August 22 - End of the Line

Arrived in Ashland, Oregon where I'll end my adventure for this year. I'll be back in Tucson soon. 

We camped last evening at Grouse Gap just outside of a stone shelter where two wild land firefighters were staying. They invited us to share their beer! Thanks fellas. 

The 10 mile walk into Ashland ended at Callahan's Lodge where we had lunch. The local airport shuttle brought us to our hotel where Domestix and I shared a room. Seven of our group also stayed there. Later we went out for dinner at Caldera Brew Pub which I highly recommend. The night ended with a two mile walk back to the hotel where I crashed after staying up an hour past my usual 9:00 sleep time. 

Callahan's Lodge. 

Final destination. 

Hikingsolo

August 21 - Oregon!

Today I left the great state of California and entered Oregon after walking to the 1689th mile of the Pacific Crest Trail. The midway point of the trail was 364 miles behind me. The Canadian border 961 miles ahead. Most of the people I've been hiking with for the last week hope to make it to Canada by October 1st. With luck and high miles they'll make it. 

Stumblebird goes upside down to be in Oregon.

More trail graffiti. 

Hikingsolo

August 20 - Cooling off at higher altitudes

I'm almost back to 7000 feet and I'm glad to be here. It's much cooler. It was a great day of hiking despite the ATVs and big trucks churning up dust on nearby roads. Today is apparently the start of bow season for deer. Guys are hiding all along the trail. Maybe they'll bag a hiker!

Ferns on the hillsides. 

Taking a break. 21 miles today. 

Hikingsolo

August 19 - Siead Valley

The day started with a breakfast snack on the run down the 6.4 mile road to the Siead Valley Cafe and Store. Yesterday was so hot that we felt an early start was mandatory to beat the heat and, boy, were we right! It was 111 degrees at the hottest part of the day. That temp was confirmed by three different instruments, so while I didn't quite believe it, my judgement must have been impaired by the heat. After a wonderful breakfast at the cafe and a short tour of the store we sat outside at the picnic tables and considered our next move. Lunchtime came and went. A couple of locals with quads and an SUV showed up to give hikers a ride up the steepest part of the trail twelve my les to where they could camp. Most took the opportunity. A couple of brave soils ventured out into he heat to take the actual trail which was very exposed due to recent fires. Two of our little groups hung back and opted for an alternative walk up the road five miles to a swimming hole where we could cool off. At 5:00 we started our walk, eating blackberries along the way and trying to stay in the shade. By 7:30 most had arrived and settled in for a swim and dinner before trying to sleep in the heat. 

Hanging out in the heat of the day. 

Need a ride?

The five pancake challenge. Eat em all in two hours and it's free. Only four have succeeded and Speedy Gonzales wasn't one of them. 

Cooling off. 

 

Hikingsolo

August 18 - Downhill to Grider Creek

Today was a three mishap day. Fell in a creek for the first time. No matter injuries. Twisted an ankle on a random piece of bark and scraped my knee, but saved my face. Then fell backwards on my first step onto a log crossing, broke a branch on the log, but landed upright and unhurt. Definitely a blessed day for trail crashes.

The day ended at Grider Creek where I went for a swim after walking miles in nearly 100 degree heat. 

Definitely not blueberries. Not sure what they are though. 

Dinner time with the crowd. 

Swimming hole under the bridge. 

The bridge. 

Hikingsolo

August 17 - Call Made. Camping at Paradise.

After leaving behind my phone charger I've been reluctant to turn it on for longer than it takes to check how far it is to water. However, as soon as I could see Mt. Shasta I called the owners of Hikers Hut and asked if they could locate my charger with my headlamp and solar charger and send them off to Ashland. I didn't get a call back so I'm assuming that they'll be there when I arrive. Thank you!!!

The rest of the day was pretty routine, arriving at Paradise Lake just as the sun set behind the mountain. We played leapfrog with another group as they stopped in different places to snack or smoke. In the end we came together at the lake and shared stories around the unlit campfire ring. 

Delicious Saskatoons along the trail. 

Hanging with the cloud. On the left is Stump, a BASIS Tucson graduate. 

Paradise Lake camping. 

