Ron, Dave and I had planned to go to New Mexico for our annual hiking trip, but there are fires there and we don't want to mess up our lungs, so we go to the Trinity Alps in northern CA instead.

6/20

We drive up in two cars. Our airbnb is in Lewiston, and we figure there must be a grocery store, so we arrange to meet there. But in fact there isn't a grocery store. Ron and I wait at a junction for 15 min; Dave doesn't appear - turns out he was taking a roadside nap. Anyway, we press on to the airbnb; all we know was that it was on Bridge Rd. My car's GPS takes us to a dirt driveway that ends in a fence with Beware of Dog signs; we go in and there's a derelict empty house. Mild panic sets in.

We go back up the road and see a sign for the real Bridge Rd, and find the actual airbnb. Dave arrives soon thereafter. The airbnb is palatial, with the best kitchen ever. We drive to Weaverville, which has an actual grocery store, and get a bunch of food, including steak to grill for dinner. We also roast potatoes and onions.

6/21

The forecast is for 97 deg, so we get up early (5:30), drive an hour to the trailhead for Canyon Creek Lakes, and are on the trail at 7:40. It's nice and cool. The hike is spectacular, going up a long canyon, through many different varieties of forest. After 8.6 miles and 3000' vertical we arrive at the first lake and have lunch (steak sandwiches). Ron and Dave continue another .5 mile or so to the second lake; I elect to rest.

We all get pretty tired on the return hike. I have all-over soreness but nothing acute.

We return to the supermarket in Weaverville. Ron and I are barely able to walk from the car to the entrance, but we loosen after a few minutes.

We grill chicken for dinner, and Ron makes roast broccoli with lemon.

6/22

Instead of doing another hike we rent an inflatable raft and float down the Trinity River for ~12 miles. Ron's approach to navigation is to try for as much drama as possible in the rapids.

For dinner we make a big salad, using up the leftovers from previous meals; perfect. After dinner we watch rock-climbing and math videos, as well as Monica's "Pitter-Patter". 6/23

On the way to Redding we stop for a short hike (.3 miles) at Crystal Falls, which turns out to be quite charming. We bushwhack upstream another 100 feet or so and there's an even more beautiful waterfall, with a sandy pool at its base.

In Redding, we stop at Cafe Fogato for 2nd breakfast; it's on the first floor of CalTrans headquarters. Ron gets a sausage croissant which is normal size but seems to weigh several pounds.

We bid farewall to Dave, who's driving back to Seattle via Ashland. Ron and I have an uneventful drive back to Berkeley.