Steven's Pass to Seattle to Santa Barbara

Even after the end of our PCT adventure, we knew we'd be in for a whole new adventure of getting back home.  We'd made it back to Steven's Pass & with Pepper Flake & Shotput, hitchhiked to Skykomish for a place to rest, dry out & celebrate our safe return from the snowy madness.  We stayed at the Cascadia Inn & ran into other hikers, some who were anxiously waiting out the weather in hopes that they could soon get back out there & attempt this section of trail themselves.  Some were concocting plans of how they could take an alternate route because people were quickly realizing that this section of the PCT wasn't letting anyone through.

Click on this link to hear a fellow hiker's account of her experience through the snow:

Snow Stalks Hikers on Increasingly Popular Pacific Crest Trail

Although the class of 2013 had a relatively easy year for snow in the Sierra's, those of us who were still around for this storm experienced snow unlike any of us even thought possible.  There were others still out there, some with Search & Rescue teams out looking for them...our hearts & minds were with them & wishing them the will & ability to PERSEVERE.  That was the word that kept running through my mind when we were out there, unsure of what each moment was going to bring us.

We said our goodbyes, checked in with the Dinsmore's to let them know we all made it out safely & then walked out front to the highway & stuck out our thumbs, heading in the direction of Seattle.  We had met a previous thru-hiker, Daybreaker, & his girlfriend Sneaky Elf, doing trail magic back at White's Pass & they had given us their phone number & said if we ever needed a place to crash in Seattle, they'd hook us up.  He had returned our call & invited us over to his place for the night & said if we could make it semi-near his house, he'd pick us up.  We got a hitch from a very kind man & he gave us the scoop on local bus info. before dropping us off in a suburb of Seattle.  We then caught a bus & with the helpfulness of the bus drivers, we somehow managed to find our way to meet Daybreaker & Sneaky Elf in downtown Seattle.  They were unbelievably kind & generous to us & Sneaky Elf gave us the key to her apartment for the following night & trusted us to take good care, as they were heading out of town for the weekend.  We spent the following day navigating our way around Seattle on foot & checking out some fun local places.  Our train would be leaving the following morning.

They had CATS at the awesome local bookstore, Twice Sold Tales

Caught the Public Market early in the morning, but didn't get to see anybody throwing fish around...

Lunches packed & ready to spend 32 hours of relaxation on the train

When we got in line at the train station, we saw a guy with feathers sticking out of his hat & there was little doubt that it was anybody but fellow thru-hiker Apache & next to him was Sierra Bum, both of whom we'd met many miles ago on the PCT.  They were also in line...for the same train!  So it wasn't really goodbye until each of us got off at our stops...

Sierra Bum & Apache

I had envisioned tears streaming down my face first as we would be making it the Canadian border & touching the beloved monument, but when that didn't happen & we were persevering through the snow, I was sure tears would come when we made it out alive & well, but they didn't fall there either.  The tears were stuck somewhere deep inside me & even as we said our goodbyes to fellow thru-hikers as we headed out of town, no emotion came.  It wasn't until our train pulled up to the Santa Barbara train station & we saw Keith's Uncle Randy & Aunt Vicky that the emotion came.  I realized that it was really over.  We may or may not see any of these folks again.  Folks who feel like family.  Who have been our brothers & sisters for months.  This particular adventure is over. 

On to the next...

Keith's aunt & uncle have generously opened up their home here in Santa Barbara to us & offered for us to stay as long as we need to recuperate & re-energize for our road trip back east.  They are very good company and are spoiling us & fattening us up with delicious food.  They treated us to a concert last night at the Santa Barbara Bowl to see The Avett Brothers, one of our favorite bands.  I spent my birthday on the beach & Keith & I swam for the first time ever in the Pacific Ocean.  A seal popped his head up out of the water, looked around & then dove back into the water not too far from where we were swimming...amazing.  Couldn't ask for a more relaxing way to transition back into life in society.  Tonight, Keith's Aunt Shellie & cousin Alex are coming over to hang with us, too!

