Day 156, mile 1,498 (57% of the trail)

Since reaching the northern terminus at the US/Canada border, I've traveled back down to Etna in NorCal and have hiked 100 miles southbound to Mt. Shasta city. I have about 200 left to complete my hike.

So, what was the terminus like? Well, you can tell you're near by the whoops and cheers echoing through the forest. I got there on 29 September at around 10:30 am, and honestly, I've been so insistent on not being "done" because of the chunk I skipped, that I didn't feel very much. I wrote in the registry how many miles I had left and after quaffing some champagne from another hiker (glass bottle and all), started marching into Canada alone.

I reached Manning Park a few hours later. MP is a wilderness retreat spot with a restaurant, cabins, a modest hotel, and a gift shop. It's a pretty basic establishment, but to a thru-hiker at this point it might as well be Las Vegas. Figured out the best way to Etna would be a bus to Seattle, then a train to Dunsmuir in California, and two more buses to reach my end point. That night I got dinner with a few other hikers, the parent of one graciously picking up the tab. Some of them talked about just being done with backpacking entirely. All of us were ready for the end.

I caught the bus at 2 am. Spent two nights in downtown Seattle. Got some Ethiopian food for dinner, went to REI and Trader Joe's to resupply. I sent one food box to Burney Mountain Guest Ranch, which is on trail, so that I won't have to hitch into town.

I left Etna on 4 October after a dump 5-6 inches of snow on the trail the previous night. It was really cold and my shoes were soaked through. I was about to turn back when I ran into another southbounder. We talked about the conditions and how I might be a tad short on food, and decided to hike together. What followed was 12 miles of snow covered trail, foggy ridges, and a night camped in a cloud that coated our tents in ice. This had to be my coldest night on the trail, maybe in the teens °F. We split up when I decided I was going to reach Shasta as early as possible, while he was doing a relaxed pace because his hike ended there.

The whole segment from Etna to Mt Shasta city was really beautiful. Russian River wilderness had jagged peaks almost like the Sierra. Castle Crags was this massive formation a few thousand feet tall of granite buttresses gleaming in the sun. This is definitely the nicest part of NorCal I've seen thus far, and I'm glad I decided to not just leave it out of my hike.

I reached the interstate leading to Mt. Shasta at 5:30 pm. A little late to be hitching. A pickup stopped and told me they weren't headed my way, so I told them to have a good day. Then ten minutes later, came back and said they figured it'd be more interesting to talk to a hitch hiker than go on with their picnic that evening. The trail provides. They dropped me off with a slice of home made apple pie, which was still warm and incredible, and gave me their number for tomorrow so that hey could drive me back to the trail.

It was a typical town stop: laundry, calories, sleep. Went to a cafe and after talking about the trail a bit with the cashier, he gave me two cookies. Omg so much magic. Got a ride back with the guy from the day before, told me to call him if needed. People are awesome.

Now I'm camped 8 miles south of Mt. Shasta. There was a bit of solo night hiking, during which i was pretty anxious about mountain lions and bears, oh my. An hour ago I heard a series of twigs slowly snapping maybe thirty feet away. Started banging my poles together and shouting. Don't know if it had any effect. I never saw any eyeshine in the dark so who knows. I have two more nights until I reach Burney, at which it is forecast to rain for five days (seriously). I'll be doing two one-night segments following that, passing through Old Station where I can recuperate, so it shouldn't be too bad.