Day 94, You'll Find Me in Shasta

Part 3, Northern California, Day 94

You'll Find Me in Shasta

Miles: 3

Total Miles: 1498.7

Last night I set up my tent on another slope, but I was in no position to choose. There's been very few camp spots this last week, mostly because of all the ridge walking. For some reason, the mosquitoes were vicious last night, though I was nowhere near any water. I was not excited about going to town today because I hate hitchhiking, and this hitch would be on a Interstate 5. I packed up early to beat the other hikers to the road, hiking down at 6:30. These early hitching attempts are proving to be counterproductive, since early mornings see little traffic.

I entered Castle Crags State Park.

Luckily, I saw this sign on the ground and took a picture:

I quickly reached a road and crossed the Sacramento River.

This is a very heavy train area. I had to wait like 5 minutes for a train to pass.

Here's me trying to look presentable for my hitch:

I reached I-5 and didn't know quite what to do.

No cars were coming through the on ramp, and when I walked up to the freeway the cars were speeding right by me. I tried to hitch for about 25 minutes before calling the guy in the poster I found. I was ready to shell out 20 bucks for a 15 mile ride when Mario, Molly, and Scooter showed up and we split the cost. We got a ride and the guy dropped us off at Black Bear Diner in Shasta City.

I ordered "The Grizz," a massive double plate of various breakfast matter:

It was pretty good. It was early and I walked to the cheapest motel in town, the Travel Inn.

I got a room and a lecture about room stacking, which is when one hiker rents a room and sneaks several more hikers in. I travel alone, so it's not an issue for me. The room was actually pretty decent. Nothing but a big, comfy bed, but also TV and AC. I exploded my pack and set out to do my errands. I stopped by Rays Food Place to resupply. I bought very little food for the next 100 miles, so we'll see how that goes. The store was crap.

They let it be known how they feel about backpackers:

After this I went to this nice laundromat; it's so refreshing to wear clean clothes, even if they only stay clean for a fleeting moment.

Of course, Legend was here. I've seen him in nearly every trail town since the early desert. Raingear was with him and they gave me a cold beer. Here's Legend's truck:

I saw Bushwhacker and Jim Beam at the laundromat. We walked to the outfitter, The Fifth Season, where I bought fuel. I also bought new insoles made of cork. I'm pulling out all the stops to try and fix my feet, but I really hope this experimental move doesn't backfire and hurt my feet more. 

I spent some time walking around town. I mailed some stuff home at the post office and visited the bookstore. Shasta City is awesome. It's right at the base of Mount Shasta and near Black Butte too.

This is the first town where hikers aren't really a spectacle. The town is filled with climbers, and Thru Hikers seem to blend in to the hippy vibe here. It's a very new age town. Lots of crystal stores and mystical/metaphysical shops. Many residents here believe that survivors of an ancient city under the Pacific Ocean called Lemuria now live in a city underneath Mt. Shasta called Telos. I even saw a few people walking around with hairless bodies and long brown robes with a mountain embroidered on the collar. They looked almost albino, as if they'd been out of the sun for years! I've never been to a town like this. Fascinating stuff, actually:

Check out this adorable puppy:

I got my errands done and spent the late afternoon watching tv in my room with AC cranked up. It was near 100 degrees all day. Tomorrow I'll try and hitch back to the trail, as I'm trying to lower my zero days. I hope my feet will be rested enough, though ironically, it seems to be rest that aggravates my foot pain. When I keep moving, it's not as bad. This was a fun stop though in a great town. Shasta has so many cool legends and associations; it's really a unique place. Back to the trail tomorrow.