Looking at what we still have to do to finish, we had a number of challenges for the final section:

– a 14 mile ascent out of Belden

– a forecast of rain, below freezing temperatures, possible snow over the next 3-4 days

– because of the requirement to put all food in a bear container if camping in Lassen National Park we have to hike right through from the campground to our finish point – 27 miles – on the last day when we will likely be wet and cold and it is forecast to be snowing.

However, today the weather remained fine although the chill has set in tonight. On our way we enjoyed once more the pleasures of the PCT. Three deer – one looked back to us from further along the track; a large grey squirrel bounced across the trail; lots of beautiful orange, brown and black butterflies were on our path and we are still finding the occasional cluster of wildflowers that are late blooming. There is plenty of evidence of bears on the path but we didn’t see one today.

Also there were lots of creeks to cross, some by jumping from rock to rock and others by balancing on logs. We were extra careful not to wet our feet as we will probably have wet feet from rain and snow in the days ahead.

Lunch stop