SPIRIT BLAZER

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@spiritblazer.com
Hey bear(s). Have a good life, bears. TRUCKEE TO TAHOE CITY: doing either an alternate to bypass some nobo bubble or thru hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail in a floppy flippy way. A beautiful bit of trail. Excited to see what all the Tahoe Basin has to offer. Using's Like A Bad Habit - John Trudell Quincy to Sierra City: Finally almost out of Norcal and into the Tahoe Basin. Unfortunately have to start carrying an extra two pounds in the form of a bear canister from here south. In Sierra City, I've had a nice hobo day off and only bought deli food. Wave after wave of nobo hikers are coming through. There are some cool people, but it's also highlighted by the judgmental people I meet. Sometimes it would be interesting to know someone longer, but mostly it reinforces the choice to go the other direction and not have so much influence on my daily choices. Feels easier to stay connected to the reasons to be out here. After a good few days waiting out the 4th of July in Chester, I bounced over to Quincy where I had a good work trade opportunity making fire lines around the property and removing large rocks from homemade fire roads around the ranch. It was an unexpected experience in a lot of ways from a different kind of trail angel. Though Bob said his friends call him a trail devil for making me get up to work at 4:30am. It is always a good experience to find a little work, like an old timey hobo somewhere. Doesn't seem like it is as common these days, but alive and well on the PCT. It was an interesting reset of things though, as Bob spends a lot of time listening to John Trudell spoken word and poetry which I didn't even know existed. Many albums of which I'm carrying down the trail. In them, a much bigger conversation than any in my stay. I also went to a local meditation group. I walked away from Quincy south fresh for the next half of my PCT adventure and a lot more to carry with me inside and out than before. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DadYM_pxphx/ Burney to Chester, CA on the Pacific Crest Trail: Walked through a major burn area at the Lassen Volcanic National Park. I saw the lava tubes, geyser, and the peak as sidequests. Much of it was overgrown and I'm running into northbound tramilies. Which was lucky to meet some people at the NPS campground that shared their site so I didn't have to hike through in one day. At the road the Chester a trail angel was waiting and gave me a ride into town. Spending the weekend in Chester for the holiday with someone I hiked the AT with. Then I'm going to hop down to Quincy since my shoes are failing. Ordered a pair to Sierra City I hope will arrive in time, and that these ones can be made to last 40 more miles. (Reel Version) Mt Shasta to Burney: said goodbye to the castle of crags and walked into a green tunnel. Often overgrown. Occasionally a view. Starting to run into northbound thru-hikers now. Maybe one every 5 miles. Southbound has a quality to it in that the people you pass through are a part of the experience. The humor. The people putting their last days of fear into you. The bear. The mountain lion. The rattlesnake they saw a few miles that way. Other than finding water off trail that went wrong for a couple hours, there wasn't much to fear. Sections here aren't maintained and it definitely felt more like a wilderness area than a trail as you push through bushes the GPS swears is the trail. It took me longer than expected, but I made it only half a day later than planned. The other side of the 80 miles of mostly bushes was a giant waterfall and a free church to stay at. I'm resting a day and then carrying on to Chester. #pacificcresttrail

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