Day 2 - Creek at mile 1697.2.

Oh my. What a day. First off I didn’t get great sleep last night. My sleeping system is set for mid 40’s but not really below that. The under quilt I use works fine for those temps but that’s not what happened. I did get some sleep and as long as I didn’t move around much I could keep the warmth thing working. It was probably in the high 30’s last night. Bummer. 

Now you may think I didn’t check the long range forecasts for the first 10 days but no, I did check in the areas near the towns I’d be near. That was the best I could do. Ashland had sunny days for a week. But nope that isn’t what happened. Oddly I checked again in the middle of the night and this is what I saw. 

Yikes! And this is what I woke up to. 

Ok so it’s a bit socked in. It didn’t look like rain yet so I slowly got myself together and left the shelter of the shelter. Here is something I learned today. Anything with the word Gap in it is gonna be windy. Walking back to the PCT I got the full impact of the wind coming through Grouse Gap. This is how I was attired. 

I turned left and got into some trees which was better but the wind was still swirling and the fog was cold and damp. I put on my poncho for protection and warmth and trudged on. Looking ahead I could see another Gap ahead, Siskiyou Gap. I could see on my maps that from that point the trail took a windward march around to the next gap, Wrangle Gap. I could also see that there was fire service road #20 that took the leeward route around and joined up with the trail at  Wrangle Gap. 

I debated back and forth... should I take the alternate, even though it wasn’t the PCT or should I just brave the wind and stick to the trail. I stopped just before the junction for 20 minutes to eat a quick lunch and told myself I’d wait to see how it was when I got there. This is what the trees looked like in the wind. 

I figured I’d end up much the same if I took the PCT so I took the FS road instead. Am I glad I  did. When I turned back towards the spot where the trail intersects again, the trees were covered in ice. I could have been that icy, but I opted for safety over purity. I’m good with that. 

I walked a couple more miles till I got to this creek and decided to call it a day. I rummaged around till I found a spot to hang my hammock and put up the tarp, just as snow flurries started. Damn. It looks like it’s gonna be a cold one tonight. 

I did call home this morning and Angela is sending me another under quilt I can pick up in Seiad Valley in four more days. Until then it’s gonna be an adventure in trying to stay warm at night. Nothing dangerous mind you, just not as warm as I’d prefer.