Arthur on the PCT

Arthur just passed through Lassen Volcanic National Park and has had views of Mt Lassen and Mt Shasta for the last several days. He continues to message me nearly every day.  Tuesday July 18: "Got a nice campsite near a waterfall! Big drop down into belden earlier today, saw a monarch and tons of hummingbird moths. Rested at belden resort for a while, then began the climb. Extremely hot and exposed at the start, but there were delicious wild blackberries along the way. Climbed up into this pretty canyon with shade, but intermittent burn scar from the Dixie Fire I think made some of it pretty sunny and hot." Wed July 19: "Lots of burn area today. Better views of Lassen and now can see Shasta! Amazing trail magic at a gravel road, got watermelon and cherries. Saw a banana slug!" Thursday July 20: "Lots more burn area today, pretty annoying. Camping right at the border of lassen NP, five others here. Pretty views of lassen for most of the day" Friday July 21:

"The other night I heard the noise of a large animal walking around so I yelled at it and it slowly went away. Then I heard it coming back, yelled some more but it wouldn't go away again, and there were sniffing sound so I was sure it was a bear. I nervously shined my headlamp at it and there was a weird tall gangly shape and I was wondering what in the world it was but it was just a deer standing at a weird angle lol." Mom is convinced it wasn't a deer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In reality the most abundant wildlife in Arthur's world right now is the common mosquito. "One night I must have had like at least 100 around my bivy lol. The noise was very bothersome." The heat has been affecting him but he is still feeling great. "The other day I drank 8 liters of water it's been pretty hot. It was super hot and humid going down but on the other side of the canyon going up it was shaded and the difference in temperature was pretty incredible."

Three days in and Arthur is very much back in the swing of things: July 13: "Got into camp tonight. Did 22 miles, even with the snow slowing me down. None of it was too bad, even a little fun sometimes. Met 4 other PCTers." July 14: "Heat wasn't bad, there was plenty of shade. My longest day yet, 31 miles! I feel great still. Got a campsite near lakes but with little mosquitoes." July 15: "Did 25 miles today. Plenty of snow, nothing too sketchy and I think that's the end of it. First views of lassen! Last of castle peak."

After some time with family and friends at our family cabin near Donner Summit, Arthur got back on the trail this morning.  Hiking with some folks who are ultralighters in the desert section convinced him to try to lighten his load for this next phase through northern California and Oregon. He left behind one of his water containers, his camp sandals, and rain jacket. I'm not sure if there are any other items he altered or abandoned, or how many ounces these changes shaved off his base weight.  Mom and Dad are super proud of him and excited for him. But we will miss him. In May we were only saying good-bye for six weeks, but this time it might be three months before we see him again.