8 Miles
We had a smooth morning getting out of Burney. Slept in until 8, then out the door around 11. A quick stop to the ATM, the post office, and then breakfast at Blackberry Patch. Initially, we tried to hitch right outside of the diner, but decided to move up the highway a bit to stand in the shade. We didn’t even reach the shade before a nice, older couple pulled over. The ride was a big help to us and the couple were long-time locals. They seemed insistent to take us to Burney Falls so instead of taking us back to the spot along the highway where the PCT crosses it, they took us to a trailhead that was directly across from Burney Falls. They knew it avoided the entrance fee to the state park and would put us close to the trail. It also put us ahead by 8 miles, which we didn’t mind. Taking a footbridge over the river, we were in the park. The general store was supposed to have soft serve ice cream, but the machine was broke. Instead, we got a couple beers and walked over to the gazebo where all the thru-hikers were hanging out. I didn’t know most of them, but we did know who some of them were: Bluegrass, Spin, 700, Scenic Route, The Count, B.C., and Big Red (the last 3 are all from Minnesota and go by The Minnesota Hikings). It was nice hanging out, but we still hadn’t actually hiked yet, so we finished our drinks, checked out the falls, and then headed out. As we were leaving the park, we passed Sisyphus who was already aware of the developing party in the gazebo. After 8 miles we stopped for the day and set up the tent. We were near Upper Jake Spring, which was cool for obvious reasons. The spring itself was but a trickle. Lots of yellow jackets were around it too, but they left us alone. We gathered our water, made dinner, and then turned in.
PCT Hike 