Current stop: Ashland, Oregon
After more than three months on trail I am excited to announce that I am finally finished with California and have entered into my second state on trail: Oregon. California was incredible (read: incredibly long at almost 1,700 miles) but a change of state is certainly welcome.
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| New state, new shirt! Feeling pretty chuffed to be in Oregon |
I also acknowledge that I have been rather remiss in keeping this up to date so jumping back to where I left off last time…
The majority of Day 83 was spent in Chester catching up with the rest of the crew who arrived that day. Many were preoccupied with the Euro Cup Final being played that day; I was more preoccupied with increasing my ice cream intake. At around 4pm, we caught a ride back to trail and had a leisurely ten miles to camp that evening.
Day 84 involved entering into our fourth National Park on trail: Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen was certainly interesting as its scenery (bubbling mud, geysers, and sulphur lakes) was different than anything seen on trail to date. However, the vast majority of the park had been severely impacted by a large forest fire in prior years and it was mostly all just burn areas with dead trees. Local day hikers I encountered acknowledged that the park was underwhelming and was a shadow of its former (pre-fire) self.
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| Fourth National Park on the PCT |
Sadly, at the time of writing this post Lassen Volcanic National Park (and a lot more of the PCT) has since closed once again as it is impacted by the current (and devastating) Park Fire that is burning. The Park Fire has been burning for less than a week but is already the fifth-worst fire in California history.
Highlights from the following day (Day 85) included the trail passing by an interesting lava tube cave which we explored and what were perhaps the cleanest public toilets I have ever encountered. The lowlights included walking several miles over sharp volcanic rocks in my shoes that were in dire need of replacement and the fact that the pancake restaurant we passed by was unexpectedly closed. Truly heartbreaking.
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| Lava Tube Cave |
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| View of Lassen Volcanic National Park to the south |
Day 86 involved a ten mile hike into the town of Burney. Luckily, the breakfast diner was open so the pancake-induced sadness from the previous day swiftly disappeared. Unluckily, it was while eating said breakfast that we heard that another fire (the ‘Donomore Fire’) had broken out overnight and had closed the area of the PCT covering the California/Oregon border. We decided it was futile to discuss the fires until we were closer as the situation changes daily and that the actual time for a discussion and final decision would be when we arrived in the town of Mt Shasta. In addition to the Donomore Fire, the Shelly Fire was still burning close to Mt Shasta and the local communities in the vicinity had been evacuated.
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| Interesting choice of medium |
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| Feels good to know there is less ahead than behind |
In Burney we had heard that the local ‘Word of Life’ Church was super PCT-hiker friendly and provided showers, accommodation, and free iced coffees (which were certainly welcome in the 37°C weather). What was only supposed to be a town stop for a few hours turned into a full town day affair and after half a beer it was decided that it made more sense to stay the night than leave in the afternoon. I also picked up a secondhand CalFire tee shirt in Burney (I had to, given the name of the town).
After a great sleep in the church gymnasium (which felt like we were at school camp) and another iced coffee, we headed back to trail on Day 87. The trail passed by Burney Falls - an impressive series of waterfalls in the nearby state park. Sadly, the hike down to the Lower Falls was closed, but the Upper View was decent. What was more exciting than the falls themselves was the fact that my new shoes (this pair, a gift from work - thank you!) were waiting for me in the Burney Falls Visitor Centre.
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| Dinner in Burney |
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| Can you tell which ones are new? |
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| Burney Falls |
Before reaching camp on Day 87, I was interrupted by the sight of a bear and her cub crossing the trail in front of me. I promptly decided that tonight was a tent night instead of a cowboy camping night. The sunset that night with its view of Mt Shasta in the background was one of the most spectacular on trail.
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| 🐻 |
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| Mount Shasta in the background |
The majority of Days 88 and 89 involved walking along the ridgelines of the mountains. Mt Shasta, which days prior had only been a speck on the horizon, began to loom closer with every step and made its 4,322m height known.
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| Mt Shasta getting closer |
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| Campsite for the night |
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| Happy boy |
On Day 90, we hitched from the trail to the town of Mt Shasta. During the hitch, we were warned not to accept crystals from locals and to avoid joining a cult (seriously). This advice prompted some more digging into Mount Shasta’s history and lore. It is believed by some that below Mt Shasta survivors of the lost continent of Lumeria reside in the hidden city of Telos with a series of fur-lined tunnels and jeweled walls. The town of Mt Shasta leans into this lore and many shops on Main Street are dedicated to crystals, Lumerian healing ceremonies, and the sale of purple and white clothes (the only colours proponents of the belief are permitted to wear). Be warned, the rabbit hole is truly bizarre!
After a breakfast at the Black Bear Diner (why are all small-town restaurants named after animals?) we checked into the holiday park and spent the afternoon poolside with Coors Banquet beers and fresh fruit. At the pool, some fellow (septuagenarian) guests invited us to a concert at the local park, which we gladly took them up on.
