August 1st, 2016
Miles Hiked: 9 Miles
Start Location: Mile 1591
End Location: Mile 1600
End Location GPS: 41.40423, -123.02878
We woke up a little later than normal (5:15!) and were hiking by 6:15 as the morning light danced off Paynes Lake. We made a quick 6 miles to the trailhead parking area and the road into Etna and got a ride within minutes.
Etna is a small quaint mountain town with a few restaurants and a grocery store. We went out to breakfast and then did laundry and had showers at the RV park. I had some new shoes comming to the hostel in town so we waited for them to arrive. They finally came around 6. We wanted to get out of town earlier to get a few more miles in but that wasn’t the case.
We got back to the trailhead around 7 and hiked an hour before stoping. Our bags are heavy again with a lot of food and the new shoes feel different but good. I no longer feel every pebble I step on and they dont feel like I’m wearing sandles anymore. This is my 4th pair of shoes which I’m a bit surprised by and not entirely happy about.
