Aug 28, 2155 - 2185

Happy Birthday to me!  The last few hundred miles since I got sick have been a battle between my desire to finish the trail and my desire to quit.  I never thought I would feel like quitting.  I'm so glad I hung in there.  This morning as I crossed over the Columbia River Gorge on the Bridge of the Gods, I teared up.  I made it to Washington!  It feels good, right.  I'm happy to be hiking.  There's a good group on the trail with me.  Yardsale and Dirty Feet were packing up when I left Shrek's this morning.  They will meet me in camp tonight.  I caught up to Colors and Quirk.  They're the married couple I met near Shasta.  Last Minute and Grit are 6 miles ahead.  And Tony from Belgium is camping here also.
The trail today climbed from near sea level at the gorge to 3500 feet.  It's been up and down 1500 feet at a time the rest of the day.  It was a green tunnel today.  The trees obscured any views of the Columbia I might have had.  In some places the ferns and plants were as tall as me.  And there was a lot of water.  I thought today about my video entry for next years kickoff.  I've got some good ideas I think.  I also thought about writing a book.  If I wrote a book, what would make it unique and stand out from all of the other books written about the PCT by hikers?  What would the title be?  "A Backpackers Guide to Falling".  I humour myself.  I forgot to mention Sesame.  He is also camping here and he gave me a couple temporary tattoos.  So I'm rocking a couple of  colorful dragons.  I'm home for the night.  Time to sleep.

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Aug 27, 2132 - 2155

It rained last night so my tent was wet.  It was wet and misty out so the valley below the ridge I was hiking on was obscured by clouds.  It was cool to be above it.  The trail crossed several talus slopes.  As the morning sun came up it shot a starburst of gray laser beams through the trees.  It gave the trail a rainforest feel.  The guide book recommended another alternate trail called Eagle Creek.  I took a two mile insanely steep side trail to get to it.  The Eagle Creek trail  follows the creek as it winds down a canyon. There are a lot of waterfalls.  The trail is high above following the river down.  It was like walking along a cliff.  Two waterfalls were unique.  Punch bowl falls and Tunnel falls.  Tunnel falls you walked through a tunnel behind a very high falls.  The trail ended at the Columbia River Gorge.  A two mile paved bike path led east to Cascade Locks, OR.  There is a trail angel here who calls himself Shrek, Trail Ogre.  His hostel is Shreks Swamp.  He's still building the place up but there's space for hikers, shower, & laundry.  It will really be nice when he's done building it though.

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Aug 26, 2107 - 2132

I got a late start this morning but extra sleep and breakfast are good things.  The PCT coincides with the Timberline loop trail for awhile.  So I saw a lot of day and weekend hikers.  It's a beautiful section.  It's mostly forest but there are also steep canyons and valleys.  There were also a couple of tricky river crossings but I didn't get wet.  I took a lot of pictures of Mt Hood.  I'd like to do the Timberline trail around the mountain one day.  The guidebook recommended a two mile alternate trail that hooked up to the PCT.  It went by Ramona Falls and it was the perfect lunch spot.  The trail had two steep climbs and descents that wore me out.  First day hiking after a zero day I have to remind my legs what their job is.  It's chilly tonight, windy and overcast.  It might rain but I'm snug in my tent.  There is another thru hiker camped here named Sesame.  I met him a long time ago.  When I was in town I washed both my sleeping bag and backpack.  What luxury!  They don't stink.  Speaking of town, it was a bit overwhelming.  REI and the mall were crowded and noisy.  It was a shock to my system after the quiet of the woods.  Re entry into the real world after my hike is going to be harder than I thought.  I think I've grown a lot and learned a lot these last few months.  In the coming weeks I'm going to be thinking about how I can apply what I've learned on the trail to regular life and what changes I should make.  It's too easy to slip back into old habits and I want to keep moving in a positive direction.  I feel good though.  And resolute.  I'm coming Canada!  I'm solo at the moment but hope to find hiker(s) in Cascade Locks to hike Washington with.

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Miscellaneous Pictures

Quest and I expressing our frustration with trail closures.  A morning picture from the ridge before Timberline.  Picure of Rem.  Ruby Locks truckin down the trail.  Forest Ranger checking permits in Three Sisters and doing trail work.

