Day 135:

It rained overnight, so I’m glad I had the rainfly up. And there are still darkish clouds overhead, so more is likely on the way.

Took a break from outrunning the rain cloud and used some cell service to call Mom and Dad. Just to let them know i’m still alive and stuff.

I came across a dayhiker with a dog who was startled by me. She explained that it was her first hike that she’s doing alone… and my response was “me too.” Its true. Too funny.

Cruised right along until dark. Setup camp at 7:40pm. Without my pack, I followed the long descent to the water and waited patiently for the slow spring to fill my bottles. Nearly half a mile in the pitch black of night back to my tent was not my favorite thing, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Made it safely back to camp (as usual) and went to sleep.

24 miles today.

Dark clouds:

Beauty:

Loving this day:

Oregon/Washington High point:

Green as far as the eye can see:

Smiles and miles:

—

Day 136:

After 5 miles, I took a spur trail off the PCT and onto the Oregon Skyline Trail, which should take me to the Shelter Cove resort just a bit faster.

Passed right through a horse camp, and met plenty of mule and horse riders. Refilled water from a spigot I found there and kept on hiking

The trail went from sandy to rocky to fallen trees. Just lovely.

Camped with a section hiker named Ryan.

20 miles today. (15 of the OST)

Coldness level 9000:

Cloudy views:

Fall colors:

—

Day 137:

Snoozed my alarm this morning. No reason to rush since i’m going in for a resupply, and most likely, i’m getting there before my box.

Hiked the 5 miles into Shelter Cove Resort and met three hikers (two SOBOS and one NOBO).

I was right about the box. Waited until 5pm for the delivery truck and was back on trail by 6pm.

Enjoyed an amazing sunset and decided to setup camp. I simply could not walk away from the view.

7 miles today (5 remaining of OJT, 2 miles out of the resort).

Shelter Cove Resort:

Glad they put a handrail:

Sunset:

—

No video.

Day 131:

Another cold one, but managed to get started by 8am again.

Trees, trees, and more trees all over. Makes me appreciate the people who maintain the trail everywhere else.

Walked through a burn area, and instead of being sad, I felt extremely inspired by the pine saplings that were growing. Its amazing to see this early phase of the circle of life: knowing that they will grow to be towering trees, and eventually may burn down, leaving room for another generation

Today was a hiker hunger day, had an early lunch and two dinners before taking the road into Mazama village.

I got to the store 3 minutes before closing. SCORE! Snack time.

REUNION!!!! Chocolate Milk, CK, and Brewhiker. Haven’t seen these guys in way too long. There are also two others with them: Triple and Fireball. The group calls themselves Team Vortex, with the goal of having as much fun as possible with the rest of the time they have on trail: sleeping in, drinking beer, playing magic the gathering, throwing around the frisbee, and hiking a few miles a day is the plan for the foreseeable future. I get it, but it’s not for me.. got to keep pushing.

Hung out with Team Vortex until it was time to sleep.

Hit 1800 miles today:

Burn area:

Little Pines of inspiration:

Heard great things about this upcoming section of trail!

22 miles today.

—

Day 132:

Although I woke up at 6:20am naturally, I snoozed my hardest and didn’t get out of my tent until nearly 10am!

Charged my electronics and checked out what was in my box once it arrived (I need to stop out-hiking my resupplies) . Food, of course, and some cold gear.

Late in the afternoon, I decided to head back to trail and was fortunate enough to catch a ride to the trailhead from two 2012 PCT hikers.

At the trailhead I met a guy named Elliot, who worked seasonal jobs to support his outdoor lifestyle. Now he was employed by the Park Service, doing water surveys in the area. Pretty cool!

Just a couple miles in, I found a campsite by some delicious water and called it a day.

Nearo today: 2 miles.

—

Day 133:

Good start, but almost missed the spur trail to the Crater Lake Alternate. Went about a quarter mile past the sign when I realized that I didn’t read it. That would have been tragic – crisis averted.

So apparently, 150 years ago, a volcano erupted so violently, that it collapsed on itself to form a crater. Since then, rain and snow has filled it, creating a lake: the deepest in the US at 1900+ feet. Also, since rain and snow are the only ways water gets in, its one of the purest lakes in the world. All these factors combined create beauty that is beyond words.

Seriously. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. Please: if you are reading this, make plans to visit Crater Lake in Oregon. You don’t even have to hike it, there is a road around it, so its very accessible. You will not regret it. I promise.

Eventually, I had to say goodbye to Crater Lake, and found a nice spot to camp.