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| Local NorCal band: Boot Juice |
As the concert was nearing its second encore, we were yet again invited by some more locals (our age this time) for a few drinks at the local dive bar. Given the night was young, we gladly agreed. Drinks flowed and soon we were offered free tattoos to remember the day. Those of you who know my parents know they taught me better than to accept a free tattoo from a stranger in the back of their van in the parking lot of a dive bar in Northern California.
Day 91 consisted of two breakfasts in town (the first being a large breakfast burrito at Yaks [another animal-themed restaurant] and the second being the largest slice of carrot cake I’ve ever had with a mixed berry smoothie [the latter because I’m watching my figure]). After breakfast, we rolled across town (with a quick stop at CVS Pharmacy for some topical antiseptic cream) and met up with the rest of the crew who were coming into town.
News had also arrived that the Donomore Fire was under control and the border between California and Oregon at the PCT was now open again. During lunch everyone discussed their upcoming plans for the Shelly Fire. Although the trail was technically only closed for approximately 20 miles, many people were worried about the possible smoke and elected to skip ~200mi up to Ashland, Oregon as a preventative measure. The idea of skipping 200 miles was unpalatable to the three of us so we decided to hike further up trail especially as the evacuation orders for the nearby communities had been lifted.
Day 92 marked three months on trail. Three months and still in California feels a bit disheartening but I knew that Oregon was calling. Luckily, the next 100 miles to Etna (over the next three days) were without doubt the most spectacular in Northern California and some of the best on trail so far. Given that the majority of hikers were skipping ahead, during the course of these three days we only encountered three others (two of whom we knew and hiked together with us, including Nathan who I summited Mt Jacinto with on my second week on trail).
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| Mt Shasta and Castle Crags |
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| Burrito (1 of 2) provided by a day hiker |
Highlights from Days 92 to 94 included a dip in Porcupine Lake, the vistas over the Castle Crags, and hiking through Trinity Alps Wilderness. It is such a pity people were skipping this section especially given that the smoke was a complete non-issue.
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| Porcupine Lake |
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| I was stuck behind these cows for about an hour until they finally moved off trail |
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| Trinity Alps Wilderness |
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| Russian Wilderness (note the fire burn) |
On Day 95, we had arranged a lift with a local trail angel based in Etna to transport us around the official PCT trail closure. Despite only 20-ish miles of trail being closed, it was still sad that our continuous footpath was broken here for the first time on trail. The town of Etna was exceptionally quaint and several locals came up to us during our short stay there and thanked us for stopping by given that most hikers were avoiding their town.
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| Etna |
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| Embarrassingly, I have been thanked for my service wearing this shirt multiple times |
After a series of side trails we rejoined the PCT on Day 96. It felt good to be back on trail. Again, the trail was eerily quiet and we didn’t run into another hiker all day. Luckily, I had several deer keep me company during my coffee break. At camp that evening, a local trail angel stopped by and offered us beers (which were gladly accepted).
We woke up early on Day 97 knowing that the small town of Seiad Valley (and its cafe) awaited us and all were eager for a pancake breakfast. After a six mile morning hike (which took much longer than it should have given all the stops for the wild blackberries) we arrived at Seiad Valley. To our dismay, the cafe was closed and we would have to tackle the almost 3,000m of vertical ascent without our carb-loaded breakfast. The ascent also marked the final major ascent for California which was bittersweet.
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| Entering Seiad Valley |
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| Sadly the reality |
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| Final Cali Climb |
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| Celebrating that climb |
We have been averaging approximately 30 miles (~50km) per day the past week. Knowing that we would be arriving in Ashland the following day (and keen for our morning hike to be minimal the day of our arrival) we hiked 34 miles on Day 98. After approximately 17 miles, we finally reached the California/Oregon border - a milestone that was celebrated with tequila shots (and a new hiking shirt).
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| Final views of California |
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| Final shot in California (and final time wearing the trusty orange shirt) |
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| Looking fresher in Oregon |
Day 99 involved only ten miles of hiking to Interstate 5 where we scored a hitch within seconds by a trail runner who was excited to pick up PCT hikers. After two breakfasts (including the well deserved pancakes finally) and laundry the remainder of the day has been spent poolside at the motel.
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| Ashland Luxury |
The plan for tomorrow is to resupply and arrange to send a resupply box ahead to Crater Lake National Park. There are a number of fires in Oregon currently burning. Again, the situation changes constantly so a definite decision at this stage is premature. Oregon is considerably smaller than California so I’m hoping to be done with the state within two weeks. My next town stop will likely be Bend, OR in about ten days.
People are beginning to estimate projected end dates for the trail and plans for heading back to ‘Real Life’ (the term used on trail to refer to non-trail life in contrast to our current situation where reality is suspended). A sad, but necessary, reminder that this dream will come to an end eventually.
