Hello! I am still alive and I am doing well. I have a great hiking buddy named Painter. He is from Tasmania Australia and we hike well together. It is nice to have a partner in crime and a helper during the hard times.
We spent a week in Reno with his cousin Karen and had a great rest. Karen and her partner Steve were the best hosts ever! They took us to all you can eat sushi and of course...one of the famous casino buffets. To a through-hiker, "all-you-can-eat" are magical words. We spent several days at a local hot springs just floating and resting and also went to Virginia City to see the old west town. It was a fun change of pace but I was ready to get back to the trail. I am most at home on the trail now and I am wondering how my transition back to real life will play out.
Northern California was harder than I had imagined it would be. It was still quite steep and hot. There were long water-less stretches again...just like the desert. Once I hit Oregon, my mileage jumped way up. I am now hiking 21 to 25 miles a day on average and doing the occasional 30 mile day. I am in my forties now so the longer days hit me a bit hard and I am unable to do them back to back. I feel strong and good...in mind and in body.
I arrived in Etna CA only to find out that there was a fire in Seiad Valley and that I would have to skip a portion of the trail. No problem since my parents were traveling in Oregon and came to Etna to meet me for a day. They gave Painter and I a ride to Ashland where we bought groceries for the next month and sent the food boxes forward. Unfortunately, we arrived in Ashland during the Labor day weekend and so we had to scramble to get everything done and shipped so that our food would be on time. I even rented a car during that town stop since everything is kind of spread out. It made it difficult to relax and enjoy the town but at least I got my chores done.
The next leg that I did was to Crater Lake. I worked at that park in my 20's and it was really great to be back. It was just as I remembered it. Gorgeous blue skies and impressive mountains. After Crater Lake we walked right by Mount Theilson and so took a side trip to climb that peak. It was my second time being up there and it is an impressive peak with commanding views.
I arrived in Bend last Friday night and the man who gave me lift to town (Brian), has also put me up at his home, taken me out to dinner, loaned me a bike to run errands and basically made this town stop my best one ever. Bend is awesome! I am hitting the trail again tomorrow so I want to take a minute to post some photos. I am beefing up my camping gear for the colder and wetter weather. I hope to be in Manning Park Canada by October 20th or so.
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| Quail egg "shooters" at all you can eat sushi |
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| One of Karen's dogs. She has 3 of them and this one, Roxie, was my favorite. |
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| Karen, Painter and I before heading back to the trail-head. It felt great to be well rested. |
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| Trail Art |
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| follow the footprints and you wont get lost |
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| one of the many examples of trail magic. I can't explain just how wonderful it it to stumble upon water and food in the middle of nowhere. Often it is not so much about the food....it is about knowing that others are thinking of me and my struggles. They want me to succeed and get to Canada and want to help in some small way. The thing is, it helps in a big humongous way to feel that unconditional love. These people truly are trail ANGLES. Bless them all. |
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| I awoke one morning and broke camp and proceeded to hike right over these two hikers who were deeply asleep. Sometimes enough is enough and we just have to stop and sleep, no matter where we are. |
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| this dead snake had been completely picked over by bees. All the meat was gone and a perfect skeleton remained. So amazingly delicate! |
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| it was shockingly dry in northern California and at water sources there were often large patches of pitcher plants. |
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| Bloody Run Trail sign.....pretty creepy eh? |
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| Hot, Hot, HOT and DRY....yet starkly beautiful. |
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| A very dry trail. |
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| Crater Lake at sunset. I hiked to the rim to watch the sunset and hiked many miles that night by headlight. Fun! |
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| Back-country ski cabin |
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| I passed by many volcanic lava and rock fields. Walking by them is OK, walking over them is hell. |