21 miles today (although, i’m 26 trail miles farther, since I was off the PCT).

Pictures of Crater Lake do not do it justice:

Panoramic View

Yes, it’s real:

—

Day 134:

Rest day.

The book I had with me was The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh.

I didn’t like it the first go-around, because it was not aligned with my expectations. I thought I was getting a book with specific, step by step instructions to become an expert. Instead, it was high level introduction to belief/mindset/theory when it comes to meditation. Since I had the time, I re-read it and more accurate expectations led to a more enjoyable experience. Life lesson learned.

—

Video:

Day 126:

After breakfast in the tent, I went into the lodge to charge my electronics and, of course, to buy candy bars. Had a great talk with concierge, a guy from Pennsylvania, and then I left at 11:30am.

Wow. It is sunny and hot today. I thought it was supposed to be fall? Time to use my handy dandy umbrella.

Cruised through a 9 mile dry stretch before using my new UV-pen for the first time to treat water. IT IS SO FAST!

Met a SOBO hiker who suggested I look into the Ross Lake Trail as an alternative to getting to Canada if the PCT proper is snowed in. Good to know.

Camped right before an 11 mile dry stretch – was not about to make that push.

Today:

Im trusting this UV Pen:

Love from Mama:

11 miles today.

—

Day 127:

Rest day.

Read a book called Shabbat, by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel gifted to me by my friend Spencer. Lots of esoteric concepts, but definitely some good stuff in there.

—

Day 128:

Great start at 7:30am! Motivation provided by Sir Ernest Shackelton’s South. But, low battery, so I need to conserve.

Met another NOBO, UV! I heard about her from other hikers, but finally met. We sat by a creek and had a ukulele jam session. It was awesome!

Met a SOBO named Justin, and had a a great chat with him about life and trail. He talked to me about his commitment to continuous footpath and he was so excited to hear that I walked around the Gap Fire. Then we went our separate ways. Five minutes later, I realized I had the reroute written down on my phone, I dropped my pack and ran to catch him, sharing the route so he doesn’t have to recreate it from scratch. Lost a bit of time, but I felt good about it.

Reunited with UV several miles later and we decided to cowboy camp.

25 miles today.

Open space:

—

Day 129:

OH MY GOSH. IT IS SO COLD. Leaving my sleeping bag is painful. But I guess this is what I get for not setting up my tent.

I put on every piece of clothing I owned, including my rain gear, to warm up.

Left camp at 8:20am and continuously leapfrogged with UV throughout the day. Had lunch together at a cabin/shelter by the trail. Said our “goodbyes” since she was going into the next town to resupply and I wasn’t, meaning another reunion was unlikely.

A few miles later I ran into Blur! Haven’t seen him in a while, close to 20 days.

Kept hiking, and kept my motivation rolling with lots of singing and self talk.

When the motivation ran out, I camped at the first flat spot I could find.

22 miles today.

Getting closer:

Who put that tree there?!:

Rocks on rocks on rocks:

—

Day 130:

Hit the trail before 8am despite the cold temps.

Was cruising along for a while but eventually I entered Fallen-Tree-Obstacle-Course-Land. Seriously, downed tress all over the trail. Kept singing in my head: Can’t go over it, Can’t go under it, Can’t go around it, Got to go through it!

Didn’t meet any thru-hikers today, but I passed several tents. Maybe i’m catching up with the last NOBO bubble?

The rest of the day was rocky climbs and epic views. Said my goodbye’s to Mt. Shasta, which has been in sight every day for nearly a month.

And for the first time, I realized that i’m getting fewer hours of daylight each day.

22 miles today.

Happy hiker:

View #1:

View #2:

View #3:

Sunset:

—

No video.

Day 122:

As soon as it opened, I went to the general store to buy groceries, I needed more food than I had to manage the walk-around.

I spent the rest of the morning strategizing my detour, using google maps to identify the roads that would lead me to Oregon, yes, I’m about to cross the state line – thats another reason why I couldn’t convince myself to hitch around.

So here is the plan:

27.5 Miles on Highway 96, 5.5 miles on Beaver Creek Road, 7.5 miles on forest service road 40S16, 3 miles on forest service road 40S15, 1 mile on forest service road 40S13, 1.3 miles back on forest service road 40S16, and then a right turn to get back on the PCT! Simple enough, right?

Regardless, I feel like I can do this, I have developed a solid hiker IQ: navigation, food/water management, pack strategy, etc. Plus, Im fresh off inspiration from by the book I just finished, Listening for Coyote by William L. Sullivan. Its his journals as he was the first be to hike/map 1,300+ miles of the New Oregon Trail. If he could do that, I could certainly do blaze my own ~45 miles of new trail. It felt like a sign that this book came into my possession at this time. I’m leaving the book here to inspire the next hiker.

