I did end up staying in the city park in Etna. I also spent way too much time watching an insane person’s series of videos making fun of the Kingdom Hearts series but hey what i do with my free time is my choice thank you very much. shoutout to Just a Pancake for being the number one source of new xehanort reveals. I also also got stuck in a long conversation with a local who was staying at the park about his passion for farm life and his eternal desire to live that life so that was fun.
what are you doin here deer this is a town deer live in the woods
The next morning i was up extra early and spent some time at the coffee shop getting my uppers. I managed to get a hitch up to the trail without even standing up or sticking out my thumb so that was fun. I did end up spending about an hour at the road crossing just procrastinating so it’s like i didn’t save any time.
The smoke was nicer that day and i could see some of the views as i took a nice 12 mile day to a cozy lake. I could’ve put in more miles but instead i found a nice spot and watched the sunset colors play off the smoke in the valley in front of me.
It was not to remain so as the loading fog closed in and my views grew short. The Marble Mountain Wilderness had a bunch of cool views i bet, and i’m sure Marble Mountain itself looked cool, but the trail didn’t go up it and the smoke didn’t let me see it well.
It’s all good because the next day as i climbed down into Seiad Valley the hefty roadwalk was lined with blackberries. Even with very generous terrain on level pavement i was still going about 2mph with all my fruit stops.
The trail town Seiad Valley has a wide spread on offer: a small store next to a diner that closes at 2. I rolled up at around 5 so my options were limited. The climb out of the valley was long and protracted so i did a few miles of it that night just to break it up.
Not enough though since the climb still drained me empty the next day. Morale ran high though as that was the last real climb in what used to be California but is now in Jefferson state. All the hikers were super jazzed to be crossing an invisible line that humans drew across the land on the side of a mountain.
Unsurprisingly, after crossing the old border into what used to be part of Oregon, nothing significant changed on trail. The smoke did pass enough for the sunset to put on a show, but it returned en force the next day.
So did trail magic, the long descent to Ashland was fueled by a few cans of sodie pop and a banana. Also i got my eighth gym badge from whatsername in Blackthorn even though she trainwrecked my team hell yes
I didn’t make it to Ashland as early as i wanted since i wanted to hit up Medford’s REI. The bus i took to that town was one of the last until Monday morning (it was Saturday night). On the plus side i’m optimistic about the backpack tech advancements Osprey made in the past 5 years but sadly i’ve had my hiking poles too long and couldn’t trade in my chewed up ones.
On my way to the hitching spot out of town the smoke parted and the sun shone brightly on the greatest gift the west coast can give: the only burger place to go in and also out.
That place was swarming with humans but i made it out with my treasures. I went right to hitching as the sun was getting sleepy on the horizon. Two hours later i gave up and paid 20 bucks for a lyft.
Pro Tip: if you see someone trying to hitch and you’re not stopping to pick them up, don’t try to communicate to them. Your honks only get them excited that maybe you’re stopping. Your waves and gestures are meaningless. Giving a thumbs up is just the worst, we both know that the thumb out hitching gesture is used in multiple scenarios, you’re not helping.
It was dark when i got dropped off in Ashland by a nice dude who was excited to start his new job at a pizza shop. I looked around for other hikers that i could hop in on lodging with to no avail and got ready to settle in the park on my first night being a proper city hobo when i heard an angel sing. I walked over to find two hikers getting ready to hobo too. I forget the one girl’s name who left to stay with a friend, but the other’s name is Boomerang.
She was mostly hiking the pct, partly going on adventures with her ukulele. She sang a song about fair weather friends and her voice got a little raspy on the low notes in that good good way. She had many passionate things to say about the college system in America. She spent a weekend at a yoga festival staying at a mafia man’s house. She’s currently on her way to the coast to write music with some music man she met at the festival in an effort to make it in the music world. You’re rad, Boomerang, i hope you make it and also i see you again.
shoutout to that one girl i met on the AT in a similar way. i wonder what she’s up to right now. also shoutout to the sprinklers in this park that turned on at 11:40pm to water a patch of dead leaves also the both of us. ps aww nuts i forgot to take a picture of her
man i dunno 