Redwoods National Forest to Shingletown, 12-Jul
This was a travel day, but before heading inland, we did a short trail to a waterfall. On the way, temperatures went up about 50° then down about 15° when we got to our destination.
After doing laundry the day before, we had laid out some clothes that were still slightly damp. They were completely dry in the morning, so we could finish packing after breakfast. We loaded up the car and drove to the trailhead where everyone was going to meet.
This was a pretty short trail, and we quickly got to Trillium Falls. The view was from a bridge, so we took turns walking along and taking a look. The bridge was very bouncy, so I ended up waiting a bit before taking pictures.
The rest of the trail looped through a forest, and the last short amount was on a road. We decided to skip the even shorter hike that came after and hit the road. People were planning on going to a store in McKinleyville for lunch, so we stopped by for an early meal. I let people know what was available so they could start to think about it before they got there.
We then drove for a few hours to Redding to pick up groceries. As we were approaching the city, the car showed 109° outside. Once we were able to get cell data, Melody found an ice cream store, and we stopped by for a snack. After that, we bought groceries, then started heading to Shigletown where we would be staying. When we drove through the town, we saw the temperature had dropped to 94°. Still hot, but much more manageable.
The email from the B&B we were staying at was very specific in warning about how map apps sometimes show the wrong directions, but fortunately, we had no troubles. The woman running the place showed us our room, and we discussed breakfast plans. Since our group would be leaving early, she said that she would be able to make breakfast for us early, especially since there would be a heat advisory, making early hiking a good idea.
After we settled into the room, we drove the 10 miles back to town to get some dinner. We then wanted to check out the grocery store, and it had a much better selection than we had expected. It was also a hardware store, so it was amusing to see cookies and shovels in the same aisle.
We got back to the B&B and found out that the group would be meeting even earlier than we had thought. We debated what to do, and decided to still do that hike, but go at the time we originally planned on. They would probably get a head start, but hopefully they won't be too far ahead of us. Plans settled, we went to sleep early so we could get up early.