At 11:30am I hit the road. Here we go…

It was a bit testy at first, no shoulder as I walked along the Klamath River and cars flying by, but eventually, I approached the fire, not only was there a nice shoulder to walk on, but firetrucks were regularly stationed along the highway. As I passed, many of the firefighters asked me what I was doing, and when I explained, I was met with smiles, high fives “good jobs” and some trail magic – gatorade and fruit. I LOVE FIREFIGHTERS.

Okay… my legs are telling me they’ve had enough. Time to find a place to sleep. I saw a sign that said there was a campground a couple of miles ahead, and the following one is 15 miles away… I choose the close one.

Got to the Sarah Totten Campground and paid my $10 at the self registration box (gave myself a pat on the back since there is no way thats being enforced right now), wave to the firefighters that were also there, and set up my tent for the night…. or so I thought.

As it got dark (or darker than it already was from the smoke), the scene looked apocalyptic- all I could see from my tent were flames, smoke, and flashing lights. The flames are literally across the river and Im starting to get concerned about my safety. I decided to ask one of the firefighters what he thinks I should do – he said he will ask his supervisor. WELL…. within the hour a Law Enforcement Officer was on the scene, saying that I was on closed land and had to go. I have to admit, he wasn’t that mean about it. Once he heard my story, he wanted to help – even offered me a ride in his truck. Once he realized I was set on walking, he advised that I walk the 1.25 miles to a Miner community just on the other side of the highway and see if I could stay there. All right… I guess thats my only choice.

As I packed up, Thad, one of the firefighters, kept me company. He was incredible kind – we chatted about life and then he gave me his pocket knife as a gift. I lost my own knife, so I was happy to take it. Thank you!

On my walk out of camp, some of the other firefighters shook my hand and gave me wishes of good luck. I LOVE FIREFIGHTERS (Did I mention that?).

Eventually, I made it to the Miner Community. Rick, the camp manager thankfully allowed me to camp on the property (and use the WIFI). After I set up, a guy around my age named Fox, offered me some Water and Pepsi. He shared his story – he was out there helping his dad prospect, and I shared mine. People are good.

10 crazy miles today.

SMOKE:

MAGIC:

FIRE:

NIGHT:

—

Day 123:

Left the Mining Club just before 8:00am and hiked hard. Since I was walking along the road, I could only take breaks where there was room enough to sit down – which wasn’t often. I even felt like I was playing frogger sometimes, as I ran across from the left shoulder to the right shoulder and vice versa depending on which looked safer. Good times…

Met some forest service workers, Terry and Mary, who gave me some snacks that they had in their truck. Thanks! I ate the snacks along with the rest of my lunch when I was lucky to come across a community center right by the road. I sat at a picnic table and took a well deserved break. Look at me, sitting at a table like a person.

My next break was at Quigley’s, a general store with all the snacks you could hope for. I ran into some firefighter there that I saw 12 miles earlier – they were impressed to say the least. More high fives!

I hiked the last chunk of highway and FINALLY turned onto a side road: Beaver Creek Road. So far, my plan is working! Even better, a few miles down the road, I saw some blue sky…. I haven’t seen blue sky in two days because of the smoke. BLUE SKY IS BEAUTIFUL!

Decided that the Beaver Creek Campground was the best place to spend the night, right off the road and right by a river (so unlimited water!). There was another guy there, named Dino – and we chatted over dinner. He works in construction and lives out of his truck. Spends a couple weeks at a time at a few different campsites in the area. Pretty cool lifestyle in my opinion.

Sleepy time.

22 miles.

Thank you to the Lost Dutchmans Mining Association:

Firefighter camp:

Off the highway:

—

Day 124:

Dino wouldn’t let me leave without taking a couple bananas and handfuls of sunflower seeds. This guy doesn’t have much, but is more than willing to share what he does have. A real mensch.

Hit the road at a quarter to 9am. Today, my inspiration is coming from the audiobook South by Sir Ernest Shackleton, a story of a group he led in an attempt to cross the Antarctic by land. However (spoiler alert), things go wrong and most of the book is about how they survive it all. I guess when things don’t go as planned, thats what makes the story. Good stuff.

And then it happened…

I. CROSSED. THE. STATE. LINE.

I MADE IT TO OREGON…. I MADE IT TO OREGON!