We'll spend this weekend here & then head out early next week to begin our travels across America.  Hopin' the National Parks re-open soooooooooon!

(Will post more PCT pictures soon.)

Quite the ending...

We are now a few days off the trail (Oct. 2nd was officially our last day - ironically, the same day we completed the Appalachian Trail 3 years ago), the ending being a bit different than we'd anticipated, but quite the ending indeed.  To make it short:  we got snowed out!

Here's a taste of what that looked like

But first, let me backtrack a bit...

Our first 6 days of hiking in Washington were HOT and SUNNY and we were thinking, "Oh man, will it ever cool down?"  Oh man did it ever.  Slowly but surely, storms rolled in, we experienced warm, misty rain at first and then it started eventually cooling down.  Not always raining, but cooler.  By the time we made it to Snoqualmie Pass, we were mostly walking through clouds & knew no matter what day we were planning to leave to head back to the trail, there was rain in the forecast & lots of it.  Down in lower elevation, it was warm, but as we got higher & higher, it eventually turned to snow.  And it got COLD.  And we were soaked.  Our first night of Snoqualmie was really a reality check, we realized how we weren't prepared for being both soaked & freezing cold.  One by itself was fine, but not both.  That night was rough, we could barely get our fingers to work but eventually we got our tent up, jumped inside, got into our dry clothes & hoped for a clear, sunny day the following day.  And we got just that.  It cleared up enough for us to dry everything out & although the weather appeared threatening all day, the sun popped out every so often & it only drizzled on us once.  After this storm, the weather stayed threatening.  We crossed our fingers every morning that it'd at least be dry no matter if the sun was out or not & we made it rest of the miles to Steven's Pass without any more precipitation & we arrived feeling super optimistic - only 192 miles remaining, or 10 hiking days!  At this point, we felt like we could make it through anything...being so close, adrenaline alone seemed like it'd be enough to give us that extra push to make it through.

Shortly after we arrived at Steven's Pass, it started raining & some locals informed us that there was a very wet weather forecast for the next few days.  Wet with the possibility of snow.  When we pulled into town & arrived at The Dinsmore's - a lovely little place where they offer us a place to stay, a shower, laundry, a wood stove to warm ourselves, etc. - there was such a feeling of doom & gloom.  Jerry Dinsmore looked us in the eye & said, "the window to complete the trail has closed - do not continue" as he showed us the 7-day forecast.  We were shocked by his words more than the forecast, which showed 100% chance of precipitation with 1-3 inches of snow at 5,000 ft. of elevation & 3-5 inches of snow at 7,000 ft.  The good news was the highest elevation we'd be hitting through the next stretch would be 6,500 ft. so we could expect to deal with somewhere under 5 inches of snow, give or take.  It was Sept. 26th - each year, plenty of thru-hikers are standing right where we were standing & make it through just fine.  Weather is weather - truly unpredictable & as long as you are as prepared as you can be with the information you are given, you are doing what you are supposed to do.  We felt Mr. Dinsmore's words were a bit dramatic, harsh & undermining our ability to decide for ourselves what we were prepared to go through.  And what we've already been through.  We had to decide for ourselves.

I should mention that the Dinsmore's dealt with a difficult experience just last year when a thru-hiker spent 18 days out on the trail, unaccounted for before he walked into the next trail town, Stehekin.  They had sent out a search party for him & obviously were very concerned for his safety & were hugely relieved when he was able to walk out himself.  As Legend put it, "he made it out & that's a true testament to the spirit of a thru-hiker!"  We put ourselves into positions knowing that we are the only ones who can get ourselves out.  That is part of the experience.  That is the life we choose.

Numerous thru-hikers had continued north on the trail ahead of us & we head also heard of a few people who'd decided to call it quits right there at the pass, for one reason or another.  We'd been hiking around Pepper Flake, Shotput & Legend for the past few days & all of us felt the same way - we needed to see the trail for ourselves & attempt this & that it'd be best to do it together, as a group.  But first, Unicroc & I needed to supplement our gear - we got umbrellas, a second pair of gloves & a few more pieces of clothing to keep dry because we knew we were about to get WET.

