Day 98

Trail miles: 23.4

Total: 1412.2

I had to put my headphones on last night because the cows were mooing so loudly. We slept in a spot with no trees so I slept with my food in my backpack. This place was the best place for diggings cathodes, with tons of options, yet Spare Change and Brad still somehow ran into each other this morning while trying to pick the same spot. At the water cache a few miles in, I talked to two girls from Canada while I drank my coffee. They were very fun to talk to and I’m sad I’ll probably never see them again. Their names were Dusty and Runaway. One of them said we were the largest group they’ve seen on trail hiking together in a while. Todays hike was pretty flat but I kept stopping every hour to sit down to take breaks. I guess I just wasn’t feeling up to it today. Also my pack felt exceptionally heavy today. I started The Lord of the Rings on audio, which didn’t help because it starts out slow. I met two girls with three horses and a dog. The dog ran up to me and grabbed a stick for my to throw. He was very adamant on having it thrown continuously. The girls were handing out drinks to thru hikers, which I was very grateful for. I was very happy for the conversation I shared with them. Then I moved in to the lake where I thought I would be meeting everyone. They had already left before I got there. I got a text saying they were going to do another 8 miles to camp, but the lake already made the day 18 miles. I did not make it the whole 8 miles, only about 5. I’m pretty sad that they didn’t wait for me at the lake. I thought 18 miles by 3:00pm wasn’t the fastest of course but was respectable enough. So I am camping alone tonight for the first time. I found a spot hidden away from trail. I FaceTimed my mom while I ate and made dinner so I had some company. I am looking forward to stopping at Burney Falls tomorrow morning!