Leaving sweet Etna 7/26-27

Wine on the veranda at Alderbrook Manor with Carolyn Biddick. 

Front porch. 

Breakfast at the B&B. 

Yesterday we left one of our favorite towns. The population is only 725 people but they have their own brewery (good food and beer) a coffee cafe, a deli, a decent restaurant where the same lady has been baking pies for 30 years, a bakery open at 6:00 am serving fresh from the oven apple slippers, donuts, fruit turnovers, a motel owned and cleaned by the owners,a beautiful old Victorian B&B, a library and small museum, a decent sized grocery store, one police officer with a small police station. A number of these businesses are run by young people who grew up in Etna and came back after college to live and work. Kids who want to return home to a tiny town, now that's novel. We stayed at Tortuga's one night, the Motel Etna one night and the Alderbrook B&B the final night. We checked the menus at all 5 eatery's. They each had a unique flavor. At Tortuga's we got to visit with people and eat tasty food. Motel Etna was clean, quiet and comfortable and the showers were bomber (lots of hot water with powerful flow. The Aldernbrook's owners were so hospitable and friendly. Their house was spotless and tastefully decorated. FC took a delicious bath in their deep old fashioned claw foot tub! The farewell breakfast was outstanding. FC ate the best bacon she has ever eaten. This breakfast lasted them most of the day. Not much else was needed. 

     Etna welcomed PCT hikers and were genuinely glad to serve them. If you are ever in the neighborhood stop by. You won't be sorry. It was here we enjoyed the company of Carolyn Biddick. She was our personal chauffeur in this small town. We refused to walk and her car is so sleek and shiny. People probably thought we were casing the town for the Mafiosa. We mainly drove from eating place to eating place. 

Ford Fusion Hybrid. 

       Carolyn drove us to the trailhead after our gigantic breakfast. We hiked 15 miles with Shasta making stunning appearances. We are enjoying this section more than any other since Donner Pass. We have walked through the Trinity's, Shasta National Park and the Marbles. The Marbles are white shiny rock that can be blinding when you walk by them. It feels remote but it is a popular hiking place as evidenced by all the weekend warriors we talked to. The mountains weave into each other dreamily and there are plenty of lakes to cool down in. TC and FC dipped into Fischer Lake where they saw water salamanders (newts). Fern Toes picked one up and we examined it. They look like over mature tadpoles with legs and a red belly. Swimming salamanders. This was a first for FC. 

FC swimming with newts in Fisher Lk. 

Another look at Shasta. 

Marble Mt. 

Marble magic. 

And more. 

      While in Etna FC had some intestinal cramps. She kept eating (of course) not thinking much of it. It continued on their first day of hiking into the Marbles. On the second day she had diarrhea...bad diarrhea. She said it was like pissing through her rectum. Real liquid with a yellow color and some bits and pieces. She had a bit after breakfast, then she ate lunch and exploded. Once more and that was it. First thought was the dreaded GIARDIA. Now she was on a mission to find out. She knew someone who might be able to answer her questions. This was a woman who had GIARDIA but she was way ahead and FC didn't think they would catch up. She hiked by will power because she felt weak, had belly cramps, no appetite, and it was 87 degrees. She didn't want to eat because she didn't want to continue shitting. She made herself do 22 miles but a miracle occurred before that, she ran into One Speed, the woman with GIARDIA. FC sat down and asked a million questions. FC has the medication for GIARDIA but she didn't want to take it unless it was that protozoal demon. She decided to wait it out until the next day. That night she managed some ramen noodles and crackers. Before that she had an apple, kept well hydrated and drank lots of electrolytes. There was no more diarrhea that night. One of the aggravating foods to this organism is dairy. FC's bouts occurred after eating dairy so she figured that if she could eat dairy she didn't have the bug. Today (July 28) she awoke feeling OK but yesterday she awoke feeling OK so she was cautious. Breakfast was PB and J oatmeal (no dairy ) then 2 hours later tuna with mayo (no dairy). She was holding steady. Lunch was a mountain house chicken dish. She ate it but she didn't love it. Still no diarrhea. After lunch we were to do a roadwalk (6 miles) but Tortuga came by and picked us up (10 people in his truck). WE CHEATED. The temperature was over 100 degrees and the asphalt was broiling. We cheated gladly. We didn't even think twice. TC might not have made this grueling hike. So now we are camping in Seiad Valley at the RV park. FC decided to be brave and test the dairy hypothesis. She drank some of TC's milkshake. No diarrhea. Then she had a BLT and fries and more of TC's second milkshake. As of this moment her gut is feeling ok. Slight whispers of cramps but no diarrhea. She hasn't had a bowel movement today. She's fine with that. Whew!! 

Newt in the hand of Ferntoe. 

Puffy stuff. Goats Beard. 

Grinder Creek.