Crater Lake

Friday, August 31st

Friday, August 31st: Todays miles = 20. Total PCT miles 1,854.

Today was Crater Lake day! Before I even came out here on the trail I knew about Crater Lake. The National Park became the 6th national park in the country because of its raw beauty. The lake was formed by a volcano, Mt. Mazama that errupt 7,700 years ago. A lake now sits where this mountain once was. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the country at a depth of 2,148ft and extends 25 miles from one end to the other. It really is spectacular!

Navi, Baboon and I got up early to watch the sun rise over the rim of the crater this morning. All morning was just one view after the next. We walked along the rim of the crater all morning as the sun was continuing to rise. I can't begin to explain how beautiful it was.

I took my time hiking today. I knew that this spot was going to be one of the most amazing spots on the PCT and didn't want to rush through it. At one of the lookouts I stopped to play with a very friendly (and fat) chipmunk. All the tourists must feed him.

Tonight I'm camped with Baboon at the base of a climb. My legs were hurting by the end of the day today. I have enough food for the 160 miles to Bend OR so my pack is extreamly heavy. I also was carrying water for a supposed 27 mile waterless stretch. My pack has never been heavier.

August 28th, 29th, and 30th.

Tuesday, August 28th: Todays miles = 24. Total PCT miles = 1794.5. Water was scarce today and the weather was COLD! I'm starting to get nervous about not having enough warm gear. I'll have to have another layer sent sometime soon. Camped with Baboon on the side of the trail in two little camp spots tucked in some down trees.

Wednesday, August 29th: Todays miles = 24.2. Total PCT miles = 1,818.7. Today was another low water day. The trail has been having stretches of 15-25 miles without water. Its made hiking alot more difficult when you have to carry 4 liters all day. The last part of the day today was through a burn site. It was almost eerie hiking through there at dusk. I was glad to get to camp and find flagman there. Camped with Baboon and Flagman.

Thursday, August 30th: Todays miles = 15.3. Total PCT miles 1,834. I woke up earlier today to hike the 10 miles to Mazama Village in Crater Lake National Park. I had sent myself a resupply package here and needed to pick it up. This place is not really a village. All the 'village' is is a little store with showers and laundry services. It was enough! I sat outside at the picnic tables most of the day after my shower. It was a cool place to hang out with some other hikers while we got all our stuff situated. I then went to eat a salad at the little cafe before heading back out to the trail. I made it to the rim of Crater Lake before setting up camp with Navi and Baboon.

Monday, August 27th

Monday, August 27th: Todays miles = 26.2. Total PCT miles = 1,770.4.

I was trying to get up this morning at 5am. Instead, I got out of my sleeping bag at 7:30 and didn't get hiking until 8:45. The reason for this delay was the weather. I woke up being able to see my breath and getting out of your sleeping bag in the dark when its cold out is almost impossible. The cold morning made for a cool day and it actually was the perfect temperature for hiking. The morning was a bit slow for me but after lunch I was able to make most of the miles for the day.
,I saw another bear today. He ran, just like all the others.

I'm camped at a shelter tonight ; the first real shelter I've spent the night at on the PCT. Although, I'm not in the shelter, I'm tented outside it. Flagman, Diesel, and Navi are sleeping in it tonight. It didn't have much room for sleeping and I came in late around 9pm.

Nothing crazy happened today. Just another happy day in the mountains!

Sunday, August 26th: Finally leaving Ashland!

Sunday, August 26th: Todays miles = 17.2. Total PCT miles = 1,744.2. I woke up this morning completely ready to leave town. I didn't want to spend another minute in town. I did manage to stay long enough to go for breakfast and coffee, though. I got a ride out to the trail by a very kind woman outside the gas station. She took me right to the trail head which was out of her way. I was back on trail by noon. 

The first 8 miles were uneventful and even boring. I stopped for water around the 9 mile mark then continued hiking. Baboon was a good 1/4 of a mile ahead of me and way out of sight when I saw it - a wolf! I was hiking along a ridge. The mountain lead downhill to my right and uphill on my left. I heard a rustle in the brush and immediately stopped to see what it was. It sounded too graceful to be a bear, to quick to be a deer, and too loud to be a mountain lion. I had no idea what it could be until it busted out of the bushes and tore down the mountain starting on my right hand side. It was running right toward me!!! It was so fast I barely had time to react. All I was able to do was put my trekking poles outward as if swords to protect me if he lunged on me. It seemed, however, that he had no real interest in me because just before he got close to the PCT he straightened out his path and ran across the PCT just 10 yards in front of me. He avoided me completely. It was almost as if he was scared of me. He continued down the mountain for a little while until I heard the running stop. He didn't run too far. So many things were running through my head. It was while he crossed the PCT that I was able to take in his true size. Until that moment I was unsure if it was a coyote. As he ran directly in front of me, though, I saw just how large he was. I got the clearest look I could have ever gotten; as if I was watching an episode of planet earth. He was 70-80 pounds. The top of his head reached to just below my waist. Gray fur covered his lean and strong body structure. He looked just the slightest bit mangy. His ears were perked and his snout was very pronounced. One good look of him and there was not a shadow of doubt; it was a wolf! I had no idea if there were even wolves in Oregon but if someone were to tell me there were not I would confidently say they were wrong. I could not have seen it more clearly (it was just like the wolves on those ugly grey sweaters that people wear). At this moment when I realized what I had seen is when my mind started racing. Was it in a pack? Were they hungry? Was he going to follow me or stalk me as I continued hiking? I waited a moment standing completely still on the trail. I waited to see if he would show himself again. All was quite. He must have been under the bushes. He made no more movement while I was there. I began walking again this time faster than my normal pace. Every few moments I couldn't stop myself from looking back to see if I was being followed.

