Wed. June 15     Miles today: 22 PCT plus 2 more       Total so far: 580.3  Oregon section B

Good thing we rigged the tarp last night!  We were in Oregon, the land of the dew!  Quite a switch from the Mojave Desert!  It was a beautiful clear morning, but we noticed that the mountains “across the way” from us had snow on them.  Hmmmm!  But the PCT did not, and we hiked happily along, enjoying awesome views of snow-covered Mt. Shasta to the south.  We also went right past a very impressive rock formation I’ve often seen in the distance and admired while driving on Interstate 5. 

Queen Anne's Lace

 But for me, the most marvelous thing was the wildflowers–totally different from southern CA, which also had lots of wildflowers, but of other kinds.  All along the PCT in Oregon were trilliums, incredible trilliums, and some of them were the biggest I have ever seen.  Wild strawberries were in full bloom, and there were alyssum, anemones, yellow violets, blue violets, camas and Queen Anne’s Lace, plus Solomon’s Seal and many more.  We met lots of “daisies” (dayhikers) who were out with wildflower guides in hand, also going nuts over the wildflower display.  Most of them immediately recognized us as thru-hikers and said, “What are you guys doing here so early?”

Well, I know one thing–our FEET are sure glad we are in Oregon!  Already they were looking much more normal–not so swollen and sore from desert heat and grit.  I figured out awhile back that rubbing Bodyglide between my toes really makes them feel better, too–a lot less chafing. 

And Bill made a marvelous discovery.  Lying by the trail, apparently abandoned, was a beautiful wooden hiking stick ( made from a slender tree trunk, I think)  that had Bible verses carved on it.  We debated whether to just leave it, or to take it, and finally decided that since Bill really needed a good stick…. maybe, as Brian commented yesterday, “This was meant to be.”   So Bill now has the help of a fine stick with an encouraging Bible text.

Is this classic Oregon PCT, or what?

We spent much of the morning going through what’s called the “Green Springs”–a unique area up on the mountains near Ashland where there are many freshwater spings that run all year–a big contrast to the Ashland/Medford Valley, which gets very brown in the summer.  I also got a kick out of the Oregon version of big powerlines.  Instead of metal monster poles, the lines use enormously tall tree trunks.  The PCT itself was varied–sometimes it went through very green Oregon forest, sometimes through “Oregon chaparral” (huckleberry bushes!!), and sometimes through open, rocky terrain with lots of wildflowers. 

Little Hyatt Lake

Finally we reached Little Hyatt Lake dam and took a rest to enjoy the view of the lake, but shortly after that, we got in trouble because we had no maps or guidebook (they were all in our  box that was supposed to go to Seiad Valley , our last resupply in California).  There were forest roads all over the place, and we could not figure out which one was the right one to get to “big” Hyatt Lake, our next official resupply.  We ended up wasting several miles of hiking on the wrong road before we got it right and finally reached the Hyatt Lake Resort.

By now it was 6:00 pm, and the store was closed.  Nobody was in sight anywhere, and there was no way to get any food.  So we ate a skimpy dinner of odds ‘n ends from our food bags, while sitting on the store porch with a view of the lake, and wondering what to do. 

Brown Eyes

 Just then, along came a man with a huge dog that turned out to be half wolf, half husky.  Her name was Brown Eyes, and she was so big that her head came up to my elbow!  The man told us he was the caretaker, out on an “evening patrol”.  He had no way to let us into the store, but he offered us a ride to the campground and a FREE campsite!  So we all piled into his electric mini-truck.  Brown Eyes seemed to think that Bill and I needed a wash, because she gave us both a good licking with her big wet tongue.  And she was right!  We were pretty grubby.  We took showers before crawling (still hungry) into our sleeping bags.  It was great to be clean, but I hope the store is open for breakfast!!   We are still just totally excited to be in Oregon, and very grateful to God for all His help so far!

