21     Etna - Seiad Valley   54 miles

Etna

Fisher Lake                         13.6 m

Buckhorn Spring                  20.5 m

Seiad Valley                        19.4 m

The hostel owner gave us a ride back to the pass. As always this meant that hiking started several hours later than normally. More and more clouds came in during the day. Towards evening a thunder storm arrived. Lightning hit a tree on the other side of a basin. I could see that the top third of the tree was blown away and shortly after smoke started rising. It can happen so fast. I checked my maps to figure out how I could get out of the basin if needed. During the thunder storm and the night hardly any rain fell.

Now the trail passed through the Marble Mountains. Whether it is really marble or just looks like it I don't know. At the end of this short section the PCT went well down into another hot valley. Here in Seiad Valley was quite some uproar. There are plans to set up a National Monument in this area. This can be done without involvement of Congress by the President. Mining and forest industry was totally opposed to any such plan. Mining for gold was already restricted. Use of high pressure water hoses was no more allowed; only with shovel and gold pan.

PCT

This forest fire started a few minutes after lightning strike

The fire has spread over night

Calm Fisher Lake in the morning

View of Mount Shasta with smoke from forest fires

Blooming meadow on PCT

Another forest fire

Lunch break on PCT

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