It was another 2 or 3 miles of hiking before I meet up with Baboon and told him what I saw. He told me flat out "your wrong! There are NO wolves in Oregon!!". My confidence on the matter sparked a friendly debate and it was than that he pulled out his phone and began researching the subject. Turns out there ARE grey wolves in Southern Oregon. They were reintroduced to Idaho starting in 1995. Just 25 grey Canadian wolves were brought in to reestablish the population that had been completely destroyed years back. These wolves made their was to Oregon by swimming across a large river. It was later discovered that a few of the female wolves were traveling with pups. It is estimated that there are an extreamly low number of wolves in Oregon numbering between 25-50. They are almost never seen. Upon learning this information Baboon began taking me for my word. I had a good laugh about it. He then changed his demeanor from disbelief to jealousy. I don't know what there is to be jealous about. After seeing it all I wanted to do was get as much space between it and me as I could.

Camped with Baboon on private land. Hopefully no cows tonight.

August 23rd, 24th, and 25th: Ashland town days

August 23rd: I didn't intend to take a zero today but it happened. There were so many hikers in town so we all got together and had some Mexican food and Margaritas. I got all my errands done today (shopping for food and sending it ahead) then got to enjoy the rest of the day off.

August 24th: I definitely did not intend to take a zero today either!! Monkey was waiting on a tent so we justified the zero day with that excuse.

August 25th: I had ZERO intention of taking today off. Instead I took yet another ZERO! I got a big salad and a whole watermelon and went to the room to eat up. It was a successful zero day.

During my three and a half days in Ashland I managed to eat 16 Mint Klondike bars! Definitely my record.

Wednesday, August 22nd.

Wednesday, August 22nd: Total PCT miles = 1,727. Ashland OR.

This morning I hiked 4 tiny little miles and ended up at the Oregon border!! When I got there Diesel, Indiana Toad, Chocolate Chipmunk, and Baboon were there having a snack. They were all still sitting on the California side. It was like crossing the border to sit and have a snack would have been strange. We all sat there for quite a while eating and talking about the months we have spent in California.  It was only after we had our packs strapped on ready to hike did we step across the line made from rocks signifying the border.

It didn't take long of hiking before I forgot that I was in Oregon. There was no real change to the trail. It looked like any other point of California (except the desert) although, it seemed like the second I crossed it got cold out. It has been cold since. The days are still warm (almost hot) but the nights seem to cool down so much so that I have to zip myself up completely in my zero degree down sleeping bag.

Today was a decent hiking day. I had 22 miles done by mid afternoon. I had 10 miles left before the road to town and decided to stop and take a break before heading out again.

A couple who live in Ashland met us at the road and offered Baboon and I a ride into town. They took us right to the cheapest motel in town, the Relax Inn. Baboon and I checked in at around 9pm. We threw our stuff down on the floor of the room and immediately starting walking to Subway for dinner, then the grocery store for ice cream. I carried my stuff back to the room and sat on the bed and pigged out! I almost didn't take a shower tonight because I was too tired to get out of bed. I thought that it didn't really matter if I showered tonight or tomorrow morning. I've slept in my own filth so many times I didn't really care about doing it again tonight. I did have to go to the bathroom, though, so I figured I'd at least rinse off. The real shower can wait for tomorrow. All I cared about was that I had a stomach full of fresh veggies!

Most hikers have a Packscot (pack mascot). Its usually something relatively small and distinct to the hiker; a stuffed animal, a rubber chicken, an action figure, a key chain, a handkerchief, etc. We carry these things even though they have no real purpose in our packs other than that they are something of ours that isn't just hiking gear. Either you start the trail with this meaningful object or you find it or pick it up along the trail. Mine is a stuffed Marmot that goes by the name of Marmot. He sits on the outside of my pack while I hike with his paws and head propped out of a pocket. Baboon carries a key chain. If you hike with someone long enough you'll usually end up finding out what that persons packscot is. Today I learned what Diesel carries. Perched up on his pack during the border crossing break was a packet of spam; a spam single packet to be exact. It looked like it had been buried in his food bag for miles and miles. I later learned that it had been. Diesel started the trail with a packet of spam in his food bag. He never ate it. Who would eat spam unless they had to? Eventually he forgot the spam was in his pack at all. It wasn't until mile 702 that he cleaned out his pack and found this very tattered and worn litte spam packet in the bottom of his pack. He then decided that this spam would now have to go the whole way with him. He has been carrying it ever since. Its just when you get too confident and think you know what crazy things your going to see on the trail; its when you think you understand all the experiences and people you may come across on the trail... when you meet a spam packet by the name of Spamantha (formally know as Spamula).

Tuesday, August 21st

Tuesday, August 21st: Total PCT miles = 1,694.9.

I woke up this morning at 6am which is earlier than normal. I think it was the cafe being 150 feet away that did it. The smell of coffee got me packed up and ready mighty quickly.

I left Seiad Valley at around 10am and hit the trail to bust out some miles. My original plan was to hike all the way to the Oregon border tonight. The drive to see that sign was too strong and I wanted it tonight!  I also wanted to see it in the daylight which is why I ended up stopping just 4 miles short tonight. Tomorrow morning I get to stand at that sign and know that I have walked the distance of the giant state of California and then some! I do believe, and all the other hikers agree with me, that the sign marking the end of California and the beginning of Oregon is the biggest milestone on this trail. California is 1,698.9 miles long (trail miles) and to be done with that is going to be a huge relief!

While in town I decided to download an audio book to my phone and listen to it while hiking. I'm six hours into the book and boy did the miles fly by! I think it may become something I do on a regular basis. I've never listened to a book on tape before. For me there is something so wonderful about opening the pages of a book, curling up with a cup of tea, and reading until my eyes hurt. One thing that I really do miss while being on the trail is diving into a good story. Today, once I got over the fact that I was listening to the story instead of reading it, it actually became rather enjoyable. There are a few books on my reading list that I know I can't bring myself to listen to. I'll have to wait until after the trail when my whole body aches with the pain of hiking 2,664 miles and when I have no motivation to do anything but curl up in fuzzy blankets for weeks. (Before the restlessness begins again). The other books are fair game, though. I can bust through about one a day....so, any suggestions?

