Day 113 Etna – The hike

Day 113 Etna
20 miles
From Scott Mtn Campground (mile 1561.8, elevation 5401)
To Carter Meadows (mile 1581, elevation 6181)

Not feeling so nice

I wasn’t feeling so kind and grateful today. I was having trouble getting over my delay at Donner Lake, as it looked like similar things were shaping up for Ashland. I feel like I just need to talk to my friends to clear things up.

It doesn’t help that Brie is also changing my plans regarding the Etna meeting. I’ve been working really hard to cover ground to get to Ashland, and this will set me back several miles.

Of course, things get difficult when your only real means of communication is Garmin InReach’s jumbled messages. My phone has a BT connection to my InReach, so why does it take hours before the phone receives messages that are on InReach?

Remembering that everyone is doing their best and wants to help is what makes me feel bad when I don’t feel kind. It’s just that others don’t understand many of my challenges along the way.

Smells of the outdoors

Today, it really became obvious to me that I could use the Seek app to identify all types of plants in nature. That included finally identifying the plant that has smelled so sweet for the past few days. It’s Snowbrush Ceanothus, and it’s the plant itself that smells sweet, not the flowers.

How to Get to Carter Meadows

Now I’m trying to get to Carter Meadows early enough to hitchhike into Callahan or Etna, so I can take care of the few purchases I want to make to resupply (meat, cheese, desserts). Doing them tomorrow morning will only increase the delay.

It doesn’t help that the weather calls for light rain and it looks like that’s possible.

Near the trailhead, I met a guy with his 2 lab puppies. He offered to take me into town if I was still there when I got back.

Etna

Once I got to the trailhead, the second car that passed by stopped and gave me a ride. Sharon was collecting pinecones for someone’s Etsy crafts. He had previously lived in Gilroy. His daughter worked at Loon, a mobile phone service based on secure balloons. I spent some time as a privacy reviewer for Loon. He has also taken geology collecting trips right off the side of the road in search of streamers. We had a lot to talk about during the trip to Etna. She gave me a quick tour of the city. I also saw it when I went to the market.

I stayed at the Hiker Hut, a hostel that is part of the Bluebird Inn. I shared the space with Colin, a paramedic from the Santa Rosa Fire Department who was here supporting the firefighting effort. We had a lot to talk about (he liked my smart rock protector with water bottle). One thing I liked hearing was that it carries supplies to treat a person or injury. It’s a reasonable guideline for how much to bring when supporting a group.

All in all, the day ended very well.

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