Off to the restaurant for a big breakfast, a hiker tradition in Seiad Valley. Afterward, Fran checks the status of forest fires at the forest ranger office and is told that where we are headed is fine.
I figured out the cause of the blisters on top of my foot. The Altras Lone Peak shoes have a bad seam at the base of the tongue that rubs on the top of the foot. I poke tiny scissors in as best I can and trim off some of the excess fabric. I'm really trying to like these shoes since they are comfortable and have a great toe box. However, they are already showing considerable wear, and seem to have real quality control problems. I had to exchange my first pair due to a poorly cut insole that caused pain and affected my gait, and now a bad seam may be causing blisters on top of the foot.
We try to get an early start since we are facing a steep, long climb back up 4,500 feet in 5.5 miles. For a morning leaving town, we don't do too badly. We met several other hikers in town, plus the ones we partied with last night. We expect some of them to overtake us as we slowly climb up the hill, but none do. They are probably waiting until evening to hike in the cooler weather. We stop at the two springs on the way up the hill and get our shirts wet, and I pour water over my head. We call that turning on the air conditioning.
The smoke gets thicker all day. I trust the outlook provided by the forest ranger. Otherwise, I think I'd be too nervous to continue into possible danger.
We leave the last water source, Lookout Spring, about six miles up. Ten miles up, the Bigfoot Trail turns west onto the Boundary Trail while the Pacific Crest Trail heads east. We depart the PCT, grateful for 71 relatively good miles, but now continuing with a dry 11-mile stretch forcing us to hike until dusk.
16 miles to Lonesome Lake, to mile 252.
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