Sunrise. 

Hikingsolo

August 18 - Downhill to Grider Creek.

Today was a three mishap day. Fell in a creek for the first time. No matter injuries. Twisted an ankle on a random piece of bark and scraped my knee, but saved my face. Then fell backwards on my first step onto a log crossing, broke a branch on the log, but landed upright and unhurt. Definitely a blessed day for trail crashes.

The day ended at Grider Creek where I went for a swim after walking miles in nearly 100 degree heat. 

Definitely not blueberries. Not sure what they are though. 

Dinner time with the crowd. 

Swimming hole under the bridge. 

The bridge. 

Hikingsolo

August 16 - Equipment Shared and Forgotten

 

Breakfast was at Bob's Ranch House restaurant. I had the Rancher's Breakfast: 3 eggs, hash browns, 3 bacon, 3 sausage, and 2 pancakes. Domestix and I joined Matt and then we were joined by 6 other hikers. All but one had the same breakfast! Afterwards we rode borrowed bicycles to the coffee shop, hardware store, and grocery in search of a gas canister for my camp stove. If I couldn't find one it meant that most of my meals would not rehydrate property and would be a bit crunchy. Everyone was out and didn't expect to get any soon. It was time to get creative!

At the post office as I was picking up my resupply box I asked all of the locals who looked fit if they were hikers and if they might have an extra used gas canister at home that they might give away or sell. A very nice woman who worked at the Scott Valley Alternative Education High School came to my rescue! Hailey ran home and grabbed a brand new canister and then met me at her office. Her generosity exemplifies the good hearts of the people of Etna as well as many of the people I've met on the trail. Hailey has joined the ranks of the Trail Angels who perform Trail Magic to help the hikers on the PCT. Thanks, Hailey!

Hailey wasn't a backpacker per se, but was definitely a camper, horse rider, and rancher. She showed me a video of her 6 year old herding the family cattle to the high country. Wow, what a life learning to be a real cowboy at six! I had heard some of her cow's bells on the trail the day before. 

When I returned to Hikers Hut to try to hitch a ride back to Etna Summit I couldn't find Domestix. Just as a Good Samaritan stopped to pick up hikers I spotted her and asked her to hurry so we could ride along. She grabbed her pack and jumped into the back of the truck with me and two others. Just as we arrived at the Summit she realized she had forgotten her phone. She had to go back but assured me she meet me later at our camp spot. I went on and it wasn't until I unpacked and set up my tent seven miles down the trail that I realized I had left my charger, headlamp, and solar charger behind. I was hoping she would see them, but as luck would have it, her phone was not plugged in near my equipment. I would need to call the Hut as soon as I could get service and hope that the owners could find my things and agree to send them to me in Ashland, Oregon. In any case it would have to wait until tomorrow. 

Hikers hut

Camping on the lawn. 

Trail Angel Hailey. 

Flowers on the parched hillsides. 

Hikingsolo

August 15 - Etna

Domestix and I camped on a high ridge overlooking the valley where the small town of Etna lies nestled among ranch and farm land. The walk to the trailhead took us through a forest fire devastated region of the Russian Wilderness that traversed between saddles. Along the way we stopped at Lake Payne for lunch and a swim. The trail was rocky and hard on the feet so progress was slow. We reached the trailhead just before 5 pm, quitting time for the local road crew working nearby. Two minutes later we had a ride on the toolbox in the back of a county pickup truck. It was quite a wild ride down the ten miles of twisty turning road. My hands hurt from holding on tight to the toolbox edge. They dropped us off at Etna's Hiker Hut, a house with a modified barn for hikers. They also let hikers set up tents in the yard. For $20 you also get access to laundry, wifi, computer, shower, bicycle, and a kitchen among other things. 

Ridgeline view. 

Rushing through the Russian Wilderness. 

Oooh, a lake!

Hikers Hut in Etna. 

Sleeping in the front yard. 

Hikingsolo

August 13 - Slam!

