Captain's Log: Day 69

June 20, 2016

We took it slow in the morning. Although my leg was feeling better in the morning I still wanted to be careful. The landscape lent itself to spacing out and slowing down as we walked through a monotonous burn section until mid afternoon.

As we began getting back into healthy pine forests we ran into a Lassen Park trail crew doing work. It's hard to appreciate trail work fully when you're only reaping the benefits, focused on the trail and putting up miles, and not seeing it happen in real time. We walked around one blowdown more than 4 feet in diameter methodically being cleared with a combination of hand tools. I'm looking forward to the point in my life where I'm settled in one place long enough to join a trail crew and begin to pay it forward.

Early evening we came over a ridge to get our first view of Warner Valley. From the ridge we could see the Drakesbad Guest Ranch's pool fed by the valley's hot springs. We were still very much in volcano territory.

We got down off the ridge and decided to check the ranch out. It was too early to get the PCT special dinner rate but we decided to stay for the meal anyway; it smelled great and getting the dinner allowed us full run of the facilities including the pool.

Before all that though, we decided to have a beer. And a few minutes later Rainbow, a nobo also staying for dinner, showed up and we began talking. And then a little after that Shaq Diesel arrived and joined in the conversation. And before we knew it our three course dinner was being served and the chance for a dip before dinner had passed.

The food was just as amazing at it had smelled. The main course was glazed pork followed up by homemade pecan pie. Shaq Diesel's birthday was barely a week earlier and she had received too many birthday care packages to enjoy all at once so one of those had been bounced on to Drakesbad. Ed, the proprietor, had picked up on this and the pie arrived with a candle and a happy birthday song from the ranch staff. This was then followed, much to our surprise, by a complementary bottle of champagne! Talk about hospitality - they would be getting only the best publicity along the trail from me.

The heavy food, beer, birthday champagne, and birthday shots had us all yawning before long and, after thanking the staff for everything, we wandered back up towards the trail proper. There was a drive in campground there that charged by the site and not by the person so we all split a site and were out for the count fast.

Took it slow in the morning because of my leg. Uneventful morning walking through burned section. After 2pm it changed to pine. Met a trail crew hard at work. Climbed up and over to see Warner Valley and Drakesbad Guest Ranch. Got down to campground and decided to check it out for dinner. Met rainbow and had beers. Shaq Diesel arrived. Dinner + birthday champagne. Too late to use hot spring pool. Headed back up to campground to sleep.