Day 98: Fun Times at the ranch but time to go. Me, Freckles, and Tim didn’t do the waffle breakfast we just ate from the hiker box and got going. I got ahead quickly, but then was stopped by an older couple who chatted with me for about 15-20 minutes in which Freckles and Tim found and saved me. The man just wouldn’t quit talking. But they were adorable. Long skirt and Noodles were their names. There was some really fun trail magic at a picnic table. Lemonade, unfortunately heavily watered down by this point. And instead of just a normal registry where we write our names it asked for jokes. It was great reading through it, and I don’t really have jokes but I wrote “what do you call it when Batman skips church?” CHRISTIAN BALE! Ha. Anyways kept hiking on from there. Very foresty this section. Just surrounded by trees. The next site is Burney Falls and I am so stoked to see it. It’s just a short distance off of the trail. Again, I got ahead of Freckles and Tim, and hope to see them there. I crossed Burney Creek on a bridge then took the .8 mile side trail to the 129 ft falls. And they most certainly didn’t disappoint. I hung at the top for a bit and then headed to the store and bathroom. After waiting for a bit, and petting a lot of dogs, I headdd to the lower access for the falls. Where people were hanging and swimming. I just walked through, too many people for me. And they walked so freaking slow! I walked around the entirety of the loop trail then headed back to my trail. Walked across a dam, then kept crossing dirt roads which seems to be the biggest summary of the day. I stopped for lunch at a nice water hike with a small waterfall. Went for a swim and cleaned off. Then sat and iced my ankle/shin while eating lunch. The shin splints are coming back. This time I plan to stick it into cold water whenever possible. It blows, but what can ya do. I left a note for Freckles and Tim about where I’m camping. Then I had a small 2,400ft climb to where I planned to camp at mile 1343. Apparently a great look out spot. And then I made it, and it didn’t disappoint. A point blank shot of Mt. Shasta with the sun coming down behind it. It doesn’t get any better. It was kind windy up here so I snuggled my tent behind a thick tree, but sun bathed and ate up at the top to look at the views. I stretched and read while the sun turned the sky a nice pink and orange color. I still haven’t seen Freckles and Tim and it’s getting dark. I hope they make it. literally as I wrote this they walked up! So happy to be back with my fam. We visited while they ate dinner and kept our eyes on Mt. Shasta.