On the Trail Again - Mile 1745 - 8/26

After spending an additional two days in Ashland working out package issues, it's back to hiking. I had to work out where my tent package was/when it will arrive in Ashland and I also sent a resupply box to myself around Crater Lake for the 160 mile stretch up to Bend, OR.

After not hiking for three days going back into the woods feels much more appreciated. Being in town around cars, the interstate, television and other loud things distracts you so much and when you hike out into the woods it's quite and calmer. Once I got to walking my stress of town issues went away instantly. I got out of town after eating a hearty breakfast at a cafe and started walking around 11:30-12. The hike was pretty mellow and my pack didn't feel as heavy as it really is. Oregon has felt different than California, it may just be mental but the breeze feels cooler, the landscape seems slightly different and the uphill don't seem as laborious. On the AT entering a new state was pretty frequent (14 states total!) and each state had a unique feature that made it different from the others. Oregon is shifting into the forest and woods. California was soo long it had many changes within itself but the last section was a dry hot and desert-like forest. There is floor vegetation and trees in every direction so far in Oregon and being around green things and in the woods is what I like best, so far so good.
The last seven miles of the day were waterless (12 mile waterless section) so I had to carry a full resupply and four liters of water which was a good bit of weight for the knees an shoulders. It went by pretty quickly and I'm hoping to get up early and get a full day in and get back to the swing of things. I'm excited to hike around Crater Lake in the coming days. The lake should be quite a breathtaking experience and I should have plenty of pictures assuming the next wildfire ahead isn't to smoky. The past day in town and today have both been a bit hazy so hopefully that clears up. It's been a while since I've been far enough from a wildfire that it's completely clear in the distance. Maybe tomorrow..

OREGON!!!!!! 8/22-23

So I awoke four miles from the Oregon border this morning and was very excited to finally be through with California, 1700 miles of California to be exact. When I approached the border Indiana Toad, Chocolate Chipmunk, and Diesel were hanging around celebrating. All of us missed the midway point of the trail due to the Chips Fire so this was our big milestone. The trail register had half a mini bottle if wine in it and other celebratory things people left there. I hiked in a small bottle of whisky for the occasion and swigs were taken. I, for one, am looking forward to Oregon and Washington and a change of scenery from the dry Californian climate. Today when we all woke up it was pretty cool out and a chilly wind gust hung around all day. It's as if we entered Oregon and it immediately stopped being oppressively hot out. The rest of the day Spins and I pushed to get to Ashland for the night. Late in the evening we caught a ride with a really nice couple who were out walking on the trail as the sun was setting.

The next day I spent organizing gear and picking up a few things at the outfitter. Also, Oregon doesn't pass through as many towns so I had to send a resupply box up a hundred miles to myself to make it to Bend. The plan is to bang out 260 miles fairly quickly. We'll see how that work out!! I heard the trail in Oregon is more gradual and nicer terrain so it's time to put it to the test.

Relatively Flat (meaning uphill) - Mile 1571.1 - 8/15

Indiana Toad and Chocolate Chipmunk left camp around seven which was a perfect alarm clock for me to get packed and going. Today looked on the map as a day of some gradual uphill but mostly flat so the miles should go by pretty effortlessly. The end of the day has a nice climb but it's nothing I haven't seen before. It was still hazy today but the smokiness wasn't as bad which was good for my lungs because yesterday morning felt like I was being choked. With the clearing of the haze also meant that the sun shone with all it's heat down upon us. It's august, it's humid, and it's exposed. The temperatures are near 100 the desert is back in full force. Even with the heat the day went pretty smoothly. Towards the end of the day I started the uphill and ran into thickets of blackberries and started filling my cup (and mouth) as full as possible. When I arrived to the top, I was greeted by two familiar faces, set up camp and called it a night.

Wildfires Everywhere! - Mile 1545.5 - 8/14

Luckily the bears around the crags isn't follow me to the campsite although there was a late night visitor, probably a deer. Indiana Toad and Chocolate Chipmunk who we passed by late night at the water came strolling through and I headed out shortly thereafter. It was windy last night and as Chocolate Chipmunk passed by she said wonder where this smokes coming from. Wherever it was coming from it smelt strong an the smoke was quite thick, so thick it was hard to breathe hiking up the ridge. It was hazy as well and it was a shame because through the haze was a beautiful view. The entire area was very scenic minus the smog.