Tonight I am camped with Baboon, Chocolate Chipmunk, Indiana Toad, and Diesel. We are all falling asleep dreaming of the Oregon border!

Monday, August 20th

Monday, August 20th: Todays miles = 26.5. Total PCT miles = 1,662.

I, of course, did not get up early this morning but I did put in the miles! I was hiking by 8:30am. I can't say that today was overly difficult. The first 7 miles of the day were uphill but then the remaining miles were mostly down/bumpy.

The second I hit the trail this morning I noticed the mountain lion tracks on the trail. There were very clear tracks with two sets of baby mountain lion tracks just behind them. These tracks went on for miles. I wondered if they were trying to be the first mountain lion family to thru hike the PCT. These kitties were definitely the last ones to pass on the trail before me. I kept expecting to turn the corner and see them sitting on the trail taking a break. I unfortunately did not.

I was attacked by an entire swarm of wasps today! I apparently stepped on their hive and they were not too happy about it. The first sting took me by surprise. I wasn't exactly sure what bite me in the ass. Then one got me in the thigh. One in the arm..... countless stings. It wasn't as bad as my run in with them on the AT (28 stings) but it was up there in my most unpleasant interaction with wasps. I watched my steps ever so carefully for miles afterwards. I knew the odds of me trampling over another hive were low but I had become paranoid.

I rolled into Seiad Valley around 6pm! The tiny store was still open and I went in for soda and a klondike bar. Chocolate Chipmunk, Indiana Toad, and Diesel were all here when I got here. They were buying supplies to make burgers and have a cookout at the campground (RV park) next-door. Supplies included: meat, hamburger rolls, and beer. The RV park owner, Bruce, allows hikers to camp on the grass, use the showers, laundry, TV, DVD player (with a DVD selection), fridge, and lounge area for a small fee. We all spent the night hanging out under the picnic area. It felt good to crack open a cold one and enjoy my evening with good people after having put in a full day of hiking.

There is a small cafe next to the store that opens at 7am tomorrow morning. This cafe is home of the 5 pound pancake challenge. We are all meeting there in the morning to watch Diesel attempt the task of eating 5 pounds of pancakes in under 90 minutes. I think I'm just going to go with the two eggs, homefries, and toast....and coffee!!

The PCT in officially closed from this point North until Green Pass (wildfire). There is a walking detour straight up a road that reconnects with the PCT before the Oregon border. I have no choice but to take this road up the mountain. Tomorrow has the potential to be fun.

Sunday, August 19th

Sunday, August 19th: Todays miles = 18.5. Total PCT miles = 1635.5. Today was a lazy mileage day. It didn't feel lazy though! I'm not sure what made today so difficult for me. Sometimes you just have those off days. The uphills were a bit steeper than normal but that should not have made that big of a difference.

I didn't get moving until around 8:30 this morning. The bear I saw just before the campsite last night hung out with me most of the night. He was quite curious but definitely timid. It was about 45 minutes after I settled down in my tent that he came moseying around. I could hear him in the distance for a while. It took him a bit of time to gain the courage to come closer to my tent. Eventually he got quite close and began sniffing around me. I was ok with him until I could hear the sniffs. If I can hear you sniffing you are too close, bear! So, I gave a loud bark and he took off stumbling through the trees in a panic making so much noise I'm sure it woke the whole forest up. He was too shy to come close to me again. He hung out at the edge of the trees my campsite was in. Thats when I finally got to sleep.

It didn't rain last night but it did stay quite chilly. It was equally chilly this morning but it warmed up to a comfortable hiking temperature by 10am or so. Today was, despite the low mileage, a good day!

Tonight I am camped with Baboon at a pond at the base of a big climb. I have something to look forward to bright and early tomorrow morning. My plan is to actually wake up early tomorrow and hike 27 miles to Seiad Valley. Its chilly again tonight which I'm ok with because I always sleep the best when its just a bit chilly so I can curl up in my sleeping bag.

As I was filling up my bottles in the pond tonight I saw a beaver swim by. Nothing like beaver fever water! It's great when a beaver is swiming in your water. It was soon after I saw him dive down into the water to go to his dam that I realized he was not swimming in MY drinking water, I was just choosing to drink HIS living water.

Saturday, August 18th

Saturday, August 18th: PCT mile = 1,617. Last night there was just a little sprinkle of rain on my tent. I was hoping that it would rain a bit harder. Hopefully it rained over the wildfires.

I got up this morning around my normal time. I took my time gathering my things and getting my tent down. Shortly after I had my pack all ready to hike I headed down the street for coffee and breakfast at the local cafe. I then waited outside the soda fountain for 50 minutes for it to open. Many hikers walked by as I was posted up outside asking me what I was up to. I told them all that the soda fountain is the only reason to ever come into Etna. By the time the fountain opened I had 9 hikers waiting outside! The poor girl behind the counter was a little overwhelmed at first. Dazzle ended up getting the whole bill for all the hikers. Scallyway ordered the "Marvel Mountain Madness". It was 10 giant scoops of any flavors of ice cream topped with three topping of you choice, whip cream, and cherries! It was served in a humongous glass ice cream bowl. It was almost as big as Scallywags head! I guess hes training for the pancake challenge that is in Seiad Valley. The challenge is to eat five 1 pound pancakes in under 90 minutes. Thats 5 POUNDS of pancakes!! If you can complete the challenge you get the pancakes for free.

I managed to get a ride back to the trail around 1pm. My pack felt SO heavy with 6 days of food, a bottle of whiskey, and two liters of water. Somehow the hike to camp tonight was still pretty easy and enjoyable. It's looking like it may rain tonight. Its considerably colder than it usually is this time of night. I never thought that I would ever wish for rain on the trail.

