Wednesday morning was a flurry of errands and excitement as we did last-minute errands and shopping before getting on the road. One of the last-minute shopping items was a new Riot Magnum 80 for me to paddle on this trip. Sweet! As I type this, it hasn't come off the roof rack, and still needs to be outfitted, but I am stoked to get it out. With luck, we'll get some Class III+ to IV+ in today, so I can test my road-outfitting ability and get more used to the boat before we fire up the gnarr.
We made it out of town before noon yesterday, and after a stopover in Medford for shopping and errands, we made Redding as night fell. Wandering up the Pit River drainage, past the population-30 town of Montgomery Creek, we found a nice campsite partway down into the canyon of Hatchet Creek. We stoked a tiny and crackle-free fire (no sap in the sticks we used) and enjoyed a couple of nice cold Sierra Nevada Summerfests under a full moon and clear skies. Air temperature was 50 degrees overnight, and we broke camp shortly after dawn to explore the area and find some breakfast soon thereafter.
After hiking around Hatchet Creek to try to find a fabled (and once-photographed) triple drop, our hunger got the best of us, and we rallied back to Redding on Hwy 299 (enduring a couple of 10 minute full-stops for construction) and broke south on I-5 for a breakfast joint. After figuring out we passed the Black Bear Diner in Redding, we kept rolling, aiming for Chico. Here I sit, at the breakfast place in Chico, well-fed and ready to find the paddle shop and get back on the road for more southernly climes. Weather here is 95 degrees and clear.
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