The long gradual descent into Seiad Valley makes my knees hurt just thinking about it. As the trail lost elevation, the abundance of water was a little overwhelming. From needing to carry 10-15 miles worth of water + an overnight liter and a half to, now, needing a half liter between each of the rather large streams.
There were plenty of logs to help cross the streams and there were many streams that at one point in time had bridges. I imagine with all the debris in the area, when these streams reach their high point in the season, not much stands a chance of surviving such a torrent.
The PCT is the road going into Seiad Valley. Along said road was a half mile of prime blackberry bushes. I was on schedule to make it into Seiad Valley before 2 pm, but got hung up here for a good 45 minutes just chowing down on the sweet and juicy berries.
About a mile from reaching the Seiad Store, I was out of water and it was at least 100°F when a van pulled over offering me a ride. After a moment of deliberation I came to the conclusion that I was done with this road walk. After helping them clear a spot in the back of there van for me to sit, I was shuttled the last mile and was just in time to get a LARGE MILKSHAKE! For whatever reason, the small cafe shut their doors at 2 pm... this day might have been a Sunday.
Butterfingers and my plan was to organize our resupply, relax out of the heat and sun for the day, then this evening hike 2-3 miles or so up the long and daunting Seiad Valley climb; a climb that has full exposure to the sun for the nearly 9 miles and 5000' of elevation gain. While relaxing in town, we met up with Irish Matt, M&M and quite a few other faces I hadn't seen in a while.
With everyone enjoying their time and taking some time off in Seiad Valley, it made it rather difficult to leave. Butterfingers and I wanted and needed to stay on schedule to Ashland and further to Crater Lake. We were both meeting our families there and didn't have an extra day to give to this fun and quaint valley.
Less than 1000 miles to the Canadian Boarder!
