It was a pleasant morning of walking through the wildflowers on the Hat Creek Rim when possible disaster struck. Mid morning while keeping a quick pace, something black and White caught my eye. I took another step and I saw the distinct tail of a skunk raise. I turned around and sprinted back the way I had come. The tender ankle and tired feet were forgotten. I moved quicker than I have in the last 49 days. It didn’t spray and eventually ran off, but it was a fear inducing feeling. It was a dry day with really only two water sources and it was hot, to magnify the situation. Despite the terrain and weather, it was quick downhill hiking as long as I could avoid the large lava rocks scattered on the trail. They reminded me of the rocks in Pennsylvania and were not the nicest to an already tender ankle. After 24 miles I arrived at highway 299 and made the quick trip into Burney for a charge of my quickly fading phone and my external battery. This phone has survived over 10,000 miles of hiking over 2.5 years, but it seems to be finally biting the dust. It’s a problem that is on the list for the near future to keep the posts coming. I also seem to have developed an ear infection which is proving bothersome and is another problem to figure out. I’m Burney the weather turned, with thunderstorms predicted. Yet I hiked out into it. It gives me a smile because I know what I went for a little over two years ago with subzero temperatures and snowstorms. It’s all part of the experience!
Miles 34
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