parents to arrive with Xena.

I was so excited to get Xena for the trail. She arrived in style. Apparently the nearest car rental had not updated their fleet since the early 80s. She floated in on an old Murcury boat. When she lept out of the car she was full of tail wags and excited to greet the other hikers. Thank you to Mom and Dad for delivering her!

That night our group grilled brauts and drank beer at the picnic table outside our rooms. I was even able to get Mom and Dad to join in my daily jump photo.

We got another sleep in day, what luxury! Once packed and sorted Cowgirl and I went to breakfast with Mom and Dad. Back at the hotel we wrote a few more creative postcards, then made or way out of town. Mom and Dad dropped our now group of three off at the state park.

Back on Tail:
First day out we hiked in the heat of the day. Not a good idea with a furry dog. It took us a while to go only a few miles. Once we arrived at Rock Creek and our stopping point, Xena went for a swim. I am not sure she intended to go so far in by the surprised look in her eyes, but she didn't seem to mind as it cooled her off quickly.

The next day we got up at 4:30 to avoid hiking through the hottest part of the day with Xena. The day was fairly warm, but we were able to hike until 1pm. Then hiked again after 4:30pm. Xena was no problem in the tent that night, she slept the  hardest.

The next two days got hotter and we had to take longer breaks in the day to avoid the heat. Xena was still getting her trail legs, but the heat would easily do her in.

We have yet to see any of the wildlife in this stretch. We had heard many tails of bear and mountain lion sightings. We had seen a lot of bear scat on trail ourselves. The scent of dog must have kept them all away.

By the the fourth day we realized that the maximum mileage we could get in one day with Xena was going to be 20 miles. If the days got hotter, this could drop to 15. Our options to remedy this was getting up even earlier and hiking till much later or pushing her through the heat of the day. The forecasts were showing 100 degree highs for Castella and 110 for Seiad Valley. I was beginning to realize I might have a dilemma.

By the 5th day we were breaking by 11:30am. The only reason we made it so late was because we were hiking on a west facing slope. The hill's shadow provided shade for the majority of the morning. We crunched some trail numbers to figure out how we could avoid hiking in the heat, but also avoid super early and super late hiking. We could do it, but we would slip behind schedule. A decision had to be made.

We were okay with a little slip behind the schedule, but with friends and family joining later down trail we were concerned we might find ourselves too far behind. We really want to try to avoid hiking through snow in Washington. The major decion maker was not wanting to push Xena through the heat. It is one thing for us to suffer willingly through it, but I don't feel right making Xena deal with it.  Where we got phone service I began to make plans with Mom and Dad to pick her up.

Of course the morning of our 6th day Xena woke up excited and ready to go. Maybe it was the same excitement of the previous mornings, now I just had a guilt about plans to send her home.

We had a nero day into Castella. I was glad to walk the last 2.8 mile of road in the cool of the morning. Despite my guilt and disappointment in sending Xena home, as the temperatures rose quickly I felt like I was making the right decision.

In Castella Cowgirl and I had late morning breakfast burritos and coffee and picked up our resupply package and another great surprise package from a friend. This was all at a small hiker friendly market next to the PO.

By mid morning we made our way to the hiker/biker camp at the state park for the rest of the day.

Happy Trails!

Trail Stats:
Mile: 1,506.5
Day: 93
Showers: 18