I saw a bear just 300 yards before the campsite tonight. Its a safe bet to say I'll have a visitor tonight.

Mt. Shasta, Castle Craigs, and an inaccurate portrayal of what happens when you hang your food bag.

Scallywag and his ice cream adventure at the soda fountain in Etna!

Friday, August 17th: Etna sucks!

Friday, August 17th: Todays miles = 9. Total PCT miles = 1,606.5. I woke up to Baboon packing his things. The only days he is ever motivated to get up seem to be when we are going into town. I moseyed around like usual and didn't get moving until my normal time. 9 miles went quickly and by 10am I was at the road leading to Etna. The first car that drove by picked us up and dropped us off right in the center on town (the town is one street). Upon arriving and thanking this man for the ride we were interrupted by a lady on the street telling us about a hiker hostel in town. I wasn't overly interested because I had no real intention of staying in town for the night. That and the fact that I was still talking to the gentlemen that gave me a ride made me thank the woman for the information abruptly and go about my business elsewhere. I went for lunch, then icecream, the grocery store for resupply, then the thrift store. It was there that I learned terrible news. The PCT is currently closed in 13 different locations along the trail. 6 are behind me but 7 closures are still yet to come on trail. All but two of these closures are due to wildfires.

A few days ago I got word of a fire just North of Seiad Valley. Seiad Valley is 55 miles from where I am on trail right now. As of last night the PCT had yet to be directly affected by the fire and the trail was open for foot traffic...upon your own risk. This morning, however, through word of mouth I was informed that the Forrest Service was beginning to post signs of closures for this area of trail. Everyone in Etna today was glued to the internet to see if the official posting online went up that the PCT was in fact closed North of Etna. It went up indeed. We were first told that the PCT was closed from Seiad Valley to Ashland OR. I was devastated. This would mean that I would have hiked through the whole state of California headed toward the Oregon border and I would not even get to stand at that sign on the PCT; the sign I have been looking forward to for hundreds of miles. I then began to do my own research on the matter. Its not that I didn't trust the information I got from others, it was just that I didn't trust the informatiom I got from others. Through further investigation I learned that the PCT is only closed 15 miles North of Seiad Valley and that the Oregon border sign is NOT currently burning to the ground. I also learned that upon arriving to Seiad Valley you can walk a detour around the fire and meet back up with the PCT before the border crossing. The fire is expected to continue to grow as its my understanding that they don't even begin to have it contained. Some people have been getting rides out of Etna to Ashland to avoid the fire. This means that they will be crossing into Oregon in a car. That seems like the most senscial and certainly the safest way from point A to B. Despite this, I have decided to hike to Seiad Valley and walk the detour around the fire. In doing so I can cut over back to the PCT and WALK across the border into Oregon! Its one of those things that you have to take as it comes. The wind could blow and and change my plans completely. Literally, the wind could blow the fire in the direction of the detour and I will have to find another way into Oregon.

All of this gathering of information took time and I was persuaded to stay in Etna for the day as the guide book says that its possibly the best trail town on the trail. I called the motel to see if they had rooms available. They said they did. I walked over to the motel in 100 degree heat in the direct sunlight only for them to tell me that they had no vacancy. I asked them for how long they had been full. Their reply, hours. So, my only other option  was to go to the hostel. The hostel charges 25 dollars to stay in a bunk! You can shower but laundry is an extra 3 dollars. There is an option to camp, although, you can only camp if all the bunks are taken (they want the 25 dollars for the bunk instead of the 10 they charge for camping on their lawn) AND they charge 10 dollars to camp on their lawn!!! WHAT?!? So really you are paying 10 dollars for a shower! I would not have stayed here unless the bunks were all taken.

I set up my tent, got a shower, put in laundry, then began to be told about the bar down the street. They have offered a free beer to all thru hikers that come in there. Naturally I went for a beer. I enjoyed myself at the bar and upon paying for my tab was told that there was no free beer for thru hikers (the two other hikers with me we also told the same thing). The many hikers who visited the bar in the past weeks have all told us differently. So, we paid for are beers and left the bar.

The only thing good about this town was the old fashion soda fountain. I can't wait to go there in the morning and get one last icecream and get the F out of this town!

Thursday, August 16th

Thursday, August 16th: Todays miles = 26.3. Total PCT miles = 1,597.5. As of this point right now where I am camped tonight I am exactly 101.4 miles from the Oregon border!! More than any milestone on this trail so far I have been looking forward to that moment. I didn't so much care about crossing mile 1,000 or even the halfway point. All I care about right now is getting out of California! 1,698.9 miles of California is enough for me to get the gist. On a map I have been the same actual distance from Oregon for the past 10 days. The trail, however, decided that we were getting to close to Oregon so it took a turn due West! Instead of hiking North towards Oregon I have been hiking West..toward the beach. I hate the beach.

Today was a decent day. I got a marathon done before I even had to bust out my head lamp. I'm slightly proud of this because I didn't get moving until later and the trail today was (except for 4 miles) all uphill. Seriously, all uphill! It was also some of the steepest climbs I have seen in weeks. Most nights at the end of the day my whole body is just tired. I feel like I have spent all my energy. My legs are usually indifferent, though. Whether I hike 10 or 26 miles my legs never seem to really hurt (except an occasional lingering stress fracture pain). Today because of the inclines my legs actually feel like they got a workout! It actually feels pleasurable knowing that because of my pain and work today my legs will be stronger tomorrow. While hiking up the last climb today when my legs were burning so badly I couldn't help but smile at it. I got a last kick of adrenaline and busted through the last 4 miles of the day to the camp spot. I finished strongly today and that always feels good.

Camped with Baboon and Zeffer.

