August 17th Sheep Camp Spring to Lower Devils Peak

A huge milestone crossing into California. Two states down, one big one to go. I continue to cross paths with the Nobos, but more and more it's couples or small groups of younger women, instead of the male solo hikers or groups of young men. In the continuing hot summer weather, small springs still provide clean drinking water and relaxing places for breaks. I'm inching up on Machine, but she's still somewhere out there ahead of me. I had my first rattlesnake encounter at Copper Butte, which, as the name would indicate, is an area of reddish rocks and green brush. I was cruising up the trail when I heard that distinctive rattle, which stopped me in my tracks. I was looking around for the typically coiled form of a rattler, but instead saw a snake's head and upper body rising off the trail with the assistance of a protruding branch of scrub, its tongue flicking, tasting the wind. Pretty good size about three feet in length, eight to nine rattle segments, and a peculiar green coloring unlike any rattlesnake I'd seen before. Action, reaction, immediate backpeddle. It slithered down the trail towards me and I continued to back up. After what seemed like quite some time, but in reality was probably only a couple of minutes, it crawled off into the bushes. I dashed across the path where it had been and then settled back into my normal pace until I reached Lower Devil's Peak and my camp on the descent to Seiad Valley. With my tent set up I took my empty water bladders back up the trail to Lookout Spring, which is accessed by a short side trail that angles sharply downhill from the PCT. By the time I got back it, the sun had already set.

Oregon/California Border

35 Miles