Pacific Crest Trail - Day 120 - Drakesbad Ranch

These signs describing various strategies of forest management in the middle of an absolutely scorched forest for miles and miles in every direction were hilariously (and not) preserved.

This is fine. Yikes. These bushes were spiky (to the point of drawing blood) post-fire scrub brush.

We opportunistically took a road walk detour from the trail on an immaculately maintained logging road. To say that it is frustrating to walk a neglected National Scenic Trail next to an immaculately maintained logging road is an understatement. National Forests: burn scars and OHV racetracks… hiking? fuck you.

The forest service did a ton of work clearing the Domingo Spring campground. They wait until winter and snow on the ground to burn the piles.

An immaculate water source.

Lassen National Park with a warm (formerly 🔥 ) welcome.

no campfires. Only million acre wild fires. Lassen National Forest and Lassen National Park were absolutely devastated by the Dixie Fire. I have limited time for research but have heard that 70% of Lassen National Forest has been recently devastated by wildfire, which scans with my experience hiking through it.

70 fucking percent. And you get a “yeah, it’s just terrible” as if teenagers are skateboarding in the park by your picnic. 70 fucking percent of a forest gets … well, Shirley, that‘s quite a bummer, I suppose we’ll drive our 10 ton 35 foot ”recreational vehicle” elsewhere this summer.

Boomers grew up with forests and leave ashes; physically, literally, and metaphorically. Apparently not realizing that all we can really hope for out of this existence is a handful of loved ones left to pour our own ashes over an unremarkable suburban cliff out of a Folgers can. But hey, our RV is clean in a garage in the back lot, and there’s always another yet-to-be scorched forest to drive it to, right? Right?

Law? LOL. A convicted felon is President. The Constitution might as well be toilet paper on a roll beside a gilded shitter on Fifth Avenue at this point.

Americans think freedom means cowering behind borders, property lines, and boundaries. It’s myopic and pathetic.

Will the seeds from this Dandelion go farther than you have walked this month?!

Best name for a beer in 1400 miles on trail.

The incredible Drakesbad Guest Ranch shower house. They served Salisbury steak for dinner which I‘d rant about but will leave alone for posterity / future ranting .

Durston tents are simultaneously the most popular and most hated tents on trail. They make the AllBirds of tents… great if you only ever use them on carpet in your basement.