Day 108: 26 miles today and done by 4pm. Feels freaking amazing!!! This is my favorite. To be done and be able to stretch and read before slowly eating dinner and winding down. Today was fun. I ran into Monarch and Hitch, I hadn’t seen them forever. They skipped the Sierras. Then walked south from somewhere, and are now heading back north towards Canada. They’re a rad group of chicks. Today was blistering hot. Before lunch was manageable as the trail seemed to be keeping us under the trees and in the forest a good chunk of the time. In the morning I ran into LEGO, a really funny guy I met back in Sierra City. He is a character who wears very short running shorts. But it works for him. We chilled for a bit near a small pipe spring while I got some water and he smacked. He, in Sierra City, randomly said look at this showing me his phone. And it was a nude photo of him on summer solstice. Aka hike naked day. It wasn’t creepy, let’s just say he has 0 shame. But a big heart. He is so kind, and always gives you a good laugh. I then ventured on heading in and out of the forest. Across ridges, up and down hills. I managed to get lost at one point. Shocker. Just normal dry trail but all the sudden I lost it. I got Guthooks out and it would show it below me so I went down a hill, knew it wasn’t right. Then it said it was above me so I headed back up. But then just gave in I knew the direction I needed to go and soon caught back up to the trail. Must have had overgrown bush on the trail of something when I lost it. Later on the downhill is when I saw Monarch and Hitch. It was hot so we were all struggling a little. I bolted down the hill to get to the water source where I planned to rest and eat lunch. The crossing wasn’t big but not small enough to just hop over so I just flipped my shoes off and walked through followed by planting my butt on the dirt and eating my hummus and chip wrap. First Hitch passed me, then Monarch. They planned to catch lunch in a couple miles down by the main river, but I was starving so I stayed put. But that river was beautiful. Such a good spot for a nice dip. The afternoon continued to get hotter and hotter. Usually it doesn’t really – [ ] bother me, but today was different. My brain felt a little foggy and I kept getting a little light headed. So I started doing, at every creek, dunking my head and hat into the cold water then continuing on. It felt so good, but I swear within 20 seconds everything was dry again. Finally I make it to the final bridge leading me to my campsite. At Grider Creek Campground I plan to camp then hike the 6.5 miles into Seiad Valley tomorrow. It’s the last town in CA. As soon as I crossed the bridge I saw Javalou!! Super exciting. He was there with a couple other hikers and there were lots of snacks. But I just set my stuff up then stripped my clothes off and went under the bridge to a nice swimming hole. It was soooo nice and refreshing. I sat in there probably 20 minutes. Later Lake came, and Monarch, and Hitch, Freckles and Tim, SassyPants, Lego, it was a freakin party! But me being me I chatted for a bit then just went to my tent to read and stay away from all of the mosquitoes. But it’s so hot. Even just laying on top of my sleeping bag is brutal. Even in the dark going to sleep I continued to sweat. I loved today, it was very Solo but I got to see lots of people I hadn’t in awhile.