I arrived at a wonderful cold spring for lunch and continued on. My feet knees and shins were starting to act up. I don't have to heavy of a pack and I have been walking on rather flat terrain so I don really know why they are aching. Spins and I got to the last water before the road and litered up making my pack way heavier. My legs were pretty shot, I wanted to do a 30 mile day today but my body was saying hell no. We got to the road and Indiana Toad and Chocolate Chipmunk were camped there so we joined them for the night. I gulped down some ibuprofen and went to sleep, I hope my legs and feet feel better tomorrow because those last few miles sucked.

Castle Crags, the Bear Sanctuary - Mile 1522.5 - 8/13

In the morning, Luanne cooked us a tasty breakfast and the three of them (with the company I their dogs) drove Spins and I to the post office. Saying goodbye, we went back into trail mode getting our packages. Spins was super excited about her new pack and all the space she now has and I was overjoyed with the brownies my mom sent me. We got back on trail around noon and started to hoof it up the big uphill ahead of us. Castle Crags is a really beautiful mountain but it's rather hot and the water is hard to come by. On my way up I saw bear tracks an then bear crap all over. A few miles later you could only imagine what I saw running uphill away from me as quick as it could. Bear number 1...check! In addition to all the bear-age, the trail had a huge amount of moths flying everywhere the entire way up the mountain and these tasty little morsels happen to be on the beta lists of things to eat so I wasn't to surprised to see the bear. A few mile later as I was climbing up a switchbacks I heard rustling below and a grunting noise. I looked down to see two bears wrestling. I couldn't tell if it was play or serious but I said "Holy Crap!" kind of loud to myself and they both heard me and took off!! (thankfully in the direction away from me) At the end of the day I arrived at the spring I was going to camp at but there was no camping...so we litered up on water and hauled another mile or two uphill at night until we got to a nice spot.

Postal Rush - 8/9-12

The goal was to get to Castella by 10am on Saturday. This was a pretty big deal if we pulled it off. The post office closes at ten in the morning and in order for Spins to get her pack and send the old one bac,k the PO needs to be open. So we set out after Burney Falls and pushed some big days. Big enough days that I don't have much to say beside it was a bunch of hiking. We got a ride towards town on Saturday with two trout fisherman, one who lives in Mt. Shasta and the other visiting from Maryland. Unfortunately it was already noon and the PO doesn't open until Monday morning so we just went up to Shasta and was dropped off at the health food store. I ran into Navi and Natty and they planned on camping down in Castella at the campground because all the hotels were really expensive so spins an I figured we'd end up doing the same. We went to the other grocery store where Spins ended up talking to a wonderful lady named Renee who offered us a place to stay for the night at her house with her partner Luanne and son Cooper. So we walked on back to their place got cleaned up and situated at their fantastically arranged place. We went out for burgers and beer later that night. The next morning Renee offered us their house to stay for Sunday night as well because they knew we were stuck until the post office opened Monday morning. Spins and I hit the movies (seeing Batman.....again and the Campaign). When we got back we went with Luanne, Renee, and Cooper over to their friends house for dinner an to catch the olympics closing ceremonies. Dinner was excellent and the ceremonies were quite.....British. I just want to say thank you again to Luanne, Renee, and Cooper you all were so hospitable and welcoming. You made my stay in Mt. Shasta something so much more special. I could have easily spent time in town and the campground but because of your kindness I now have an even greater memory and experience along this trip.

Relaxed By the Water - 8/8

So all of us hiked to the campstore in the park where we filled up on ice-cream, hot dogs, and snacks. Then we ate more and more...then most of us ventured down to Burney Falls. The falls were quite impressive especially the cool spring-like water. Scooter and I jumped in he was in for a while but not me that water was cold enough to take all the oxygen from my lungs and I was out of the water almost as quick as I got in! On the trail ahead of us was a few thousand foot uphill in exposed heat so everyone near the falls was a tad unmotivated to get moving. Spins and I left and got up the hill to a rushing cold creek with small swimming holes and promptly jumped on in. We liked the area much that we called it a day and set up camp. It was nice to soak and rest up for the afternoon became we planned to start a early hiking schedule tomorrow.