Rain, rain, go away

Miles: 1743.5 to 1774.4 Mileage: 30.9 Day: 87 No matter how hard we try, it always seems to take us an hour to get moving in the morning.  Richard’s watch is our alarm. It beeps 10 times. After that we usually make eye contact but don’t speak right away. If one of us closes their […]

A taste of Oregon

Miles: 1726.5 to 1743.5 Mileage: 17 Day: 86 We slept on a pillow top mattress under clean sheets after a soak in the jacuzzi tub.  It felt great. I had some indigestion overnight that I blame entirely on gluttony. I did spend much of my zero eating. We spent a little time organizing and then […]

Into Ashland

Miles: 1699.2 to 1726.5 Mileage: 27.3, plus 1 mile to Callahan’s Lodge Day: 84 Excited to get to town (where there is Indian food and pizza) we got up at 5:30 a.m. The terrain was gentle. It reminded me of Southern California when the grades of the trail were made for horse packers.  If this […]

OREGON!!

Miles: 1668.8 to 1699.2 Mileage: 30.4 Day: 83 We decided to get up early. The storms always seem to roll in in the afternoon. So we wanted to get a few more miles in before they ruined our plans to get out of California.  We were on the trail around 6:45 a.m., a reasonable attempt […]

The last resupply in California

Miles: 1647.7 to 1668.8 Mileage: 21.1 Day: 82 When we woke up, the other hikers were gone that had shared our campsite. We are such late risers compared to everyone else. We were motivated to make it to town by 1 p.m., however, because the only restaurant in the small village of Seiad Valley closes […]

When the sun returns, we put down miles

Miles: 1617.1 to 1647.7 Mileage: 30.6 Day: 81 Again we woke to blue skies. How long will this last? A couple of hours before the thunder clouds return, maybe, I thought.  But it lasted all day.  We started late, per usual. But given the good weather and the prospect of hitting the diner in town […]

Thunderstorms: day 2

Miles: 1585.5 to 1617.1 Mileage: 31.6 Day: 80 The day started cool and cloudy. Quite a change since so many days on the trail have started blue and cloudless — and mostly stayed that way. The rare day has clouded over by the afternoon, but not many. (The Sierras stand as the exception, as it […]

Trail magic and thunderstorms

Miles: 1561.9 to 1585.5 Mileage: 23.6 Day: 79 A deer walked through our tentsite overnight. It scuffed at the ground and stepped on some sticks. I was glad it wasn’t a bear.  I was tired in the morning but a 30-mile day will do that. It started off cooler than the last few days so […]

A single day’s respite

Miles: 1532 to 1561.9 Mileage: 29.9, plus 0.1 to water Day: 78 When we woke up it was still a little chilly. I took that as a very good sign for the day’s temperature. I even saw some cloud cover as I climbed out of the tent.  The lack of heat or big climbs allowed […]

So hot; so climb

Miles: 1510.3 to 1532 Mileage: 21.7, plus 0.6 to water Day: 77 On being woken by the alarm, I already wanted the day to be done. Ahead of us was a big water carry, a big climb and a hot weather forecast. We had a couple of miles to cover before the final reliable water […]