Wednesday, August 15th

Wednesday, August 15th: Todays miles = 25.6. Total PCT miles = 1,571.1. I woke up tired. I guess I can't say that I really woke up at all because you first need to be sleeping in order to wake up. My camp spot last night was fine. The ground was level-ish. The wind wasn't bad. It seemed relatively quite....until the screech birds came out!! I have no idea what kind of bird they are or what could possibly be their purpose of screeching like a banshee all night but thats exactly what they did. One even made sure to perch itself jest feet from my tent and scream all night long. Apparently everyone else are not light sleepers because they had no idea what I was talking about in the morning. I was camped a little away from the others and the bird was directly next to my tent but I would have thought someone else may have heard it. Either way, the three others woke up refreshed and ready to hike and all I wanted to do was lay back down and go to sleep (the birds had finally stopped with the daylight). Instead I pushed my tired legs to walk 25.6 miles. If the terrain hadn't been as calm as it was I don't think I would have made it here tonight.

The smoke from the fire was around again today but nothing compared to yesterday. Water was decent today as well. I hiked 17 miles before I took lunch today because I wanted to eat at a spring that I didn't have to treat. Turns out that the one water source today that wasn't a spring was that very one. All the others today were delicious, cold springs! I guess I cant complain when 4 times out of 5 today I got to drink fresh water flowing straight out of the side of a mountain. All in all today was another good day on the trail. If your lucky enough to be in the mountains, your lucky enough!

Camp spot for tonight is in a rocky meadows-ish patch tucked in just on the side of a ridge cliff. Camped with Baboon, Chocolate Chipmunk, and Indiana toad.

I can hear cows moving in the distance. Maybe I'll get to see my second ever cow stampede! Hopefully it wont be at 2 in the morning. I really need to sleep well tonight.

Tuesday, August 14th

Tuesday, August 14th: Todays miles = 22.5. Total PCT miles 1,545.5. I woke up this morning because I was having difficulty breathing. Smoke from a wildfire made its way to where I was camped last night. I'm not exactly sure which fire was causing the smoke; if was an existing one or a new one. Either way, I was walking through clouds of smoke until 2:30pm! The smoke became so thick in some places that I could not see the next mountain over. I could not see more than 20 feet down the mountain I was hiking on! I began to think that the fire must be really close but then I remembered that the wind picked up a little last night and must have just blown it in from far away...at least thats what I tell myself.

The hiking came easy today. The whole day was well graded and there were a few BEAUTIFUL springs right on the side of the trail today. Minus the wildfire smoke I couldn't have asked for a better hiking day.

I got into camp tonight at 7:30pm! I don't remember the last time I got to set up my tent in the day light. Or eat dinner before 9pm for that matter. Its looking like the projected ETA for Etna has been pushed back to Friday morning. As long as I'm there before the post office closes I don't particularly care.

Tonight I'm camped with Baboon, Chocolate Chipmunk, and Indiana Toad.

August 12th & 13th

Sunday, August 12th: Zero day in Mt. Shasta. I woke up immediately craving coffee. I knew I was in town and could actually get a real cup of coffee so I set out in search of one. On my journey to find coffee I discovered that Shasta has a movie theater. So, naturally I saw the new Batman...for the third time. I also saw The Campaign. I decided that I could eat an entire large popcorn by myself (and possibly the free refill) so I headed into the first movie with my giant popcorn and soda. I walked out of the movie theater positively sick to my stomach. It lasted until the following morning.

Ranee, Luann, and Cooper got a hold of me in the afternoon inviting Baboon and I to their friends house for dinner and to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics. We happily agreed and shortly thereafter were on our way. I was greeted outside the house by and adorable little kitten named Paws (who I just couldn't get enough of). Theres nothing like hugging a kitten. I got to watch the Olympics, eat grilled veggies, and enjoy pleasant company. It was a well spent zero! Thank you to everyone involved!

Monday, August 13th: Todays miles = 17. Total PCT miles = 1,523. I only hiked 17 miles today because my laziness got the better of me and I didn't end up leave Castella until around 1pm. Ranee and Luann made breakfast for Baboon and I in the morning (they let us stay another night at their home). After breakfast they even drove us out of their way to the Castella post office so I could get my packages that I was waiting on. My new pack arrived along with a package from my mother. It feels similar to opening presents on Christmas. Sometimes you know whats in them but other times you do not. I then used the excuse of having to repack and organize my new pack to delay hiking out in the heat of today. It turns out that my procrastination caused me to in fact hike out during the hottest part of the day. The trail today was mostly all uphill. I wasn't bothered by the inclines at all. My time in town refreshed me and I was ready to begin hiking again. My new pack is also exactly what I was looking for. After hiking 17 miles with it I can say that it fits significantly better than my old pack. The way the weight is now distributed makes the pack feel lighter than it is. I'm definitely pleased.

I'm trying to get to Etna on Thursday so I'm planning on a 30 mile day tomorrow. The terrain looks relatively decent so hopefully I wake up early enough tomorrow to have enough daylight.

Tonight I'm camped with Baboon and the bears. I saw one bear today. Baboon saw THREE! There was also very clear bear prints in the mud almost the whole day along with bear scat.

Saturday, August 11th: Mt. Shasta

Saturday, August 11th: PCT mile 1,506. Baboon and I got a ride from two trout fishermen to the town of Mt. Shasta. We were originally going to hitch into Castella to go to the post office but because it was already closed for the weekend we took a ride into Shasta instead. The men dropped us off at the health food store in town. Upon arriving I discovered that there were other hikers in town as well. They told us that the campground in Castella was decent and that it had showers. The fee was three dollars a person (no thru hiker EVER wants to pay for camping) but there were also showers at the camp so that made it worth it. I had decided that the campground would be the most logical place for me to stay for two nights to wait for the post office to open Monday morning.

After loitering at the health food store for a few hours I walked down to the other grocery store in town to resupply for the 100 mile stretch to Etna. Grocery shopping for trail food is always so stressful. While on trail while hiking you start imaging all the food your going to buy when in town next. You stomach is pretty much in a constant state of hunger/grumble while hiking so your mind is often on food. I always have a plan for my next resupply upon arriving in town. Executing said plan, however, always proves unsuccessful. I walk into the grocery store and am immediately distracted by icecream and soda. I make a good few laps around the entire store before I end up putting anything in my cart. There are always so many people bustling around in a hurry bumping into me and giving me disapproving looks. I instantly loose track of my resupply plan and end up getting the same foods as always (tortilla and cheese, Poptarts, Syneders pretzels, Frito Lays products, dried beans, nuts). I was standing outside the grocery store disappointed in my purchases when a very kind woman came up to me and inquired about my hike. Her name was Ranee. Ranee and I talked for a little while before she offered to have Baboon and I come to her house to shower, do laundry, and spend the night. She, her partner, and their son welcomed us dirty, smelly hikers in with open arms. Their kindness is unmatched. The five of us went out for dinner down the street from their home. I must mention just how beautiful their home was decorated. It was the first thing I noticed upon entering. Someone in that home has absolutely beautiful taste! Both women seem to live very active lifestyles and it was a pleasure talking with them and getting to know them a little. This is just one way that the trail ends up restoring your faith in the human character.

Friday, August 10: Spider invasion!

Friday, August 10th: Todays miles = 23. Total PCT miles = 1,376. My plan for today was to wake up and be hiking by 6:00am. I woke up at 6:30. So needless to say I didn't get moving until well after 8.

Today was mostly ridge walking....mostly uphill except for the last part of the day. Today was a pretty standard day. Hike, eat, drink, hike, drink, hike, eat, and so on... There were a a few things in particular that were cool today. One being the view of Mt. Shasta I had most of the day. The other were the bats! While I was getting water from the river tonight at camp there was a handful of bats flying around. They were skimming the water for bugs. I just sat there sitting on a big rock in the middle of the river that I had jumped to and watched the bats for a while. They would get so close to me. If I put my hand in the water they would skim over my hand to see if it were food! It was a good way to end my day today.

The bad things about today: The mosquitoes, poison oak and the spiders! Once I got to camp I scoped around like I usually do before I set up my stuff for the night. I check for bugs, mole holes, red aunts, birds nests above me, and so on. All of theses factors determine whether I set up my tent or not, whether I set my fly up, and if I leave my shoes and pack outside my tent for the night (had a scorpion crawl out of a shoe once). I determined that my camp spot was decent enough to just set up the tent base without the fly. I also determined that my pack could handle a night without me and could chill out outside my tent. I determined wrong. I saw one spider...then two...five...ten...twenty....they kept crawling out of I don't know where. They were on me, in my food, in my pack, my food bag, crawling down my face. They were attacking my stuffed marmot with a vengeance. Everywhere I looked there were spiders. I tried to shake them off best I could. Eventually I sought refuge in my tent but they were in there too. I managed to get what I felt to be most of them out of my tent and I could finally lay my head down for the night.

Camped with Baboon and the Canadians (Snow White and Mr. C)

Thursday, August 9th

Thursday, August 9th: Todays miles = 24. Total PCT miles = 1,452.5. My 5:30am start didn't happen. The alarm went off at 4am, I laid there, laid there some more, rolled over, got up to go to the bathroom, laid back down, made some coffee, and fell back asleep until 5:45am. I started hiking by 6:30 which is definitely an improvement from the past few weeks. I'm hoping to bump it up to 6am for tomorrow morning.

The first 10 miles today were uphill! The few miles after that were bumpy downhill, then back uphill for most of the day. Even with all the uphill today felt pretty easy....all 24 miles of it.

Because of the forest fires many hikers have been bunched together. Parts of the PCT closed down because of the fires and some people were forced to bypass those sections of the PCT and take alternate routes. Those that attempted to hike those parts of trail were escorted off the PCT and surrounding trails by fire fighters. Currently the sections from Belden to Quincy and from Drakesbad to Old Station are closed. I made it through the Drakesbad section by half a day. While I was hiking through there it was snowing ash. The whole sky was covered with smoke. It actually became a little difficult to breathe. I knew I was close to the fire but when your on the trail its pretty hard to know just how close. That night a woman just a few hours behind me on trail was forced off the trail by rangers. I'm lucky to have made it through.

Because of all this bunching of hikers the trail is much more populated than usual. There are a number of people that I am camping with tonight. Baboon and I were the firsts ones to roll into camp tonight, followed by Golden Ray, Snow White, Mr. C, Extra Credit, Cactus, Hollywood, Trip, As You Wish, and Scallywag. Its a party! I was complaining that there were not that many people around but right about now I'm wishing there were less.

Wednesday, August 8th: Berney Falls State Park

Wednesday, August 8th: I slept in this morning until around 7:30am. I got up, ate a poptart, made some coffee, and packed up my things. I hiked the one mile to the state park where there is a general store. The resupply strategy coming out of Chester was originally to carry enough food to make it here then hitch into the town of Burney and get a resupply to Castella. I, however, got a little too excited at the health food store in Chester and hiked out of town with 9 dinners for a 4 day stretch. So, I skipped town today and just bought some snacks at the small camp store. I also found some dehydrated lentil soup in the hiker box (a lot of it) and couldn't bare to leave it behind because its so expensive to buy in the store. So, yet again I am carrying way more food than I could ever eat.

After I figured out my food situation I took a shower (by take a shower I mean rinse off without soap). I also did my laundry (and by doing laundry I mean rinse off my clothes in the shower without soap). I actually did feel extreamly refreshed and ready for the next stretch to Castella. If I were to hike normally I would roll into Castella this upcoming Saturday but I have my new pack getting shipped there and the post office is closed. So, I have to wait until Monday to pick it up. This means that I get to take this next section a bit more slowly, which is good because the terrain is starting to pick up in difficulty again.

Around noon I headed off on a side trail to Burney Falls. It was definitely worth seeing. I spent a little bit of time there with the tourists watching other thru hikers (who did not want to pay the 1 dollar for a "shower" at the camp) bathe in the pool of water below the falls.

I hit the trail again around 2pm. 6 miles into the hike I came across a stream with a little Wadeing pool in it. It was too inviting to pass up. I went for a swim and drank as much of the water as I could. Today was another hot day! It felt just like the desert and I knew I was dehydrated because I was drinking soda and coffee all morning instead of water.

There is a man out here on the trail in his 60s who retired from the military as a full colonel after 27 years of service. He wakes up every morning at 3:30am, is hiking by 4am, hikes 20+ miles a day, and is done by 2pm or so....relaxing, reading, washing his clothes, and enjoying the best part of the day! My goal for tomorrow and the rest of this stretch to Castella is to hike a bit more on his schedule than on mine. I don't know about a 4am start but 5:30 sounds pretty good.

Tuesday, August 7th

Tuesday, August 7th: Todays miles = 25. Total PCT miles = 1,423. Today was a good day. The morning started off rough for me because of my back. I took a small break after 6 miles to stretch it out and take the weight of my pack off of it. The little breaks during the day really seem to help. 2 miles after I took my break I came across a cooler with trail magic in it! There was a full cooler with soda and water...cold water!! Today was so hot that when I went to take a sip of my water I actually burned my lips. Having ice cold water was the best thing I could have ever asked for. 13 miles into the day I went off the trail just a tad to visit a fish hatchery and have my lunch there at a picnic bench in the shade. I laid down in the grass and took a little power nap, which I woke up more tired from. 4 miles after lunch there was another cooler with soda and water in it! We couldn't believe it. Two trail magic coolers in one day. On the AT that is quite normal in GA or NC but on the PCT its unheard of. The heat of today would have been absolutely miserable without those cold drinks. I took some pain meds, put on my music, and busted through the rest of the day arriving at a camp spot 1 mile from a camp store that opens tomorrow morning at 8am. There are showers there as well! In the morning I'm going to head over there and eat some ice cream for breakfast! This trail is kicking my ass. I've lost 15 pounds already despite my eating poptarts, candy bars, and ice cream breakfasts. After the camp store experience I'm going to take a little side trail to Burney Falls. Hopefully tomorrow will be as enjoyable as today.

Camped with Baboon, Pappa Smirf, Scooter, and The Canadians.

Monday, August 6th: Subway cave.

Monday, August 6th: Todays miles = 24. Total PCT miles = 1,398. I only had to hike 4 miles today before I stumbled across a tiny mini mart camp store and a post office. I think I was more excited about the post office than I was the store. A few days ago I realized that I have been carrying around TWO broken ipods, a bag of glass beads, multiple hats, bug spray I never use, and a few other random things. I finally decided that I was going to send this stuff to Bend OR so that I don't have to carry it, especially through the 30 mile waterless stretch where I have to carry 5 liters of water. After I visited the post office I got some popcorn, soda, and icecream from the little store. In 4 more miles I took a side trail off the PCT to visit Subway cave. It is a cave formed long ago by molten lava that carved its way through the earth. The cave is about 1/3 of a mile long. You can actually walk through that whole distance, although, you need a light because there is not a drop of sunlight that far deep into the cave. The cave got its name because it literally looks like there should be a subway running through it. I took lunch here in the darkness of the cave amongst the bats. It was significantly cooler in there than on the surface. Despite the fact that I am out of the desert many people say that what I hiked today can often be the hottest section of trail. There is a ridge called the 'hats rim' that stretches for 30 miles in the exposed sun. There is also not a drop of water on the rim. Most hikers I know were planning on night hiking the whole thing. I on the other hand decided to take off for the rim at the hottest part of the day. I soaked up all the cool air I could from the cave, grabbed 5 liters of water and set out for the initial climb up. I lucked out! The forest fires had created a giant plume of smoke that worked as clouds and shaded the rim from the direct sunlight! Although, watching the forest burn down in the distance was not so pleasant.

The only real problem I had today was my back.  The weight of the extra water I needed to carry (11 pounds) really put stress on the pinched nerve. It reminded me of the AT. I was able to make it all but 12 miles through the waterless stretch so the hard part is over. Tomorrow morning I just have to bust out the miles to the water....and drink....drink....drink.

August 5th

Sunday, August 5th: Todays miles = 20. Total PCT miles = 1,373. Last night was the first night on the trail so far that it has rained. I was sleeping in my tent without the fly on when I heard a loud thunder. I waited for a moment thinking it might have been a plane but the thunder was confirmed by the lightening I saw shortly after. I scrambled around trying to get my tent fly on as quickly as possible. I succeeded just in time! Moments after I got back in my tent it began to rain. It ended up just be a light rain, although, I was hoping for a down pour. A good rain would help this wild fire situation we've been dealing with.

This morning I headed into Drakesbad like I had planned but I did not shower or do laundry as I had planned. I could have but instead I sat, drank coffee and ate breakfast. It was a late start because of that. I made it back to the trail around noon to start my days hike. It was shortly after 3pm when I saw a wild fire....and then another in an opposite direction. The lightening from last night started two new wild fires in addition to the large one that has burned some of the PCT and upwards to 14,500 acers of land so far. Helicopters were flying above all day today dropping water and repelling firefighters in efforts to contain them before they became an issue. Firemen were literally dropping out of the sky! Smoke from the fires flooded in and we were hiking through it for a good 5 miles at least. No one had any information about these two new fires so we just hiked along hoping the wind was not blowing in are direction.

Tonight I am camped with Baboon, Snow White, Mr. C, and Pappa Smirf. Baboon seemed to have a rough day. Something about chaffing and a pinched nerve in his arm. Sometimes when I bend over in pain because of a pinched nerve in my back that I have had for 2,500 miles Baboon will give a little chuckle. After seeing his face today when he discovered his own pinched nerve I'm lead to believe the chuckles may come to an end. Hopefully, for his sake, its temporary. I wish such pain on no one. :-(

Also, I'm loosing a toe nail. I was wondering what that pain was today, then I took off my shoe...

