Day 98

Mile 1494 to 1498, 4 miles, Nero in Mt Shasta, 

Cost: camped, free

Sticky Buns and Milkshake got up at normal hiker time (early) while KC and I decided to go back to sleep after initially waking at 5:30am… There was only 4 miles to get to the highway then an extra mile to walk to Castella to pick up our packages but the shop didn’t open until 8am anyway. We went back to sleep then ended up leaving camp at a very leisurely 7:30am!

We still didn’t have any accommodation booked in Shasta but decided to wait until we got there because we weren’t sure what the others were doing and if they needed somewhere to stay as well – in which case we would need a bigger hotel room.

Our first view of the morning, the glorious Mt Shasta

It was a very easy and quick 4 miles to the highway and once we got there we saw Catwater just ahead of us walking along the road. Our plan was to walk or hitch the mile to Castella to pick up our resupply boxes and my new Anker battery, then head the opposite direction into Shasta to stay the night.

It was a very small road we were walking on but cars were going past and one stopped and offered us a lift to Shasta, except that we needed to go to Castella first so we politely declined.  We saw Catwater talking to some people in a car and before we knew it we were also being offered a lift. We explained our situation and the very friendly couple said they would take us to Castella, then onto Shasta. The very friendly couple were Jeff and Carin and they are amazing people! They took us to Castella where KC and I picked up our packages then on the 14 mile drive to Shasta along the I5, they offered us all a place to stay for the night at their home. Catwater had already made a reservation that she couldn’t cancel but KC and I hadn’t… We just didn’t know what the others were planning to do. Jeff & Carin as it turned out had just hosted a hiker called Touché and were dropping him off when they saw Catwater and picked all 3 of us up. They were planning to go fur a run after they dropped off Touché, so they dropped us off at the Seven Suns cafe in Shasta, let us leave our packs in their boot and told us they would be back in an hour and a half. 

We had a delicious breakfast at the cafe then I set out to try and get some errands done before they came back. I needed a new tip for one of my hiking poles and Shasta Base Camp helped me out by sawing off the original one (we tried the vice and hammer way but it didn’t work). My next stop was the Fifth Season outfitter for a new pair of insoles – I was actually hoping for a new pair of brooks cascadias and injinji liners but they didn’t have either of these. After buying new insoles (hoping these will stop my feet from feeling every stone), I headed over to Ray’s supermarket to buy 4 days of food to send to Seiad valley and snacks for our time in Shasta. 

My old, bandaged Sidas insoles

The others weren’t going to make it into Shasta today so we gratefully said yes to Jeff & Carin’s invitation to stay. KC was still at the cafe when they came back from their run and they picked me up from the supermarket and we went to their house. It was beautiful and we were made to feel at home, Carin even gave us clothes to change into while we washed our clothes.

Snacks!

We had a lovely dinner and wonderful conversation and got to play with their 3 new kittens and gorgeous dog Buddy. I feel like I could stay here forever!

Kitten selfie