So we made a plan, geared up & headed onward into the rain on Friday afternoon, the 27th.  By the time we made it to our destination for the day, Lake Janus, we'd crossed paths with 4 people (whom we really like!) who were turning back due to everything they own being completely soaked with no sign of the rain letting up anytime soon.  We were still dry & optimistic & as we arrived at Lake Janus for the night, the rain actually stopped enough for us to put up our tent & cook dinner but it quickly started up again.  Legend had left after us & he did not make it to Lake Janus that night but we were sure he'd catch up soon enough.  He is a very independent, determined individual so it was not too much of a worry knowing he wasn't right with our group the entire time.

We awoke the next morning to rain & optimistically headed onward, our goal being 20 miles for the day.  We didn't make it that far, though.  We ran into almost every other hiker who had left ahead of us as they were turning around due to being soaked to the bone with everything they own being soaked as well.  Some had gone far enough up the trail to give us a heads up about how much snow had accumulated & so far, it didn't sound so bad.  All of us in our group had umbrellas, we were mostly dry & almost all of the people turning around said to us, "we understand that you need to go see it for yourself!"  Of course they understood the heart of a thru-hiker because they had been in our shoes just the day before - still optimistic & hopeful & still mostly dry.  There was now only one person we knew of by name who was still ahead of us:  1st Man.  We decided to call our day at 15 miles in because that set us up at a campsite at low elevation: 4,300 ft. & we agreed we were going to spend the next day (Sunday) in our tents - zeroing on the trail.  The forecast had guaranteed that Sunday was going to be 100% precipitation & there was hope that the following day would offer some better weather.  This campsite was 24 miles in, which we'd be able to walk in entirety on a normal day, if we did indeed decide to turn around.  This campsite was at almost exactly mile 2,500, which meant we only had 168 miles (8 1/2 hiking days) to go to finish the trail!!!

The next morning (Sunday) we were glad to see that Legend had caught up to us & he was already en route to his next campsite, miles up the trail, but he stopped & talked to us & he was optimistic as ever standing under his umbrella, staying dry.  We told him our plan & he told us his.  Then 1st Man walked up, heading back due to being soaked & he said he'd camped at 5,000 ft. of elevation & that he'd gotten 2 ft. of snow overnight!  He also said that most snow that had fallen had the chance of melting because it was raining & the ground was warm.  With this news, Legend continued on & we sat in our tents, unsure of what to do.  With the hope of better weather tomorrow, we had a glorious day of relaxation; eating, reading, playing cards & occasionally yelling across to say "hey, what's up?" to Shotput & Pepper Flake's tents.

The next morning (Monday), we awoke to snow.  At 4,300 ft. of elevation.  At first, we just all laid there & kind of accepted that we were going to have to turn back.  Any snow at 4,300 ft. of elevation means MORE SNOW at higher elevation.  And then we realized that it didn't just snow overnight, it kept snowing.  And then Shotput's tent collapsed.  And then we all packed up & started walking south.  We were going to need to cross over three 5,000 (or more) ft. passes before we'd get back to the road.  It didn't take us long to realize that the snow was getting deeper & that it was taking us a very long time to make any progress.  And it just kept snowing!  We made it up over the first 5,000 ft. pass & back down to 4,200 ft. of elevation & decided it'd be our best bet to stop there for the night.  We needed to be realistic & the later it got in the day, the colder it got.  And we needed to camp as low as we possibly could to avoid as much snow as we possibly could.

