May 12th--Pigeon Rock to Forest Glen

Some highlights:

Night before had been fairly miserable
Lots of heavy fog/clouds, with drizzle and condensed water dripping from oak trees above
Had only a tarp, which trapped moisture underneath, as well, making everything quite wet, but at least it wasn't too cold
Sleeping was uncomfortable, but it didn't seem so wet once we got up
Had a breakfast of muesli with rice milk, while Adrienne ate...?
Packed up somewhat slowly, with lots of our stuff still wet
Mixed up some instant tabouli to eat for lunch
Rode past a cowboy, which excited Adrienne greatly
He advised us to keep moving as there were some cattle fixin' to move down that road
Continued on down the road and another several cowboys appeared, herding cattle
Adrienne wanted to take a picture, but i got the sense we were kind of in the way
Adrienne started to take a picture, but we got yelled at to keep moving as the cattle were running our way
There was a cow and calf ahead of us, as well, and the cowboys seemed none too pleased with us chasing them down the road
A rather harrowing ride down the steep gravel road, with "rush-hour" morning traffic of ranch trucks and one guy with a rifle on an ATV
Reached Bridgeville, where several small cottages were being renovated
Adrienne asked for some water, and the guy working on one of the houses offered us some bottles, saying there was no running water. He said it wouldn't be until Dinsmore that we could buy water
We moved toward the Post Office and were cut off by a kid body-surfing on a skateboard down the main drag
Asked at the Post Office for water also, but they also had only bottles, which they offered (from CostCo)
Turns out there was a sign posted at the Post Office indicating that the local water was unfit for consumption without boiling
Apparently the new owner of Bridgeville (purchased on eBay) sought fit to renovate some derelict houses before fixing the local water works that everyone depends on
Local woman came by and asked about our travels, marveling that we had taken "the old road"
She indicated the last time she took that road, it made her cry
Kids continued to body-surf down the main street in front of the PO
One kid asked where we came from and where we were going and we answered Eureka to Redding
"When i get older, i'm gonna do that some day," he answered
Went across the Van Duzen River on the old bridge
Rode on for a short while, then came upon a sign indicating "10% grade, next 2 miles"
About 1/4 mile up that hill, we decided to stop and take a nap by the side of the road, underneath the powerlines
Slept for almost 2 hours
Told Adrienne about spittle bugs
Continued climbing up the mountain in much better shape
Series of old, abandoned Winnebagoes
One had a sign saying, "No Dumping" on it
More climbing, and climbing and climbing to nearly 3,000'
Evenutally had lunch around 3pm
A van propped oddly against a tree
A random hoe
A curled up millipede
Some ups and downs
Crazy private-property nut
Dinsmore store
Got water and hot water
A guy there recommended Hell Gate campground
Cafe down the road had Open neon sign on, but closed sign in the window
Guy who was at the store earlier with his dogs came out to say they were closed
Adrienne was a bit miffed by this (the guy coming out, preemptively)
Collapsed grain silo?
Smokey at Mad River Ranger Station
Climb over ridge and down to Mad River (town and stream)
Another sustained climb up to 4077'
More weird Smokey stuff at summit of South Fork Mtn.
Pictures at summit
7:00pm at summit
Awesome long descent to Forest Glen
Went just a little further down the road to Hell Gate at 7:40pm
Only $6 for standard campsite
Gathered wood and made a fire in the "stove"
Hung bedding up to dry
Finished gouda and salmon
Still no running water, but vault toilets