Tues. June 14     Miles today: not sure  (a couple)

Camp at Caswell State Park

Early morning light showed Caswell State Park to be as pretty as ever, but with a puzzle–they’ve put up wire fences around the campsites. Why??  But we had to go, so off we went, past the very tidy farms (many people in the Caswell area are of Dutch descent, and they are “into tidy”! ).  We sailed right through Sacramento, and headed north.  By the time we reached Red Bluff, we needed a break, so went walking in a highway rest area which had a sign saying that this was a “Blue Star Highway” to honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces.  I mention this because in case you’re reading this blog and you are in the army, navy, marines, or whatever, I want to take this opportunity to say a BIG “THANKYOU!”  We are the land of the free BECAUSE OF the brave!  We are very grateful for our freedom to do crazy things like hiking from Mexico to Canada!

Finally we crossed the Oregon border and turned off at the Mt. Ashland exit to go on a hunt–for the PCT!  And it took some hunting!  We found the place where the PCT comes down to the road, but then where did it go next?  We had no guidebook pages to tell us!  So we looked and looked and finally discovered that you have to turn and walk along the road for a whole half mile before the PCT heads back into the woods again.  I went into Callahan’s restaurant (near the PCT) and asked them if our observations were correct as to where the trail went, and they said, “Yes, and did you know we have a first-beer-is-free policy for thruhikers?”  We told them we’d take them up on that when we finish the trail! 

 Then it was on to Medford to return our rental car.  While filling its gas tank before turning it in, we spotted a couple walking by who looked like thru-hikers.  Sure enough, they were–James and Melissa.  They were getting off the trail to think things over.  They’d begun at Campo in late April, skipped up to Oregon to avoid the raging snowmelt in the Sierras, and ended up in endless snow and cold in Oregon.  Yes, that’s right–snow and cold in JUNE!  After spending three days hunkered in ther tent because of a snowstorm, and many previous days of endless cold and snow on the trail, they’d had enough.   “Where will you go?” we asked, and they chorused, “Someplace WARM!”  Well, it was very warm and sunny in Medford!

Bill waits for the bus to Ashland

We said goodbye to James and Melissa, turned in the car, went food shopping, loaded packs, and tried to hitch a ride back up the mountain to the PCT.  But we had absolutely no luck at all.  So we finally gave up and found a bus stop to go to Ashland.  A helpful teenager who was also going to Ashland told us what to do–ride to the central bus hub, then transfer to an Ashland bus.  This was a 14 mile ride, and the cost?  50 cents for Bill (a senior) and $1 for me!  At the hub, we only had a short wait for the Ashland bus, and when we told the driver we’d be trying to hitch a ride up to Mt. Ashland/Callahan’s, he promised to tell us where to get off.  So we rode the very full bus to near an Interstate 5 onramp, which the driver said was the closest he could get us to the PCT.

"It was meant to be" Brian

By now it was 5:30 pm, a bit late for hitch hiking, and for a long time, car after car went by and ignored us.  The sun began to go very low, and it was beginning to get cold, when a car turned on to the ramp, then pulled over.  Hooray!  It turned out to be a great guy named Brian, and he RECOGNIZED us because he’d been reading our journal online!  He was on his way to Redding, in northern California, to work on a property he owns, and his car was full of stuff.  “Don’t worry, I will make room for you guys,” Brian said.  “Obviously this was meant to be.”  It took a bit of shuffling and squeezing, but in the end, Bill was up front with Brian, and I shared the back seat with a toilet! 

Brian told us about his family–he loves his wife and kids–and took us first to Callahan’s to get water, then dropped us off at the PCT, saying, “Happy Trails!”  We promised to call him when we finished our hike, so maybe we could all celebrate at Callahan’s! 

Then Bill and I headed into the green, green, wildflowery Oregon woods and hiked a couple of miles, celebrating all the way.  “We’re on the trail again, we’re on the trail!”  Bill kept singing.  We stopped for a quick dinner, then went a bit farther and made camp.  And amazingly, there were no clouds of mosquitoes flying in formation and saying, “Welcome to Oregon!”    We are so excited and happy to be here, but we are glad that so far, the famous Oregon mosquitoes are NOT!