The next morning (Tuesday), we awoke to more snow.  More had accumulated overnight & more kept falling from the sky.  We packed up our things, put on our wet, cold socks & shoes (which is probably our least favorite thing to do) & continued onward.  The trail was becoming harder & harder to follow & it took us 2 hours to make it the first mile.  We had awoken with hope of making it the 16.5 miles back to the road but quickly realized how unrealistic that was.  Pepper Flake & Unicroc switched on & off breaking trail & trying to find it created a challenge at times.  Shotput had never even stepped foot into snow this deep before!  And on top of that, she was sick with a cough.  I was trying to remain optimistic although I had fear every time we stopped that we'd lost track of the trail.  Shotput had the Guthook App on her phone so we were able to ensure we were on the PCT a few times where we weren't so sure.  Each time we came across something that showed us we were in fact on the PCT, we all breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Our feet were wet & it was hard to keep the feeling in our toes.  It was exhausting just to take each and every step.  It was slippery.  It was cold.  And it didn't stop precipitating almost the entire time.  We were post-holing up to our waists at times & yet were still walking on top of snow.  The maximum depth we encountered was right around 5 ft.  It was unbelievable.  But eventually we made it into camp, back to Lake Janus - the lake we had stayed at our first night out - & the rain stopped enough to set up our tents.  Unicroc had collected some dry pieces of wood from a rock cave we took a break in earlier & after much determination, got a fire going enough to warm his toes, which had been numb the entire day.  The rest of us had jumped into our tents to change into dry clothes & weren't able to bring ourselves back out into the snow to enjoy the fire.

The trail

We awoke on Wednesday, the 2nd of October, very hopeful that we'd e able to make it the remaining 9.5 miles back to the road & we did, with spirits higher than ever!  We made it out, but we were exhausted & although we could feel our toes, they were numb in weird places.  And Unicroc's ankle was bothering him very badly by this point, something which seems to only creep up in especially non-convenient times.  We each decided that this would be the end of the trail for us...for now.  We would accept the experience we'd been given & honestly after experiencing that much snow, I can't even picture how it'd be possible for that to ever go away.  It felt so relentless & unforgiving & no matter where we turned, it just kept coming.  We were so done.

 

Black bear tracks!  Just some of the good we managed to find in this experience...

We couldn't help but stop every so often just to admire the beauty all around us

Unicroc hiding under his umbrella from the relentless rain as we were hiking out, on our last minutes on the trail

Just to have made it out safe & sound was enough of an ending for us.  Now all we were worried about was Legend.  We were hopeful that the tracks we'd made would help easily lead him out & that he could use the holes we'd made to walk in.  We received news later that night that Legend had made it out, too, although he had taken a different route.  After attempting taking the very snowy PCT back (our tracks were almost entirely gone by this point), he took a random side trail that led him to lower elevation with less snow which happened to lead him to a dirt road that happened to lead him back to the highway.  Whew, but he made it & we couldn't have been happier!  And last we've heard from him, he's planning to find a route, probably on roads, that will allow him to walk the rest of the way to Canada.  Good luck Legend!

Unicroc & "The" Legend

We are so glad that we were able to go through this experience with Pepper Flake & Shotput, both of whom remained positive even when things weren't looking so positive.  Together, we overcame the diciest situation any of us has ever been in & we are truly just so grateful to them for sticking with us & pushing through.  It absolutely would not have been as smooth of an exit without you guys.  Much love to you both!

Shotput & Pepper Flake

So we didn't make it to Canada.  But we refuse for that to undermine the amazing journey we've had along the way.

We have hopes to come back next August (when there's no chance of snow!!!!!) to complete the final 168 miles.  And we're going to take our sweet time & truly soak it up.  17 miles a day would do.  We'll see.  If not then, another time.

For now, farewell PCT.

Love,
Scat Tracker & Unicroc

P.S.  I will soon post an entry about our journey here & post tons more PCT pictures as well.

Snoqualmie Pass, mile 2,402!!

Greetings from a cold & rainy Snoqualmie Pass.  We got in early Saturday morning & have much enjoyed our stay here.  We plan on heading back out today.  Snoqualmie Pass consists of an interstate, a ski resort, a Chevron gas station, a motel, a few restaurants, a food cart serving by far the best food around, a small grocer & a mostel which means "mostly a hostel."  It's also someone's home.  But they let us take over the place & do all things we need done such as laundry, shower, cook food/eat, use the telephone, use their computer, yadda yadda yadda.  It's lovely.  And cheap.  And has helped us heal up after some challenging, rainy, cold trail hiking.  And Kara, the host, has been so generous & kind & helpful.  And we got to watch Robin Hood:  Men in Tights last night.  Can't ask for anything better than this.

Unicroc is new boot goofin'!  If you don't watch Reno 911, then that's code for:  he bought new boots!!!  He finally said goodbye to his holy, no tread, no support, floppy boots he's worn all the way from the Mexican border.  It was an emotional goodbye, so he kept one of his shoelaces & will make something from it eventually.

We have been passing through some beautiful country.  We hiked up right next to Mt. Adams, pretty close to Mt. Rainier & had views of Mt. St. Helens in the distance. Goat Rocks were phenomenal.  We even saw some white mountain goats!  We've been seeing signs of elk & hearing their bugles every so often but have seen none out in the wild.  But at our last stop staying at Historic Hotel Packwood, there were about 20 elk hanging out, grazing in the back yard.  Absolutely we will have to come back & spend some serious time exploring this area.

We only have 268 miles to go & only 2 more stops along the way.  Next stop is Stevens Pass, in 75 miles.  Next stop after that is Stehekin, 103 miles after that.  And then there's only 90 miles to go until we've arrived in Manning Provincial Park in Canada, which is 8 miles beyond the northern terminus of the trail.  It seems so close....yet it is still so far away.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.

Much love,
Scat Tracker & Unicroc

Farewell Oregon - you've been sooooo lovely. Mile 2,155

I have yet to post a map of the PCT so I figured I'd pop one in here.  It'll give you an idea of how far we've come & how far we've yet to go.

We've reached Cascade Locks - the final stop in Oregon!!!  We walked into town (the trail goes right through) Friday morning, after a rainy & stormy night spent in rainforest-like Eagle Creek which was AMAZING.  Waterfalls galore.  Luna, Werewolf & their dog, Balu are from Portland & invited us to join them on a trip to see the city for a few days before heading into Washington.  We had told them many miles ago that we'd thought about living in Portland & they were convinced we'd love it, & when they asked we said ummmm....yes!  We have a lot in common with them & they hooked us up with a place to crash, inside info. on where to go in town  as well as bus passes to tour the city.  After having spent 24+ hours here, we kinda love it.  Oregon in general.

Since the last blog, we've walked through the land of Mt. Washington (also known as "Squaw Tit"), Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, through Jefferson Park (apparently recently named the 3rd most-scenic place in the U.S. by Backpacker Magazine), Mt. Hood & finally, Eagle Creek.  All that's left for us in Oregon is to cross the Bridge of the Gods into Washington.  And we'll do that later today (hopefully).

We've ran into 2 familiar faces as well, from the A.T.  Gouda (now goes by his real name, Aaron) has been thru-hiking the PCT this year as well, but started a few weeks after us & caught up to us a few days ago.  We had no idea he was on the trail & he had no idea we were on the trail until about a week ago.  A fun on-trail reunion, we spent the next few miles hiking together & camped together before he headed on his way, hiking more miles than we per day.  And we just spent yesterday afternoon in the company of Beans, one of our very good friends we met early on on the A.T.  He lives in Portland & we finally were able to connect with him & as Unicroc told him as we said our goodbyes last night - he feels like family.  He took us for a stroll in the beautiful Japanese Garden, to check out the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park, and to experience one of the coolest natural happenings we've ever witnessed with our own eyes - watching thousands of swifts (small birds) as they pass through on their migration, pack themselves into the chimney of a local elementary school, then out to dinner & a tour of his life here in Portland.  A lovely time spent with one of our favorite people.

Just over 500 miles left, only a few more stops along the way.  We've kind of let go of having a specific deadline.  We were going to buy a train ticket today but we decided to keep our options open for now.  Maybe we'll be able to find a ride.  Who knows?  That's part of why we're out here...is to experience things as they happen & be open to possibilities.  So far, that's worked out well for us.

Here is where our last & final mail drop location is, (at mile 2,302) ETA 9/14:

Keith & DeAnna Romstad
c/o White Pass Rural Branch PO
at the Kracker Barrel Store
48851 US Highway 12
Naches, WA 98937

We have no idea how much we'll be able to update this throughout Washington, so don't expect much.  We're not expecting to spend too much time in towns, if you can even call them "towns."  We're excited to experience what Washington has to offer.  Our first time ever setting foot in the state.

Goodbye for now.  Much love to you all.

Bend, OR via McKensie Pass, mile 1989.5

Just completed the longest stretch without a shower thus far:  270 miles.  Total showers total since we left the Mexican border:  13.  I think we might hold the record?

Deuter sent Keith the wrong replacement backpack - they sent him a ladies pack that was too small.  Lance, from a local outfitter in Ashland was so awesome & with his & REI's help, we were able to finagle a plan to get Keith back on the trail on the day we planned on leaving town with a working pack.  Unfortunately, though, the pack Keith ended up with is now ripping at some of the seams & so after another conversation with Deuter, they're sending him a new pack again!  But hopefully the right one this time!  Before leaving Ashland, we stopped to get some (amazing) gourmet pizza (where the waiter gave us drinks on the house because we were PCT'ers) & while scarfing the food down, we met a local woman named Heather (originally from the Toledo, OH area & had asked Keith about his shirt that says Toledo, OH on it) who offered us a ride back to the trail head.  When we hopped in her vehicle she mentioned that she was headed that way anyway to go to a local blueberry patch & invited us along.  So we spent the afternoon chatting with her while picking two quarts of blueberries to take back to the trail with us. 

I haven't had enough time or energy to write out every instance where we have met great people who have in some way or another helped us out.  There's been far too many.  This trail has again (like the A.T.) reminded us that people are good.  People want to help, they just sometimes don't know how to & when they are able to, it's a beautiful thing.

Walking through the diverse landscapes we've seen so far in Oregon has blown us away...we weren't prepared for the beauty & wildness Oregon has to offer.  Maybe that's what's made it so good.  Deep, old-growth forests with moss hanging off of every branch.  Crater Lake, which is not even possible to put into words - you have to see it for yourself.  We had hopes of taking a boat out to Wizard Island, the main island in Crater Lake, & spending the afternoon exploring the island, but the price was too high.  So we will have to come back another time...we will have to come back to a lot of these places.  The PCT seems to take us within range of so many amazing things...but there's just not enough time to veer off to see them all on this trip.  Most recently, we walked through the Three Sisters area, which has three very beautiful volcanoes surrounded by volcanic lava fields.  The North  & Middle Sister are connected to each other & although while we were walking through, the mountains were covered in clouds, we got a peak at Collier Glacier & that got Keith's wheels turning.  A huge mass of ice & snow & we wonder what these mountains might look like on a higher snow year, considering this has been a pretty dry year.  Again, another place we will have to come back to.

We've gone through a few more storms & are grateful we got our cold weather gear back.  We are loving the cold weather, reminds us of Michigan.  This is prime hiking for us.

Bend is lovely & has everything we could dream of.  Food, food & more food.  Plus locally brewed beer.  We just spent the night at Mill Inn, a B&B that has a backpacker bunk room & has the most AMAZING all you can eat breakfast in the morning - gourmet foods - quiche, eggs, waffles, potatoes, fruit, OJ, etc. etc.  A thru-hikers dream...or anyone's dream really, but especially a thru-hikers since it's all you can eat!  To save money, though, we plan on crashing on the floor of No Knees & Stinkbug's floor tonight.  We met them back in Independence while they were still on trail but unfortunately they had to get off in Yosemite because Stinkbug got a stress fracture of some sort (we've just learned).  Since they live in Bend, they've been enjoying hosting hikers at their home whenever they get a chance & we look forward to seeing them again.  It's odd how you meet people out here & sometimes you never know if you'll ever hear from or see them again.  Sometimes they pop back into your life, sometimes not.

We are loving the simplicity of this life as well as the freedoms that come along with it.  No alarm clock, we wake up when the sun wakes us up.  Eat, walk, collect water, drink, sleep.  And read.  We've been doing a lot of reading.  Under 700 miles to go.  Still planning on a finish date somewhere around October 1st-ish.  No official deadline until we have to book our train tickets.  The trail just seems to get better and better every day.  Next town stop will be Cascade Locks, OR - which is just on this side of the OR/WA border.  Until then...we'll just keep walking.

