Start: 0645 - less than 1 mile from Oregon
End: 1900 - PCT mile 1710
Miles (today): 22
Miles (cumulative): 1755 (1593 PCT, 94 alternate, 68 off)
I hiked happy all day. :)
Despite a dismal night of sleep (I woke up a lot, once because something was crawling on my face - I don't even want to know what) I woke up ready to get hiking. Not only were we crossing into Oregon, but we had some friends up ahead waiting for us. Therefore, we skipped breakfast and got on the trail ASAP. :)
We were so close to the border that it was still cold outside and I was still waking up by the time we got there. But we finally made it!
WE ARE IN OREGON!
It feels good to have completed an entire state - California: check. Only two more states to go.
look at that!! Less than 1000 miles to Canada!
please don't judge my dirty fingernails
we finally made it to Oregon!
As I waked up to sign the trail register, I was greeted by the cutest squirrel ever - he chattered at me for quite a while (I really wish I would have taken a video of him sooner) and he made me laugh.
yes, the squirrel is making those noises - he was so adorable
A quarter mile after crossing the border, we encountered this sign:
Trail Magic from Sith, Jedi, and Gopher
Everyone was just waking up when we got there so our timing was great. Sith and Jedi saved us some celebratory chocolate cake (they are so awesome!), so I had a piece for breakfast along with some coffee. Following that, I ate some fruit. Finally, for good measure, I had a few bowls of Life cereal with almond milk. It was all delicious. They even had a means for us to charge our devices! We sat in their camp chairs, relaxed, and enjoyed being around such good people (in addition to Sith, Jedi, and Gopher we spent time with Bushwhack, Prancer, Ripper, Cliffhanger, HeMan, and Zuke). Everyone was in good spirits due to just crossing the border.
thru-hikers turned trail Angels with their clay figures: Sith (not sure what her figure is), Jedi (ninja turtle), and Gopher (Beeker)
these people made my whole day amazing! Nick, Sith, Jedi, Bushwhack, Gopher, me
We spent over 2 hours with them but by 1000 figured it might be a good idea to get back on the trail to get in some miles - that is, after all, what we are here to do. It was a fine day to hike!! I was so happy from the events of the morning that I couldn't stop smiling as I walked. Everything was great (well, except for my ankle, but that doesn't count). I just walked and didn't care about the time or the miles or the fact that I was slower than Nick (the last 6 miles were all downhill and we all know that's my weakness).
I talked to all the southbound hikers I encountered on the trail (three of them were southbound thru-hikers!) and found out that Coppertone had left early this morning (he had been near where we are camping tonight). I knew we were going to miss him this time but I didn't realize it would be this close (again)! One day! Ugh!! It's ok, though, because I know he was thinking of me - he and False Alarm both sent me pictures of them together saying 'we miss you', which made me happy.
A picture from Coppertone and False Alarm - I miss them both!
Despite all the trail magic delays (in addition to the magic this morning, this afternoon we came upon a cache of soda, where we stopped for a break with HeMan, Zuke, and Scarface) we still made it to camp at a decent hour for once.
Only 6 miles to Ashland! We would have hiked it today but didn't want to spend the money on two nights in a hotel. We plan to get to town in the morning (Jedi said he should be able to pick us up at the road tomorrow so we won't have to hitch). I can't wait to shower and have semi-clean hands again. :)
Along the trail:
are you sick of Shasta yet? Nick is... I'm not
this tree was nicely decorated for Christmas - how long have we been out here?
i liked how this rock was split