Before we got to the waterless stretch today, we ran into some caves left by volcanic activity. One was a collapsed lava tube that the trail goes over, so we scrambled down into it for some impromptu spelunking. A mile later, we went off trail to see Subway Cave, a large lava tube left when the surface of a river of lava solidified and the inside didn't. It kept flowing until the source ran out, leaving a tube that can be walked through. The trailhead at the tube was the last reliable water source for 30 miles, so we came away with heavy packs. Once we got up on Hat Creek Rim we had a great view of Mt. Lassen behind us and Mt. Shasta in front. It was about 95 degrees today and the lack of trees on the rim made the hiking feel a lot like the desert. After six hours and plenty of breaks under bushes, we found a water cache that will make tomorrow much more comfortable since we were carrying the bare minimum amount of water we need to close out the last dry miles.
Steps taken today/total: 51,806/3,048,767
Miles walked today/total: 24.35/1,391.03
Elevation gained today/total: 1,586/242,886
Elevation lost today/total: 1,743/251,760
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