Trail Magic got me. Too much of a good thing like a couple of beers, chips and salsa, sourkraut, cucumber, potato chips, and an apple after a 24 mile day was the real culprit. I'm sure I was hydrated and definitely had a couple of good meals and snacks during the day, but the Magic of HoboJoe was not my usual routine. So while I was feeling sick and in a cold sweat some of the guys set up my tent. When I could walk without feeling like I was going to Ralph I made my way there and made my bed. Then it was lights out until midnight. A few crackers in the dark helped settle my stomach for another few hours of sleep.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful and a mostly downhill slope on great trails made the time pass quickly. It wasn't until the day was almost over that I had any indication of stress. A cramp in my left foot stopped me in my tracks just yards from our stopping point at Scott Mountain Summit. This is the same place John and Karen picked up their kids Owen and Zoe from camp early Friday morning. Our plan was to take advantage of the campground and get an early nights rest. Then SLAM! Trail Magic appeared and the rest disappeared. My new mantra: Everything in moderation. 

Shasta in the distance. We're heading northwest of the giant. 

The lunchtime view. 

Where the Reiss's pick up their children from camp and where HoboJoe did some Trail Magic. 

Hikingsolo

August 14 - Recovery

Today started early with a full recovery from last night's shenanigans. I enjoyed my oatmeal with pine nuts and dried fruit along with a cup of Earl Grey while still cosy in my tent at 5:30. By 7:00 all was packed up and the morning routines finished. I again thanked the guys who set up my tent and then hit the trail. We covered a leisurely 21.65 miles to move us to within 18 miles of our next resupply point at the town of Etna. 

The Trinity Alps in the distance. That's where we are camping today. 

Wilderness sign. 

Typical trail. Lots of trees. 

Hikingsolo

August 12 - John and Karen Perform Trail Magic!

Today was special because my friends from Northern California John and Karen Reiss were touring the area with their dog Max and stopped by the trail to administer some awesome trail magic.

Domestix and I tried to make it to where a forest road crosses the PCT in the Shasta Trinity Forest by 10:30 to meet the Reiss's, but we underestimated the trail difficulty and were half an hour late. Thank our stars that John and Karen were still there! 

After a couple of hugs and how do you dos we sat down in the shade to drink a much needed seltzer and beer and munch on some fruit. I learned that the kids were at camp somewhere in these same mountains and John and Karen would be picking them up early the next morning at Scott Mountain Summit. It seems there's a bit of competition between the kids as to who can get up, jump in the lake, and race the six or seven miles to the pickup point first! Knowing their son Owen, my money is on him! 

I learned to that Owen is soon to start college at Reed in Portland and that daughter Zoe starts high school next week. I'm sure they'll both do very well. Almost at the same time John and Karen have their own students to think about, let alone their children! Both start their college teaching in the next two weeks. 

As we left to resume the trail John and Karen gave me some much needed Starbucks Via from their backpacking stash and both Domestix and me awesome chocolate bars!!! We enjoyed the chocolate tonight with dinner at Deadfall Lake after a stimulating swim. Thanks to my friends for the suggestion to stay at the lake and for your timely visit on the trail. I'm very happy we could get together. 

John, Karen, and yours truly. 

Trail Angels and the Magic Mobile. Missing is Max, who is sitting inside to keep him from re-injuring his leg. Next stop is the vet. 

Domestix says, "Thanks! It was delicious. And I like that the company is trying to support FairTrade." 

Deadfall Lake. 

Sunset. After which we were invaded by giant deer eating the grasses around out tents. At least they sounded giant.

Shasta in the distance. 

Hikingsolo

August 11 - Beyond Castle Crags

Domestix and I had a late start on the day due to the fact that the post office doesn't open until 11:00 am on weekdays. Once she had her package and then divided it up to mail some food forward it was after noon. We finally hit the trail at 1:15. Not all was bad though. We had a great burrito breakfast with hot coffee and the company of a veteran and his dog Jack. Jacks a Border Collie mix and amused us with some characteristic behaviors such as attacking shadows and stalking moving cars as if he was going to herd them into the parking lot. His master also entertained us with stories of his travels around the country. 

The trail was all uphill until we made camp at 8:30 pm on a ridge overlooking the forest around Castella. The views on the way up were magnificent. I can see why a state park is located here. 

Sometimes it was hard to see the trail for all the bushes!

Hikingsolo