Episode 50: Day 98-99

Day 98:

Saw a shooting star last night. And needless to say, this place is just as beautiful in the morning.

It’s hot today. Hiked the 7 miles downhill towards the town of Belden, followed by a 1 mile roadwalk to the RV Park that was holding my resupply box. I was in no rush to leave since it was blazing hot out there. During the break I enjoyed some ice cream, donuts, orange juice, and various other snacks. 

Eventually, I decided to leave the comforts of an air conditioned building and get back to trail. I stuck my thumb out and was given a ride the 1 mile back to trail. Yay!

I hung out with Cheetah and Bridget at the trailhead, but then hiked out since I wanted to make some miles (they were going to camp there and hike out tomorrow). 

Hiked until about 8:15pm, and set up camp.

13 Miles today (which is pretty good for a resupply day).

Sun’s out:

Dining room:

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Day 99:

I’m 38 miles and a hitch from Chester. And from Chester I need to take the bus to Red Bluff. And from Red Bluff I need to take the bus to Chico. I don’t know how I’m going to make it in time…

You may be wondering, “What’s the rush?” Well… this upcoming Sunday (August 14), is the Jewish holiday Tisha B’av, a day that commemorates several tragic events in Jewish history. It was important to me to be with a congregation for the holiday, and since Saturday is the Sabbath, I need to get to Chico before then. 

I’m just going to have to push hard and hike through the night. I bought a 5-hour energy in town, and now seems like the right time to use it. 

Story time:

It’s just after 11pm, it’s pitch black and I’m still hiking. Then my headlamp catches a pair of eyes, forward facing – it’s a predator. Emboldened by my recent bear encounter, I yell and wave my arms  (in case he has good night vision), but he doesn’t even flinch – it’s not a bear. Now that I think about it, it’s too short to be a bear, it’s about waist high. I pick up some rocks and underhand throw them towards him, hoping to scare him off. It casually takes a few steps, still staring me down, and it’s moving silhouette gives me all the info I need. This thing has small pointy ears and walks like a cat – this my friends, is mountain lion. At this point, my thought is “If you’re not afraid of me, maybe I should be afraid of you…” So I slowly back away, still shining my light at him, and once I turn the corner, I hike fast. They say, if a mountain lion is stalking you, shine your light and yell at it every few minutes, just to let it know you know it’s there (mountain lions prefer surprise attacks). However, I was looking back every few seconds – I was legitimately freaking out. 

WHAT NOW? I check my phone, I have cell service! But who do I call? The Parks Service can’t help me, and any family member would probably freak out more than me right now. I think I need to talk to someone who is not full of adrenaline. But it’s 2am on the east coast… So I open Facebook messenger, and I see my friend Zalmy is online. “Can I call you? I’m night hiking and I’m pretty sure I’m being stalked by a mountain lion.” Well isn’t that what friends are for? Even though we didn’t really come up with a solution, talking with Zalmy helped calmed me down. I hiked for maybe half a mile more, and set up camp. I’ll figure out how to get to Chico tomorrow, I can’t hike anymore tonight. 

20 miles today. 

1300 Miles:

Stressing over my timeline:

Sunset:

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Video:

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Bonus footage (only audio since it’s pitch black):

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