After a celebratory dance, I continued walking along the forrest service road until…

I. REUNITED. WITH. THE. PCT.

IM BACK ON TRAIL… IM BACK ON TRAIL!

Had dinner by a creek. Gosh – this feels like home!

It gets better: I came across some trail magic. A cooler full of soda and 2 lawn chairs. What a welcome back to the PCT!

Tonight, I get to sleep on trail. I AM PROUD OF ME.

20 miles. (5 of which were actually on the PCT!)

State line:

I did it! :

Oregon beauty:

This is just perfect:

—

Day 125:

I woke up on trail today. Feels so good to be back on the PCT.

On my way into Ashland I meet Inquisitor, the guy who set up the soda and chairs trail magic. He said I was the last one to find it, he is taking it back since no one is going to reach it because of the fires.

When I got to Callahan’s Lodge, I enjoyed a beer and a whiskey before showering, doing laundry and setting up my tent in the courtyard (rooms there were out of my price range). I opened my box and was happy to find, in addition to food, a UV pen, a new way of treating my water. Im not sure of the science behind it, but apparently, it needs only 90 seconds to zap all the bad stuff in a liter of water. If there is any debris in the water, Ill just filter it through a bandana first. I’m down with that.

Nearo today. 6 miles to the lodge.

Loving the Oregon scenery:

Action shot:

So fresh and so clean:

—

Video saga of detour:

—

Bonus footage:

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:

—

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.

—

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:

Made it;

—

Video: Look for movement in the center tree. Thats the bear cub!

—

Bonus footage: Cows

Day 117:

Heading into Etna today, so only doing 6 miles. I feel funny saying “only” – since 6 miles used to be a good amount of hiking for me. But its all relative I guess.

Arrived at the road at 10:45am. Met a SOBO who hitched from Ashland, to get around a fire. A fire? WHAT FIRE?

Caught a hitch into town (thanks Sarah!), and got dropped off at the Etna Hiker Hut. Someone gets to sleep in a bed tonight!

Got my box, and lo and behold, a phone was inside (thanks parents!). My dad’s old cell, which didn’t have service, but had 2 things I desperately wanted before getting back on trail 1) GPS, so I could use app maps and 2) A camera! I wasn’t able to capture any of the beauty I experienced last week.

I do feel compelled to mention that this phone-less week on trail was a tremendous learning experience. I was more disconnected than ever, and I embraced it: letting my imagination run wild and enjoying the show, staring for minutes at beautiful views that I would usually just snap a photo of and move past, and trusting my map and my gut when it comes to navigation. I am better for it. However, i’m in no rush to try it again.

Now… about that fire. To the internet! And its bad news – ANOTHER TRAIL CLOSURE.

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?

6 miles.

Noooooo:

—

Day 118:

33 miles of trail are closed. The PCTA says that “At this time, no walking alternative has been identified” and that my best bet is to take a bus around the closure.

The thing is, I have one thousand five hundred and ninety seven miles of continuous footpath behind me. I have walked around every single closure thus far.  And I’m so proud of that. Call me stubborn, but I just cant give it up. I will find a way. Maybe they haven’t identified a walking alternative, but I will.

Just as I made my decision, in walks Jamie, the Trail Angel of Etna to give hikers an update on the fire. Hearing that I want to keep walking, she tries to talk some sense into me. She explains that the 33 miles of trail aren’t just closed, they are on fire. This is different than the other closures I’ve faced. The wind can change, the fire can spread, and if I’m out there I can be in serious danger. That I should skip to Ashland. There is a highway that can take me straight there from Etna…

But I cant give up just yet – there is one more decision point. Seiad Valley is at mile 1653, one mile before the closure. I can hike the 56 miles there and reevaluate. Things can change. If they don’t, it will be much harder to get to Ashland from Seiad, but it’s worth the risk. This means that there is still hope.

Eventually, Jamie realized that my mind was made, and she agreed to drive me back to the trail. Got there at 9:45am And let me tell you, it was smokey… What am I doing?

Met some SOBOS who outran the fire and avoided the official closure, so they were feeling good. I, on the other hand, was walking towards the fire, and I was not too happy about it. I’m pretty sure I’m going through the five stages of grief and I’m somewhere between the bargaining and depression state  (denial and anger were in Etna) – this is hard. I was having a continuous internal debate about what I should do and I still don’t know. I keep having to remind myself that I am not a decision point right now, all I have to do is keep hiking and when I get to Seiad I can think about it, but right now the stress isn’t helping.

Time for bed.

16 miles today.

Im walking towards the smoke:

My emotional state for today:

—

A VIDEO: