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).