August 4th: Leaving Chester

Saturday,  August 4th: Todays miles = 18. Total PCT miles = 1,353. This morning I woke up in Chester in a room with Baboon, Flagman, and Scooter. I had spent the evening eating microwave food and watching the Olympics. The prospect of coffee in the morning was enough to get me out of bed. I left the motel around 9:30 or so and headed out to hopefully find a diner where I could sit and have a few cups of joe. I was standing on the sidewalk not knowing where the diner was when a lady in a mini van stopped next to me, rolled down her window, and said hello. I wasn't trying to hitch so I was confused at why she had stopped. She told me she was "Pipers mom", a trail angel that lives in Chester. She keeps coolers stocked with snacks, soda, and water by the trail head. She gives hikers rides to and from the trail, and because of the wild fire consolidating a lot of hikers was allowing people to camp on her lawn if they could not find a place to stay in town. She gave me her phone number in case I needed anything while in town and told me to call her if I could not find a ride back to the trail. She then pointed me in the direction of the diner! By the time I left the diner it was around 11am. I got a hitch within minutes from a man very familiar with the trail. He was not going in the direction of the trail but stopped anyway to take us there! People in the town of Chester mostly seem to know that there is a long trail that is close to their town. Its nice when the locals know why you look like a dirty, homeless, traveling, vagabond gipsy. Although, you don't get to enjoy as many entertaining stares.

The first 9 miles of the day went by quickly even with my stomach issues (perhaps too much town food) and the second 9 miles were just as easy. I made a mistake in resupplying and am carrying WAY too much food. Other than that the day went very smoothly.

Yesterday I called Osprey (pack company) and inquired about possibly getting my dream pack. I have wanted a specific pack since the AT but could never justify buying it because I had a fully functional pack, however, after just 5 minutes on the phone with Osprey I got them to agree to send me my dream pack to the Castella PO for FREE! If only I had called 3,500 miles ago....

Tonight I am camped in a no camping zone next to some pinic tables, a privy, and a water fascet. In the morning I am going to head into the resort of Drakesbad and get a free shower, laundry, and a natural spring fed hot pool to sit in. Just today I entered the Lessen Volcanic State Park where there are plenty of natural hot springs and ponds. The one pond I passed today was so hot the whole pond was boiling....actually boiling. There was also a Geyser that I hiked off trail to see. I don't believe I've ever had an opportunity to see a Geyser before. It was remarkable to see.

July 31st and August 1st

July 31st: Todays miles = 27.
Today was a longgggg day. I determined to do at least a marathon today and I would not stop until I did despite the fact that my stress fracture was on fire because of my dead shoes. About 5 miles before I was going to camp I saw a sign on the dirt road crossing that read "missing dogs. Two black labs missing in the mountains". I thought nothing of it until I was about 1/5 mile from the camp spot and a dog started barking. By this time it was completely dark except for the full moon. However, smoke from a wild fire was covering the sky limiting the amount of moonlight I was receiving. My immediate thought was that this dog must be one of the missing dogs. I called out in case someone was there and was pleasantly surprised when a lady began calling the dogs name to calm it down. I apologized for waking them up (as it was dark and late) and continued on to camp.

August 1st: It wasn't until this morning that I got a good look at the woman I had met the night before. She was in her mid 60s or so, had on a cat print sleeveless dress with a long sleeve pink turtleneck on underneath. She had flower print leggings on and a pink cloth scrunchy in her hair. Her dog, Patrofski, is 12 years old and seemed to be struggling with the whole walking thing. She was very kind, however, she was just a tad....well, she may have spent a little bit too much time alone in the woods. She, I guess is a resident trail lady. She goes around traveling up and down trails. I guess she no longer has her pack lama that she used to have. I'm sure it would have been even more fun to meet her then when she had.

Ended up in Quincy tonight. The wild fire I saw the night before spread, burning parts of the PCT and the surrounding  towns. Instead of going into Belden (because it was on fire) we came into Quincy to resupply.

July 29th and 30th: Sierra City

July 29th: Todays miles = 24. Total PCT miles 1197.5. I hiked 24 miles before dinner and made it to Sierra City in time to sign my name up on the dinner list. In this little town of Sierra City there is a small bar/hotel/restaurant place that allows hikers to camp for free on their back yard. They also let you shower and do you laundry for free! I didn't do much that night besides eat. The general store closed early due to it being a Sunday in a small town. I was determined to relax all night and take care of my resupply stuff the next day.

July 30th: Todays miles = 8. Total PCT miles = 1,205. In the morning I woke up and had breakfast at the Red Moose Inn, spent way too much money at the general store (their prices were beyond obscene), then spent the rest of the afternoon drinking at the bar watching the Olympics. I didn't leave town until late and camped with Baboon and Typo.

Birthday week

July 22nd: I made it to South Lake Tahoe by dinner time! Got settled into the motel and showered, did laundry and ate Thai food.

July 23rd: I woke up relaxed and having found out that there was a movie theater in town. I decided to go catch an early showing of the new Batman! Popcorn bucket number one!

July 24th: I woke up on my birthday with Baboon and Typo wishing me a happy day. I decided to go see Batman again. A shirtless Christian Bale as a buff, badass, batman = definitely worth seeing twice. That and popcorn. Birthday dinner was an all you can eat sushi bar for 20 bucks. I ate 90 dollars of sushi!

July 25th: Typos birthday! We all managed to make it out of town and celebrate his birthday with s'mores.

July 26th: todays miles = 25.2. Total PCT miles = 1129.2

July 27th: Todays miles = 23.8. Total PCT miles = 1153.

July 28th: Todays miles = 21. Total PCT miles = 1174