Still moving along despite the knee deep snow and driving storm coming over the Knifes Edge in the Goat Rocks Wilderness! Feeling good and looking forward to heading northward once again after a nice day drying out in Packwood. 350 miles left till Canada !! I'll be seeing the great state of Washington tomorrow !! But for now I'm busy buckling down at Mt Hood's Timberline Lodge buffet and doing some damage :-). Sunset and sunrise on Mt Hood and camping at 7,000 feet on the mountainside. Hiking isn't so bad after all! As soon as my food coma comes back to life, ill be enjoying the last day and a half of the great state of Oregon! Got a free room for the night with dinner and breakfast with some very generous hosts! Heading for Cascade Locks tomorrow, and will gladly say goodbye to Sisters, OR as I make my way to Washington! I love this trail :-) Couldn't get my slideshow to work :-( But happy to be in Oregon and enjoying the new state to its fullest ! Onward to Crater Lake ! Last nights thunderstorm started a lightning strike fire within a 1/5 mile of the Grinder Creek Campground where I had set up camp. I could see the glow and smoke from the fire, and was having a campfire to dry my socks as the fire department showed up to send a 6 person crew into start fighting the fire. The crew was still out fighting it (over 2 acres) when I left in the morning. Got into the cafe just as it started pouring for a bit, and now I'm having an omelette and watching an attempt to eat 5 lbs of pancakes by Rooster. Only 60 miles till Ashland - and finally saying goodbye to California !! Multiple fires to walk near has made it a bit smokey to put it lightly! Only 120 miles to Ashland has me hoping that the fires around there will be out shortly! Beautiful country, that I'm sure would be even better if I could see more. Legs are slowly remembering what 25-35 miles a day feels like, and soon I will have them pounding out the mileage and escaping this infernal smoke! All for now from the tiny town of Etna, California :-) Taking some time off trail over the next week to celebrate my birthday with my girlfriend, and tour Oregon by foot and car for a change! 1506 miles in and feeling good ! Enjoying a nice Trappist Belgian microbrew... Hiking is soo difficult (I did do a 24 mile day by 1:45pm so I certainly have earned this brew) Enjoyed amazing swimming holes and scenic ridgelines for the last week. Great time in Chester and got a teeth cleaning from Dr. Webb - the hiking communities dental ambassador !! Saw Terminal geyser, Subway cave, and am sitting near Burney Falls, a natural spring waterfall that puts out a consistent 100 million gallons a day ! Soon to hitch up to Ashland real quickly and enjoy a tour of Ashland, Bend and Crater Lake with my girlfriend! A great way to spend a birthday. Did a 40 mile hike yesterday, that included Hat Creek Rim and spectacular views of Lassen Volcano and Mt Shasta ! It's been 90* for a number of days, and I've been getting over an illness for 3 days. The scenery has been great and I'm excited for Lassen Volcano and the Oregon border. Looking forward to seeing the many highlights of Oregon with my girlfriend, and getting to hike Crater Lake with her. Backpack has a few issues is I'm using a loaner bag till Ashland, when I get my pack back. Hoping for cooler weather tomorrow, as I have a 9.5 mile hike up 3,000ft to get back to the ridgeline! Enjoying every day of this beautiful trail and looking forward the next 1,454 miles :-) |
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