Day 73 – Shastafarian
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
Mileage: 19 to town, then 2 extra to Castella
Today’s entire purpose was to pick up a package full of goodies that my mother had sent to Castella. I needed to pick up a little food as well, so the gas station package pickup/resupply was my only plan for the day. Maybe I would sleep in Castella at the campground. Maybe I would hike out and camp on trail. Maybe, just maybe, I would be inspired to hitch into Mount Shasta, the small town named after the giant mountain that towers over it.
The mileage was not too bad and the elevation was moderate, so both Zorro and I woke up late and started our hike towards town at around 8. It was fairly easy going, though it was still hot out and I could still barely see Mt. Shasta through the smoke. 😕
As I approached town, however, I was treated to the sight of what I assumed were the Castle Crags. They were magnificent to look at as I got closer and closer, though again, I wish there were less smoke and haze.
The final descent into Castella was a long one, taking far too long for the switchbacks to lose elevation. On the plus side, they descent was not steep at all, but it just meant extra walking to get to the bottom. Once there, I found a trail log coloring book and signed my name amongst the crowd of hikers that had already passed through. Once that was taken care of, it was time for a swim!
I knew we would be passing multiple rivers on bridges, so I assumed that I would be able to swim somewhere, but as I got to each one, I noticed “No Trespassing” signs next to each one. 😔 I guess I have to keep going. I finally got to the last river before Castella, and luckily found no signs. I could swim! I hiked down to the water and found a man and his dog already swimming, so I stripped down to my boxers and joined them.
It was fantastic in there! The water was the perfect temperature and the river’s flow kept fresh water available at all times. I swam, watched the dog play fetch, and eventually watched some people with a cooler full of beer get into the river on floats, but I needed to pick up my package, so I couldn’t stay forever. Before I left, a hiker named Sequoia joined me for a little, warning me that Mt. Shasta had a lot of “transients” and didn’t always take kindly to hikers as a result. Good to know!
I walked on towards the road to Castella, but noone was driving that way, so I ended up walking the additional 2.5 miles into the “town”. Ammerati’s market was basically the only thing there besides the park, so it was easy to find. They had everything a hiker needs to resupply, and most importantly, my package! With muffins! And what used to be muffins! My mom had written “Whoops!” on the vacuum-destroyed muffins.
I picked up my package and a few candy bars for the road, and went outside to sit at a picnic table to pack my backpack. At the table I met Nancy, a dedicated section hiker that I had seen on trail earlier today who was also resupplying. We talked for a while about the trail, and then she went to figure out a ride into Mt. Shasta. Hmmm… should I go? My main concern was a ride back to the trail, but I checked the Uber app and it seemed to exist in this neck of the woods, so I felt much better about my chances. I mentioned this to Nancy and before I knew it, I was committed to going into Shasta.
It turns out Uber lists a price even if there are no drivers, like in Mt. Shasta, so we had to try to hitch instead. I asked a man in his truck if he was heading that way and he said no, but a few minutes later, when we were going to start walking towards the highway on-ramp, he asked if it was just two of us and told us to hop in. Score!
Colby was an awesome guy that knew what it was like to hitchhike, so he went out of his way to help us out. He was up in the area for work, buying a vintage Harley so it could be restored in his L.A. shop, but he drove us 20 minutes in the opposite direction of his purchase just because he was a nice guy. He got us into Shasta and dropped us off at Nancy’s hotel, so I was pretty far from the town center, but much closer than before. Thanks, Colby!
Since I was still a bit outside of town, I started walking and hitching at the same time. I was passed by a lot of cars as I walked, but eventually a woman named Cita stopped to pick me up.
She was… interesting. The first thing I noticed was the slur in her words, which was shortly followed up by her inability to stay in a single lane of traffic. I gauged her appearance and noticed her tattered clothing and confused countenance, which made me wonder if she was one of the “transients” that Sequoia had warned me about. She mentioned that she had bought the car we were in two hours prior, and that it sure ran well for $600. This was an additional red flag, which was further reinforced by her insistence that we turn around because she “needed to pick up some dope”. I didn’t know what she meant by that, but I figured it was probably in my best interest to get out of the (potentially stolen) vehicle, so I told her we were close to where I was going and that I would be getting out now. After a lecture about the corrupt police in the area, an offer to stay at her home for the night, and countless “I love you”s as I got out of the car, I was safely on solid ground and fairly close to the city center. Success?
I went to a couple outdoor gear stores looking for poles to replace my broken ones, but one was closed and the other didn’t have them. The third and final store not only had poles, but had replacement tips, so I didn’t have to buy entirely new poles! Yay!
After replacing some gear, I headed over to the grocery store to resupply and grab some dinner, which was a delicious deli sandwich. Despite the quality of their sandwiches, the grocery store was bizarrely lacking some hiker essentials. These was an extensive and well-stocked candy section, but the granola bars were completely non-existent. Since that’s all I eat, I panicked a little bit. I ended up buying most of what I usually get and then substituting a full box of Captain Crunch where I would normally have bars. I guess we’ll see how that goes on trail!
Once I had all my food, I walked to the north side of town to the Shasta KOA, a campground with lots of amenities that would cost about $30. I wasn’t thrilled about spending that much to sleep outside, but as Cita had warned me, camping anywhere else in town was a death wish. And besides, the $30 came with a shower, water, a pool, and wifi! Laundry was extra.
I set up my tent, ate my dinner, and immediately headed for the pool, because there’s nothing I love more these days than swimming. When I got there, there was a foreign couple with their children in the pool, and the dad just kept staring at me. Was it my appearance? Was it my smell? Was it my hole-ridden pants that I was swimming in? Was it the dirt caked all over my body? I decided it might be the last one and left to rinse off in the shower before swimming, but when I came back, he still stared. I decided it was likely my beard, and I wasn’t going to shave just for him, so I jumped into the pool and had a wonderful time splashing around for 30 minutes! Afterwards, I took a nice warm shower and finally felt clean!
“Clean”
I sat on the wifi for a bit while eating some ice cream and candy so I could upload some blob entries, but then it was time for bed so that I could get out of there as early as possible tomorrow to get back to trail. It’s been a nice, easy town day!