September 2

I left my campsite later than I wanted to and later than necessary to hike 30 miles before sunset, but made it 27 to a lakeside spot only 14 miles from the road that will get me to Etna. Once there, I can get my box from my Aunt Laurie that made its way up from Texas and see what treasures are inside. I heard something about homemade granola bars which I'm particularly excited about. I can get a good lunch too and I heard there is an excellent coffee shop as well. It may be hard for me to get out of town and back on trail, but I'm hoping this is a quick stop. 

I had a great stop in Seiad Valley and have been thinking about it all day today. Tonight, for example, I had my first taste of a Mountain House meal. I call it "rich people food" because they're about $7 each and for me to eat them on the trail would mean shelling out close to $1,000 just for dinners. The Chicken Teriyaki and Rice meal was so good I'm almost ready to buy a case or two and get some of those to carry on the trail. 

It was a really good hike today and I have to say that the Marble Mountain Wilderness is beautiful and I would love to spend some time hiking around in this area. It's been nice to get out of the forest and have some views once again. It's been nice even if it means strenuous and rough terrain which I had plenty of today. It was fun too in talking with the nobos to tell them that "Bink" is actually Scott Williamson and watch their reactions as they had no idea even though they all talked with him for a few moments.