Pacific Crest Trail : Burney Mountain to Dunsmuir

Miles this section : 91
Miles completed : 1499

Burney Falls.

I consider taking a zero at Burney Mountain... breakfast is very good, I consume many waffles, however there's no provision for lunch barring what I can buy at the store, which is rather expensive.  I decide to walk nine miles further to Burney Falls, a 'state park' centred on the eponymous waterfall,  it also has a store, and after a flat and easy walk, now I can have a twenty-four hour rest.  The store here has beer - which in no way influenced my decision to come here - but again, is pretty expensive.  Fortunately fellow hiker Nonstop has food to share - her hiking partner has left the trail, but there's a box here waiting for them, full of goodies which I and various other scavengers happily take off her hands.  I then buy a sixpack of beer, carry it to the hiker camp, make a big fire and cook hot dogs, which were the value option in the store.  They may not be finest quality food - 'made from chicken with pork added' - but there are eight of them, fully a pound of 'meat', and cooked over the fire they taste pretty good.

Camped up with Mount Shasta behind.

Hiker camping has a bear proof (possibly) box, it turns out to contain much coffee, which I consume a fair amount of on my morning off, then go to look at the falls, which are indeed most impressive.  Then sixteen miles of walking, it's hard work, for some reason I feel a bit tired...  It's good to make camp, where I at least have a fine view of Mount Shasta.

The huge, isolated volcanic cone gets nearer the next day, as I walk along ridges, nice hiking, then lots of contouring on forested slopes.  There are many people on the trail, it is hard to find a camp spot, I end up pretty much on top of a side trail leading to a spring, and not for the first time a deer hangs around camp.  The trail seems to circle around Mount Shasta, but doesn't climb it, still it is hard work, plenty of down into valleys and up the other side, and I am doing big miles, a twenty-seven miler, then a twenty-four, making good time.  And finally, I see a bear!  A mother and cub I think in fact, they make good speed away from me, but the bigger one looks back from a way off.

Bridge over the McCloud River.

Then just sixteen miles down to Interstate 5, a nice easy walk, I'm there for 2:30, and now have a quandary, should I head to Dunsmuir as per my plan, or to Castella which doesn't sound much of a place, but is where the trail notes suggest.  Of course, I go with the plan, it means camping at an RV park, which I now have my doubts about, but I want to resupply at a proper store.  My route turns out to involve a half mile of Interstate Highway, oops, I end up walking along the railway instead, and then sure enough, the RV park wants $35, I am not paying that to camp.  I continue three more miles into town anyway, and the store is indeed good - couscous, 700g of cookies for $3, yay, and I also find pizza and beer, this is worth the walk.  Then a lady outside the store, hearing my plan to camp in the woods, gives me a bunch of grapes and a $10 bill - I am a hobo!  In fact I find a pleasant spot near to the Sacramento River, could be a lot worse.

The expensive RV park, or at least the neighbouring resort - where you could stay in an old railway carriage.

Photos to go with this post can be found here and here.