Much love,
Scat Tracker & Unicroc

Mile 1,727...Ashland, OREGON!!!

Just realized there's a laptop where we're staying here at the Ashland Hostel (which is lovely, by the way) & it'll let me post some pictures!  We've made it safe & sound to Ashland, Oregon & we are happy to be here...just in Oregon in general.  This is the first time we've ever set foot in Oregon & we have heard so many wonderful things & so far, so good.

Let me start where I last left off:  We walked out of Etna, into smoke from the nearby wildfires & it made for some rough breathing, but overall, it was lovely trail. So beautiful. Glad we didn't have to skip it (as some others did).  Unicroc spotted a bear in a tree after hearing some shuffling about from something clearly larger than a squirrel.  He saw it right before it dropped to the ground & ran in the other direction...I didn't get to see it, but I heard it... 

Before I share this story, let me say that on this trail, we have experienced SO many lovely, sunshiny, blue-sky days.  At some point, I'd stopped really thinking about weather because the sun just always seems to shine out here.  The night before we arrived in Seiad Valley, though, we hiked through a VERY powerful storm - a ton of big fat rain, hail, lightning & thunder - but thankfully we were already headed down a long descent so we were well protected in the woods.  We just continued hiking & did 4 miles as quickly as our feet would take us.  There was a rustic campground at the end of that 4 miles where we were able to seek shelter under the roof of an outhouse, which is where we found Jon, Bryce & Hannah & then Katie eventually showed up as well.  Inside the outhouse was warm & surprisingly clean & we all considered sleeping in there, but all decided eventually that that was just too weird.  Eventually we all built up the courage to brave the rain & set up our tents & by this time we were all soaked & cold.  Unicroc & I made our dinner under the roof of the outhouse & shared a Bud-Light given to us by a fellow car-camper.

60 miles after Etna, the trail then went directly through the small town of Seiad Valley, CA which had a Post Office, a hiker-friendly RV park & a cute little restaurant. We discovered on our way hiking into Seiad that we weren't actually in California anymore...we were in "The State of Jefferson," or at least that's what the locals called it.

As we were leaving Seiad Valley, one last reminder that we were not really in "California"

Seiad Valley was our last stop in California...next would be Ashland...in OREGON.

The climb out of Seiad Valley was one of the PCT's last super large climbs but to be honest, it just felt good to be climbing.  The trail has hugely mellowed out & has been physically less demanding lately & so when it gives us challenges, we get excited.  We were warned as we were leaving town that more storms were on the way, but a group of us left anyway because that's just the name of the game out here.  You can't hide from it - you just gotta make sure you're as prepared as possible.  But, no storms came - we just watched as they floated around in the distance & we had a lovely, nice & cool evening hike.

Two days later, we were 30 miles before the Oregon border & I woke up thirsty for the border - I realized I wanted to see it that night! We had told ourselves we would never hike a 30-mile day because it's just too freaking fast...but my mind was made up that morning that I wanted to see Oregon. So we did. At this point, our bodies are basically in what we call "Auto Pilot," we can walk & walk & then hours later we'll eventually remember that we're walking but we still get pretty tired after 22+ mile days. But on this day, we kicked it into gear & went for it...& we arrived at the border just before dark, where we found Hot Tub & Sweet Tooth celebrating.  My full dream was to SLEEP on the border of CA & OR...& we did that, too, even though there wasn't exactly a comfy place to sleep. We threw out our mattress pads & sleeping bags & slept with our heads in Oregon & our feet in California.  We didn't get the best night's sleep but it was well worth it & as people came to the border first thing in the morning, we got to celebrate with them, too.

Terminal Geyser in Lassen Volcanic National Park

Burney Falls at Burney Falls State Park - absolutely blew us away

I got my second pair of $140 shoes (on bottom) & Unicroc got new $2 insoles (on top) in Mt. Shasta

Mt. Shasta - the most beautiful mountain I have ever seen with my own eyes - a 14,000+ ft. volcano that we will someday come back & climb (apparently much more challenging to climb than Mt. Whitney - the highest peak in the continental U.S.)

