Episode 56: Day 119-121

Day 119:

Happy 4 months on trail! Things may not be going as planned but I’m still so happy to be out here doing this.

After 3 water fills I realize that I’m running low on iodine, going to have to do something about that. Maybe upgrade to a different treatment method? Not the biggest fan of the iodine taste. Plus, it seems that most if the water out here doesn’t actually need to be treated.

Ran into another hiker, Erik, who was doing a multi-day loop trail in the area. He is an ultralight gear expert – his pack was tiny… and I was jealous. This dude is out here crushing miles at 44 years old. I admire that. Anyway, he was super encouraging and really gave me a morale boost. Glad I met him. He actually rents backpacking gear, so check out his website if you want to get started – http://getoutbackpacking.com.

A little while later, I’m just hiking along when two big brown furry things run across the trail in front of me. Bear cubs! I guess I spooked the cubs because they were sprinting – one ran into the bushes and the other one climbed up a tree (which I tried to catch on video). This isn’t good – one of the few situations when black bears are actually dangerous is when mama bear is protecting her cubs. Fortunately, I left before Mama arrived.

I have been seeing paw prints on trail pretty regularly since leaving Etna, so I knew bears were around here. Plus, it makes sense that they are out and about, since the human traffic is lighter due to the trail closure up ahead. Bear count is now up to three!

A few minutes later, more animals! This time…..COWS. They were out grazing and blocking the trail. As I approached, intimidated by my sheer awesomeness, they stampeded away.

Soon after I met some SOBOS, Trenchfoot and Gap , who got a ride around the closure and got back on at Seiad. Told them to keep their eyes our for bears.

Eventually, I found a nice shady spot to set up camp. What a day!

19 miles.

All smiles today:

Beautiful:

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Day 120:

Rest day.

Read Listening for Coyote by William Sullivan. It’s his journal as he maps out the 1,300 mile New Oregon Trail. This guy gets it.

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Day 121:

All downhill from here. At least until Seiad Valley. And its chilly today – 40 degrees.

The trail took me down a dirt road where I met a guy in overalls digging around. Naturally, I asked him (his name is Rick) what he was doing and he said that he was prospecting. Like looking for gold? Yes, like looking for gold. I didn’t even know people still did that.

Finally made it to the road in Seiad, when about a hundred yards ahead of me, I see three bears cross the road! A mama and two cubs. Could it be the same family from earlier? Probably heading to town to dig through the trash- yum! Bear count is now up to six!

Okay. Now I made it to the RV park and I have a few things to do: 1) Buy ice cream, 2) Get an update on the fire/closure and 3) Strategize a walk-around.

21 miles.

Almost to Seiad: