Day 102 – The Climb (Seiad Valley edition)

7/25/18

Miles: 1655.9 to 1679.3

Trail Miles: 23.4

I did not sleep well last night at the RV campground. I cowboy camped because it was so warm – too warm for the tent – but that left me exposed to the mosquitoes. The RV Park is next to a road, and trucks drove by periodically during the night. It didn’t help that I woke up to pee twice either. I woke up for good at 4 AM.

Looking back on the Klamath River

The local forecast called for a high of 103 deg today. Leaving Seiad Valley, there was an 8-mile climb with a 4500 feet elevation gain. It was tough. Probably the toughest climb outside the Sierras. I’m glad we waited to do it in the morning. We had considered hiking out last night, but it was still 100° at 5pm. Momento and Waterfall did. I can only imagine how miserable it was.

There are no water sources in this section either. I left the RV park with just under 4 L Due to the heat and the 15 mile dry stretch that gave me 1 L per 5 miles plus reserve for the heat. Between the extra water and food resupply, my pack was pretty heavy for the climb.

Smoke and haze from fires in OR

We were on the trail by 6am. Two hikers had left before us, in the dark. In the morning sunlight, I clearly saw fresh Mountain lion tracks on the trail. That is why I don’t hike in the dark.

Cougar tracks

The forest north of Seiad is a lot more sparse then on the south side. It’s also burned, some of it very recently. Although the Manzanita and shrubs are coming back in full force, the trees haven’t started yet. It will take decades, fifty-plus years, to come back to what it once was.

Burn area from 2017 fire

The climb was as hot and exposed as I’d expected. Even after the initial 8miles, the trail continued up, to a lesser degree, and was Sun-exposed. I dealt with it by drinking lots of water and wishing for a sun umbrella.