September 13

It is nice to finally cool down to less than 30 miles a day now that I have caught up to Louis. My legs and joints are repairing themselves after my 100 miles in 3 days stretch and it feels great. It's especially great tonight after a soak in another hot springs pool right near the trail. We stopped by Drakesbad Guest Ranch for a late lunch, shower and laundry and were granted permission to take a swim in the hot pool. It was a 22 mile day to the ranch. On the way we met a few hikers being that it is a national park (Mt. Lassen National Park) and it's the end of the week. We also followed some bear tracks in the dirt right on the trail for a while, but never saw the animal. We have camped right next to a large geyser 2 miles away from the ranch and I'll try to get some sunrise pictures of the steam in the morning.