Day 103-105: Oregon!!

August 16-18
Day 103-105
Mile 1662.0 to 1726.8
Seiad valley to Ashland Oregon

Day 103: farewells

Today we woke up early to do the infamous climb out of Seiad before it got hot. While we were packing up our friend Kindergarden cop informed us he would be leaving the trail due to a family emergency. We were very sad. He knew my feet have been in bad shape so he gave me his new insoles. After putting them in my shoes I knew they would help. We said our goodbyes and left Seiad Valley. The climb was actually not that bad but it was very smoky from the two nearby fires.






We were some of the last people that were allowed to hike the trail out of this area due to those fires. We hiked slow because I wasn't feeling good and my feet we adjusting to the new insoles. All in all we ended up setting up camp at 5 and were asleep by 6. I spilled my rice and wasnt too happy to losing those calories.



We didn't wake up till 6 the next morning.

Day 104- goodbye California!

Jenna and I were both in high spirits today as we woke and started walking, as we knew we would be in Oregon by the end of the day. We pushed on to get into Oregon before we took lunch.





It is really funny how this arbitrary political boundary was so meaningful to us. My feet have been feeling much better today and we were able to hike 25+ miles for the first time in awhile.



Soon after entering Oregon we hit mile 1,700!




We don't know if it's true but as soon as we entered Oregon it felt so much greener and flatter.






We ended the day with an amazing view across Oregon!



Day 105- Hello Oregon

It rained last night! We never sleep with the rain fly on so when it started sprinkling we had to get out and throw it on real quick. Luckily we got it on before it started to rain hard. We hiked fairly quick today in order to get into Ashland early in the day. We really enjoyed the hike this morning and are so happy to be in Oregon!



We can still see Mt. Shasta!


We stopped midday at a soda cache for a quick lunch. On our way down the trail near I5 we met a guy named buddy who offered us a ride into town when he was done hiking. We went into the callahans lodge and got our packages and want into the town of Ashland with buddy. We rode in the back of his truck with his dogs.



Once in town buddy took us to some sporting goods stores and the to the Ashland hostel where we planned to stay. There were lots of hikers here and it was a really nice place. We got our town chores done and ate dinner at a place called Caldera with lightweight, molasses, and navi.



It was a great day and this is an awesome town.

-Natey

Day 100 - 102: The last days in California

August 13-15
Day 100-102
Mile1606.5-1662.0
Etna to Seiad Valley

Day 100: Oh the distractions in town stops

Day 100! Wow! I can't believe we have been out here for 100 days. Today we woke up refreshed and went to breakfast with caveman express, action and minor. All 5 of us ordered chocolate milkshakes as well as breakfasts.








We wanted to charge our phones and rest a few more minutes then start to hitch out. In the hiker hut, hikers were watching Macgyver so we sat and watched. We all ended up watching 3 episodes and an infomercial. I'm not sure how it got on the infomercial but at one point I actually realized it was an infomercial and wondered why I was watching it. I looked around to see every other hiker in the room just as transfixed as I was on the TV. I can't for the life of me tell you now what they were selling. We all joked about the first hiker we would lose to TV. Around lunchtime we tried to hitch out of Etna with minor and action. A guy named Jim picked us all up and we rode in his truck bed.




We all walked pretty slow and took many breaks because it was so hot. We passed some trail maintenance and entered the Marble Mountain wilderness. It was incredible.








We ran into kindergarten cop who we hadn't seen since Echo lake which was exciting and we talked to him for a good chunk of the day. We cowboy camped with minor and action. At one point, right before I went to bed, I noticed an abundance of spiders on and around my bag. I also wanted to sleep light so i could wake up around midnight for the meteor shower. Needless to say I didn't sleep very well as I was constantly having to brush spiders off me all night.

Day 101: Majestic Marble Mountains

I managed to wake up to see a few meteors, but overall didn't sleep very well. It was another beautiful day in the marble mountains with breathtaking views, wildflowers, and rock caves! There were too many good pictures!
















Near the end of the day we began to see smoke from the 3 lightning fires near Seiad Valley. For now the PCT remains open and we are hoping the fires don't get bigger and cause a trail closure.

Day 102 - Last Stop in Cali!

We had heard that Seiad Valley was one of the hottest places on the trail so we woke up early to get the hike into town done early. The first 11 miles weren't hot at all because we were in tree cover but the last few miles were a really hot and smokey road walk.








The diner closed at 2 so we immediately ordered food and shakes. Hikers had gathered at the RV park so we went there and sat in an air conditioned room with TV and sorted our resupply. A group of us decided to stay the night and we bbqed hot dogs. Kindergarten cop taught us how to play mumbley peg and that entertained us for a long time.




We camped on the RV park lawn and decided to get up early to get the 4500 ft climb done early before it got too hot and the smoke from the fires set in.

-Jenna
-Be Free

Days 92 - 95: A well needed rest

August 5 - 8
Day 92 - 95
Mile 1481.5 - 1521.8
Drainage to McCloud River - past Cascading Creek

Day 92 - Shasta

We woke up early enough to see the amazing sunrise today. It was a good thing we woke up early because it started to drizzle a few minutes later. It didn't last long though and soon got hot. Luckily we were under green tree cover most of the day. We leapfrogged with chuckles an chatterbox all day and offered them a ride if they got to the freeway when we did. We passed mile 1500!




Our feet hurt a little so we took a few relaxing breaks, but overall the day went by quickly and we made it to the freeway by 4:30. My dad and brother were there with subway sandwiches, soda, fruit, and cool wet washcloths for our faces. It was great! We dropped chuckles and chatterbox off and went to the hotel and met up with my mom then went to pizza for dinner.




I was also excited to watch the vault finals for gymnastics.

Days 93 & 94 - Double zero in Mt. Shasta

We took a few relaxing days in Mt. Shasta city where we were able to rest, get foot massages, upload pictures, see Dark Knight Rises, watch the rest of the gymnastics event finals, and most importantly eat a LOT of food. It was great to just sit around and hang out with my brother and parents. These zero days were needed and helped rejuvenate us. Nate looks crazy.




Day 95 - Castle Crags

We stayed up pretty late so we slept in. We ate one last continental breakfast before heading back to the trail. My family hiked a little of the trail with us a we said our goodbyes.








We hiked through a combination of high desert and shaded forest all day and entered castle crags wilderness.












We saw that there was a water source called cascading creek but when we got to it, it was a tiny trickle that was flowing at about 1 liter every 3 minutes so it took a while to get water. We thought it ironic that it was called cascading creek.




We found a awesome small spot below the trail about 15 miles in and, since there were no bugs, we cowboy camped.

-Be Free

Day 96-99: Remembering the Sierra

Date August 9-12
Day 96-99
Mile 1521.8-1606.5
Near cascading creek to Etna

Day 96 - Plain Bagel

When we woke up we smelled smoke and wondered if there was a fire nearby. Today was a simple day of walking with few ups and downs and plenty of crest walks.



We were passed by a mule train today and had to climb down a steep treacherous hill to let them pass. We have had views of Mt.Shasta for about a week now but I fear we may have seen the last of it. We are getting excited to get to Oregon! We camped on a really exposed plateau with a beautiful sunset.




Day 97-Sleepy

We slept in till 8 and didn't get hiking till 9. When we did this in the sierras we only did 15 or so miles, today we were able to squeeze in 25 miles.



The hiking was easy and we entered trinity-alps wilderness of Klamath National Forest.




This area really reminded us of the scenery in the sierras.









It is interesting looking back in our journals to old days and seeing how far we've come and how much we've grown.

Day 98- Unhappy Feet

Today was one of the more difficult days i have had physically on trail. Early in the day my feet started hurting and continued on for the whole day into the night. The country was very pretty and the terrain was very mild and flat.



It was a very smoky day and Jenna and I both had runny noses and sore eyes due to so much smoke.



Hope there isn't a fire too close! The pain in my feet may have been due to a switch of insoles in my shoes but it is hard to say. I switched the insoles to my old ones and my feet stopped hurting as bad. It is really tough to keep our spirits high when you have a physical ailment holding you back. In that respect it was a hard
day but by the end of the day Jenna had cheered me up with her antics. Also, we had our yummy burrito meal tonight! We are just so happy to still be hiking and will take tomorrow as it comes. Hopefully my feet feel a little better.

Day 99- Russian Wilderness

We woke up in good spirits today but fairly tired. I didn't sleep much last night because my feet were hurting. Once we started walking though, my feet felt fine.



We entered Russian wilderness of Klamath national forest early on in the day.




Instantly, we were emerged in spectacular views on beautiful crest walks.









It has been very hot the last few days and today feels like the hottest. We hiked on pretty fast today in order to get in to the town of Etna. On the way we passed mile 1,600.



We got to the road where we hitched into town and within five minutes had a ride. We had heard this was a hard hitch due to the infrequency of cars but this has been one of our fastest hitches yet. The ride was also interesting because we got to ride in the back of the truck in the truckbed. Thank you so much to Mike and Sylvia for the ride! We got into town and went straight to the hiker hut.



There we saw many other hikers and we instantly took showers. For lunch/dinner we went with Xana and Action to one of the few places in town to eat, Etna Pub. There was plenty of yummy food and treats to fill our empty bellies. After dinner we went and did the town chores ( shopping, laundry, etc). It was a great night in town and we got all our chores done that we needed to.

-Natey