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Aug 24, 2093 - 2107

It was cold this morning.  The group couldn't decide last night when we'd hike out - 6 or 7.  So I split it and was ready at 630.  Only no one else was up.  Everyone sound asleep still.  Of course I didn't want to wake them up and it was to cold to wait.  So I took off.  I was really looking forward to Timberline lodge and seeing Portland friends.  I'll be in WA for my Aug 28 birthday so we are celebrating early.  I'm glad I got up early because I was treated to a fantastic early morning view of Mt Hood.  There was a PCT trail register at hwy 26.  So I signed it "still spinning" with a simple drawing of the spinner on my hat and my trail name.  Then it was 4 miles to Barlow pass at hwy 35.  Then only 4 more miles to Timberline!  But oh, the last mile was killer.  It was uphill in deep sand.  It was like climbing an Oregon sand dune.  But I slogged on and what was that noise?  Music? Here?  There was a DJ spinning rock music and talking over a loudspeaker.  I could see lots of cars and colorful flags across the ravine and the lodge in the background.  Mt Hood itself was on my right.  Turns out the Hood to Coast relay race was beginning.  I got there just in time to hear him say "30 seconds" and then "runners, get outta here!" There were a lot of people around.  I picked up my two boxes at the gear store, got lunch in the lodge, plugged in my cell phone, and waited in the lobby for my ride.  Last Minute and Grit got in an hour later.  I never saw Rem and Ruby Locks though.  I was sorry to miss them.  But I will see everyone 'up the trail' I'm sure.  That's how it works.  My friend Doug picked me up and we got all my usual errands done.  Then it was Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner!  Then we watched one of my favorite movies on Blue Ray, 'Apollo 13'.  So nice to spend time with good friends.  Tomorrow will be a trip to REI and planning the last legs of my journey in WA.  So exciting!  Goodnight.

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Aug 23, detour - 2093

The last part of the detour had us bushwacking through the forest following pink flags.  We finally arrived back on the PCT at mile 2065.  It felt good to be back on trail.  Road walking is hard on the feet.  There were helicopters flying around most of the day getting water to fight the fire.  We were told there were 600 firefighters working on this fire and it was only 5% contained.  It was a great day for hiking.  We had cool temperatures and good trail.  We were also treated to our first good view of Mt Hood.  Yay!  We passed lake Timothy, which is a large lake with good camping.  We kept hiking though as it was to early to stop.  Then there was little crater lake.  It's a small lake with water so clear you can see way down to the bottom.  It's also 35 degrees.  Cold water.  I treated it anyway!  I'm really looking forward to getting to Timberline Lodge tomorrow at Mt Hood.

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Aug 22, The Big Detour Part II

We met Brian at 730am for our ride to Detroit.  Detroit is on beautiful Detroit Lake where people come to fish, camp, sail and enjoy the outdoors.  It's also a good stopping place on the drive from Salem to Bend and I've been there many times.  We had a nice breakfast at Cedars, bought food at the convenience store, and then Brian drove us back to the detour.  It was so kind of him to wait for us.  A new trail angel.  So the long road walk began.  We hiked 12 miles north on hwy 46 which is a scenic road through National forest.  We entered the Mt Hood forest.  Then we turned east on road 4690 for 7 miles, then north again on road 4022.  We've hiked 4 miles on this road so far and are camped off to the side.  Tomorrow, we will be back on the PCT after a few more road miles.  I'm so glad I'm with friends.  Its made what would have been tedious, much more fun.

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Aug 21, The Big Detour Part I

The Jefferson Wilderness is one of the highlights of the PCT.  Mt Jefferson rises high above lush meadows and green forests.  The wildflowers are in bloom after the late snow melt.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the most scenic part of this area because of the waterfall II fire.  So the adventure within an adventure continues.  Initially the fire affected ten miles of the PCT.  However, we met a southbound hiker who told us the fire had spread and that Lake Ollalie had been evacuated and was closed.  This was a big concern as everyone was planning a resupply at the resort there.  That combined with a long detour meant we didn't have enough food.  Well we'd find out.  The first part of the detour was to take the Breitenbush trail west to a dirt road, then a long road walk north to another trail east.  The Breitenbush trail was rocky and downhill.  I felt very clumsy and it was slow going.  When we got to a trailhead parking area there were signs posted confirming the bigger fire and a longer detour.  It was getting dark and the trail was hard to follow.  So when we discovered a dirt road paralleling the trail we walked it instead.  Turned out to be a good decision as it was the right road.  Around 930pm when we were almost to hwy 46, we saw a camper with a light on and a couple sitting outside.  Rem went over and said hello and the man Brian told us where a good place to camp was.  It turned out to be a great spot but we were all so tired we didn't care.  No sooner had we gotten our tents set up when Brian drove up in his truck.  He offered to give us a ride to Detroit Lake in the morning to get food.  How awesome is that?  Trail magic.

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Aug 20, 1992 - 2025

I saw a bear today!  It was a black bear on the trail not far from me.  He turned, looked at me for a second, and then ran off.  That makes my 5th bear.  At hwy 20, Santiam Pass, I caught up to my friends Last Minute, Ruby Locks & co.  There was trail magic there.  Steady's husband had subway sandwhiches, soda, and chips for us.  I'm hiking with the gang again and its nice.  Santiam Pass is the start of the Mt Jefferson wilderness.  The centerpiece is Mt Jefferson but there is also Three Fingered Jack.  At one point on a ridge looking back south I could see the Three Sisters, Mt Washington, and Three Fingered Jack.  There's still some snow up here but not much.  It's melted pretty quickly in this heat.  We are camped with a great view of Jefferson.  Definately a good day.

