Some men went to California in search of gold. I went in search of wildflowers and on the slopes of Mount Eddy I hit the mother lode. But first I had to get there...

 I spent several days in San Francisco then boarded the overnight Amtrak to Dunsmuir in Northern California. The Coast Starlight runs between Los Angeles and Seattle with one train a day in each direction; other than that the line is given over to enormous freight trains that clank and hoot along the tracks. I arrived at dawn on July 7th.
 Dunsmuir is a small town in the woods and the forest extends right down to the railroad yard. What I first thought was a misty morning proved to be smoke. I asked around and was told that a huge wildfire was burning 50 or 60 miles to the north.
 I must admit that I looked up at the trees and mountains with awe and some trepidation.

 I needed to get 6 miles south to where I could pick up the Pacific Crest Trail where it runs through the Castle Crags State Park into the wilderness area beyond. It's a difficult spot to reach on foot from Dunsmuir but there is one taxi firm in the area (Shasta Shuttles) so I left a message at 6am to see if I could get a ride. I found a place to sit down by the Post Office resigned to a long wait.
 After about 25 minutes a pick up truck pulled up and the driver hailed me. It was Artie the owner of the firm who got my message at home and set off in his truck to see if he could find me!
 He dropped me off at Amiretti's Market near the trail. I had a chat with the proprietor when he opened up the store. He arrived on a mini-tractor; had he been on a horse he could have been a figure from the Old West. Then I started walking...

 As mentioned in my previous entry the first day was spent skirting around the towering granite spires of the Crags.

 The PCT is generally no wider than a footpath, albeit one that runs from Mexico to Canada. This is one of the gentler gradients; basically I had to backpack uphill for 40 miles going from around 2000 feet above sea level to over 7000. Temperatures were hitting the high thirties, I had to carry food for the week and water was in short supply along the trail. In fact several thru hikers said they were finding it tougher than the desert stages of the PCT which are flatter and they tackle in spring.
 I chatted to a number of these hikers along the way. Great people- I guess anyone who decides to walk a couple of thousand miles must have spirit and strong character.
 Sometimes the trail passed through shady pine and redwood but much of it was exposed to the baking sun. I remember this spot because Mount Shasta is straight ahead on the horizon and a beautiful cool breeze was blowing straight off its snow capped peak!

 My trusty tent was the roof over my head at night.

 This dried up creek gives a good idea of the water situation. A stupendous amount of water must flow after winter to move these very large granite boulders but by summer it's gone. I had to go some way up these rocks to find a trickle of water to refill my bottles.

 The trail was mostly distinct enough to follow without too much difficulty and the occasional signpost helps! Navigating any distance off trail would require a compass or GPS. It's a vast, uninhabited territory and it would be easy to get disorientated.

 As I reached the higher elevations I began to spot a number of lakes scattered around the landscape. This reassured me that there would be water to drink and where there's water there's wildflowers.

 On the third day I reached Deadfall Lake at the foot of Mount Eddy. Here I based myself for several days meaning I could explore the surrounding area without having to lug my pack.
 I pitched right by the lake and it was truly an idyll. I was woken in the morning by the wings of hummingbirds (of which there were many) and I was lulled to sleep at night by the sound of fish flip-flopping in the water.

 There are other smaller lakes higher than Deadfall Lake all fed in spring by the snow melt of Mount Eddy, seen rising above in the background of this photo.

 The flow of this water creates verdant mountain meadows. These alpine areas are particularly flowery in the summer months because the flowers have a very short period to do their thing. The time between the snow melting and the creeks drying up then snow again is relatively short.

 And sure enough Mount Eddy lived up to its promise of wildflowers in profusion. I will write several more entries (at least!) in the days and weeks ahead detailing some of the beauties I spotted...