Sunset in the wildfire smoke

Marble Mountain Marvel at the Soda Fountain in Etna

Our campsite on the border of California & Oregon

On this trail, we have become the dirtiest, stinkiest people we've ever been in our lives.  It's a lot of fun to see the dirt go down the drains as we shower.  Our last shower before this was Mt. Shasta - over 200 miles ago.  And we still love each other.  And our trail friends still hug us.  These are good people.

Today is our zero day & we'll be leaving town on Wednesday.  Unicroc has a new pack coming because his frame broke & he's been walking with it that way for almost 80 miles!  Deuter is sending him a new one for free & he's super pumped to receive it.  Hope the package makes it here by then so we can head on to Crater Lake!!!!!!

Randy & Vicky, here is a back-up place where you can send that package in case it won't make it to Crater Lake in time!  ETA for Sisters would be Monday 8/26 & they ask that you write that on the box:

c/o Sisters Inn
525 US Hwy 20 West
Sisters, OR 97759

Thank you!  Much, much love.

Mile 1606 or something...Etna, CA

Less than 100 miles until Oregon, which is pretty unbelievable. We are really excited to finally be saying hello to another state & farewell to California for a while. California is a looong state!

Sorry we weren't able to get to a computer while staying in Mt. Shasta so I wasn't able to post our next maildrop address, as promised. But our ETA for that box will be about August 17th, so there is still time if you'd like to send something our way. Make sure to put the ETA on it as well as "Hold for PCT hikers!"
Here is the address:

c/o Crater Lake Camp Store
Mazama Village
Crater Lake, OR 97604

Crater Lake National Park has long been on my list of places to visit so we are super pumped to get there & we hope to spend some time there swimming/exploring/staring in awe at the beauty. We have been walking through smoke from nearby wildfires for the past 120+ miles & apparently that will continue until we reach Crater Lake, in 200 miles. Some of the smoke traveled from as far up as Oregon. There has been rumor that parts of the trail might close but as of this morning, the trail is open & we will continue on until we hear otherwise. It's nice to have other hikers around so we can all keep each other informed & keep an eye out for each other.

The road coming down to Etna was open but going in the other direction is closed due to the wildfires. We met Zero Gravity & Marshall last night, section-hiking southbound & after a short conversation, they decided they trusted us enough to give us the key to their car to take down to Etna! They needed the car dropped off here anyway & we needed a ride so it worked out beautifully for both of us. A Subaru Outback, just like ours, but this one was a stick shift. Unicroc felt he had enough experience from driving a stick-shift dumptruck at his last job as a landscaper & luckily, he remembered how to do it, so we made it safely to town. So amazing to meet someone so trusting of strangers to do such a thing - yet another reminder of how we can all help each other out, if we are willing.

Last night, we also met the first in the pack of thru-hiking southbounders, Bobcat, who started at the Canadian border on June 24th. He plans to get to Mexico at the same time we'll hopefully be arriving in Canada. He must be going faaaast. He was enthusiastic to talk to us & surprisingly not sick of talking to passing northbounders yet!

So this town of Etna is adorable, it actually quite reminds us of parts of Virginia we've traveled to, near Shenandoah National Park. The land is really starting to change as we travel north. Unfortunately, though, they've been dealing with these crazy wildfires & as we were eating the most delicious breakfast at Bob's this morning, we learned that one of the oldest houses right downtown burnt down in the middle of the night as well & a man & his cat died in the fire. This has been quite devastating to the town & you can just feel the vibes of sadness floating around. It's a very small town, it seems everybody knows everybody. Yet they are still smiling & super friendly toward us hikers. As soon as we arrived in town, I started to fall in love but now my heart is a little broken for what they are going through. But people are resilient & it's amazing how life always continues on.

Trail Angel Lyndi very kindly took our picture (& emailed it to us so I could post it on here) after dropping us off from Mt. Shasta:  Belgian Red (from Belgium), Simon (from England) & Us

Much love to all y'all!