Day 67: Zero in Chester
Day 68: mile 1331.3-1350.3 (Chester to Warner Valley Camp)
Today is June 10th, which was the day I’d planned on getting back on the trail if I choose to do my side trips. Funny enough I was planning to flip up to Chester. Although I’ve faced some very difficult days, even some where I wanted to quit, I’m so happy with my decision! I’ve learned SO much and I’m 178 miles closer to Canada than I would’ve been.
Leaving town has been twice as hard through this snowy stretch. In each town at least one more zero than planned has happened. At least this time I had the church to sleep at, so my pocket didn’t take much of . Since I’ve decided not to do a post for this zero (you didn’t miss much), here’s a few pics instead.
Stayed in the back 
Family meal. Our version of taco night.
Dipity and I headed back to the trail around 10:30. It was only the two of us now, Ring Master hurt himself pretty badly and is taking time off. She got started while I pre-taped my feet and chatted with a few people who just flipped up from Walker Pass (same as me, mile 652).
I needed to make it 18.9 miles to Warner Valley Camp. There’s a 20 mile stretch of Lassen National Park that requires a bear canister (I’m not carrying one), but the campground has a bear box. Perfect!
The first half of the day was wonderful! I was feeling good and excited to be on the dirt. I didn’t even care how hot it was, in fact I was happy about it. I’d been missing my shorts, so it gave me an excuse to wear them.
I got to the river where I saw Dipity stopped for lunch. I filled up my water and headed over to say hi. She wasn’t feeling that well, so she planned to hangout for a bit and take it slow for the rest of the day. I wished her well and planned to see her at camp that night.
The rest of the day was a bit of a challenge. The uphill, the heat and humidity, not getting enough sleep, and probably the few beers I had yesterday all caught up with me. I was sluggish. The second half of the day took me nearly twice as long. It was a little pathetic. 😂
Nearing the boarder of Lassen I saw my first bear of the day. We looked at each other and he/she ran off. The second bear I saw was just a few miles later at the park border. I was beginning to see why they required the bear cans. …I was also feeling lucky I’d seen two bears!
The last few miles were patchy and long. The trail was like a small stream with all the snow melt, so dry feet were impossible. I’m sure my grumpiness made it seem worse that it was. 😂
I eventually made it to camp and set up. Super nice campground with all the amenities. I was excited to eat at my picnic table, but unfortunately the mosquitoes were excited too. Grrr. They’d been biting me all afternoon, so into my tent I went to eat my dinner in peace.
Feeling so exhausted even eating was an effort, I packed up all my food and placed it in the bear box. I’m headed to bed. I’ll keep my eye out for Dipity tomorrow. She has a bear can, so she probably stopped a little earlier.
Goodnight!
XOXO Becks
