Hello Everyone,

I am camp somewhere south of Adin off of 139. I am not sure how far from Adin because my trekking program stopped working when I was stopped at the CDF Fire Station. I reset it when I left the station and estimate that I trekked about 15 miles today. I have no cell service here so I can not use the map program to tell me how far it is to Adin. I am guessing about 25-26 miles? Since there is no service this probably won’t go out until tomorrow.

One of the things I always forget to mention in my blog is how beautiful most of the nights out here are. I sleep with the side door of the tent open and I can see all the stars so brightly in the sky every night as I lay here going to sleep. Right now it us so quite and I can see the Milky Way. What a sight!

I started my trek late again this morning, though I had a good reason. I woke up at 5:30 and it was 41 degrees and the inside and outside of the tent fly was completely wet. The inside of the tent was dry, though my down sleeping bag felt a little moist on the outside from touching the side of the tent. It is a Dry Down, which resists absorbing moisture but still should not be stuffed in a bag if wet. Some of the other things I left out were also wet. This was a first for my treks since it has been mostly warm and dry. The sun had not come up yet and the site was behind a large mountain, so I had to wait until it was shinning on the camp spot and that was not until well after eight. I spread everything out on the ground and bushes to dry out.

I didn’t start until about 8:30 and it was still fairly cold. Within a half mile I found a big apple tree right on the side of the road loaded with ripe apples. I ate a few and packed away several more for later. I have been lucky with all the fruit I have found.

And speaking of found! About a half mile later I noticed a ripped open tool bag laying down the embankment. I see a lot of stuff, some good, but I usually don’t pick it up or I’d need another Wheelie to carry it. But this time it was a DeWalt tool bag with a 20 volt cordless drill, impact drill, sawsall, flashlight, and batteries. It bag looked like it may have been there for a while but the tools inside looked great and actually worked. I found a good hiding spot and will have Mindee pick it up on her way to Adin.

Walking along the road is like being on a treasure hunt, and with all the time on my hand, I sometimes make it a fun game. What do I see the most often? Well, shredded tires of course. Maybe plastic bottles more? Cans are right behind the plastic bottles.  Haven’t commented on all the pee bottles that I saw down south, because I am actually not seeing as many up north. At least not once I got north of a Bishop. Maybe different kinds of people or a lesser population? I do see a lot of solid rubber bungees, most of them broken, so don’t use them. Lots, and lots, of different hub caps, and I started picking them up and placing them against the highway posts. What I do for entertainment. I quit doing it because I found myself unhooking the Wheelie and wasting my precious energy going down the embankments to get them. It was a stupid idea. Oh, yes. Lots of hard plastic cooler tops, not the Styrofoam ones. That one surprises me.

Much of today was spent walking the perimeter of Eagle Lake. Because of the years of drought, the lake is almost dry. There were several boat ramps along the side of the road but what is left of the water is probably a half to a mile away. I was told that the lake use to be a big draw for the people in Susanville to fish and waterski. The water in years past would come right to the road and on windy days would splash onto the highway. Now no one even comes here anymore. Scary!

Today I had to remind myself that I need to take a day off every seven days or so since I am really starting to feel my energy drain. Today the road was up and down, with a few short steep climbs, and I found myself struggling a little bit. After a slightly steep one mile climb, I stopped and set up my chair in the shade of an empty Cal Trans building and took over a hour break. I had something to eat and drink, yet still felt a little sluggish. I hit the road and found the CDF Fire Station about a half mile away. That’s what I needed for an energy boost, some cold water and ice.

I was welcomed by three young men at the station who made it a point to introduce themselves and shake my hand. I am starting to like these fire station because the guys manning them are always so friendly and helpful. They took me into the station and offered to fill my bottles with water and ice. Before I had a chance to set then down, one of the guys grabbed it and went to the other building and filled them for me. Of course they offered me food too, but against my policy of saying yes, I thankfully declined. I could have stayed and chatted with them a long time, and maybe even camped there, but realize that I wanted to make it to Adin by tomorrow.

I hit the road and saw this spot and decided to stop for the night. Much of this small stretch of the road is fence for the grazing cattle, so it was a little more difficult to find a camp spot. This spot was gated but with a latch. The site is set well off of the road and has a stacked rock wall that will be a perfect wind break.

Tomorrow I will try and get to Adin since Mindee actually has reservations at the only motel in town. It only has six rooms and five were booked. Luckily Mindee made reservations as it is some type of bird hunting season and five of the rooms were already taken by the hunters. I’d hate not to get my shower, it will only be nine days. There is only one restaurant in town and it will be a break from my freeze dried food.

Hopefully I’ll be able to send this out tomorrow, and maybe update my blog for tomorrow too. Please keep sending me your positive thoughts snd prayers. Please excuse the typos, grammar, spelling, etc.

Ted