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Aug 19, Bend, OR Nero Day

I spent the day with friends and family.  What could be better?  Darlene and I went to Starbucks for coffee.  Then we went shopping and I bought a new hiking shirt.  My old one was falling apart.  We had lunch at Madelines Grill with an old coworker and good friend Scott Granger and his wife.  The rest of the day was spent lounging by the hotel pool.  There is always such a contrast between trail and town, it can feel surreal at times.  I'm heading back to the trail now to hike over the lava field in the cool of the evening.  There's a three mile stretch left.

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Aug 18, 1972 - 1989

Oregon has turned out to be an adventure within an adventure.  First there were the two fires.  And there's another fire further north.  Then today there was thunder and lightning west of the trail but no rain.  It's kinda exciting.  I was thankful for the cloudcover though as it kept the temperature cool.  In the Sisters Wilderness is a place called the Obsidian area.  It's a restricted area to protect it from overuse.  You have to have a permit to camp there.  It's my favorite place.  The obsidian sparkles when the light hits it.  There's a spring that flows out of the mountain, acroass the meadow, and then plunges off a cliff as Obsidian falls.  Beautiful.  I hiked through there this morning and stopped to fill up all of my water bottles from the spring.  Delicious water.  I hustled this morning in order to meet my cousin Darlene at Mckenzie pass.  The pass is on hwy 242 a seasonal rd and the Dee Wright  Observatory is there.  The observatory is made out of lava rock.  You can see all of the mountain peaks from it on a clear day.  Lava rock surrounds the pass and its very hard to walk on.  Even on the trail you have to be careful not to twist an ankle on the loose rock.  I met a friendly section hiker on the trail, retired, who is passionate about the outdoors.  He quizzes.me at length about my hike and I didn't mind.  Even though I was hurrying to meet my cousin, it was inspiring to talk to him because he was so enthusiastic. It felt great to get to the observatory because its a real mile marker.  I got there 10 minutes after Darlene.  She had icecream!  Turns out my hiking friends Last minute & co. are here.  So good to see them.  We met for dinner after all of my errands are done.  They are leaving before me tomorrow but I should be able to catch up and hike with them.  Right now its just nice to spend time with my cousin when I'm not sick & we can enjoy our time together.  I'm so blessed to have support from my family, friends, & community.

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Aug 17, 1942 - 1972

I'm home.  I'm hiking on familiar trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness and its awesome.  We hiked fast this morning and took a side trail down to Elk Lake Resort for lunch.  Quest is leaving the trail for a few days to go home to Eugene, OR.  There were a few other hikers including Archie.  It was great to see Archie again.  I hadnt seen him since Yosemite.  His new trail name though is Willway.  The lake was beautiful with Mt Bachelor nearby.  There were also first views of South Sister and Middle Sister.  After lunch I hustled on to get 30 trail miles in since I'm meeting my cousin tomorrow at Mckensie pass.  The hike this afternoon passed through several meadows covered with lupine.  At least I think that's what the flowers are called.  They smelled so good.  I wish the smell could be bottled.  I'd wear it.  The trail passes fairly close to the sisters mountains and so I got some good pictures.  I'm dry camping since I couldn't make it to a lake ahead.  It was getting dark so I called it a day.  It feels good to be healthy again and I'm more determined than ever to make it to Canada.   I'm ahead of schedule now since I've been doing 30 mile days.  These pictures are South Sister, Quest & me, and lupine.

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Aug 16, 1912 - 1942

Quest and I hiked out this morning only to encounter more fire hazards and trail closures.  The PCT was closed at hwy 58 for 20 miles.  We were already hiking and didn't know about it.  We smelled smoke and saw the helicopters flying overhead and getting water from the lakes.  But we never saw the fire and had no trouble.  There are a lot of lakes on the trail now and we stopped at a big one for lunch.  Even went wading.  Also we are now in the Three Sisters Wilderness and I feel like I'm home.  I've hiked this wilderness area twice and it was my  first hike on the PCT.  It was where I met my first thru hikers and started dreaming about doing it myself someday.  And here I am!  There are a lot of other hikers around me now too, which is good and I'm enjoying hiking with Quest.  Today was his first 30 mile day.

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Fire!

This morning the Forest Service confirmed that the PCT was closed for the fire at Windigo pass. So we had a zero day ay Diamond Lake.  While there we met a lot of people, ate pizza, and had huckleberry icecream.   My cousins husband Dennis drove up and shuttled me, Quest, and Mr Chips around the fire to Shelter Cove at West Lake Odell.  We are camping here with several other hikers who showed up.

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Aug 14, 1830 - 1852

This morning after breakfast Early Girl and Water Boy took me to the trailhead.  There were hugs and smiles and then I was off.  I feel great today.  I believe I'm 100% cured of giardia.  It was a steep hike from hwy 92 up to the rim of Crater Lake but so worth it.  I stopped at the Rim Village to buy a sandwich for a picnic later.  I also bought a cool pair of bright yellow sunglasses.  They match my hat.  The lake was bright blue and sparkling in the sun.  The trail went up and down north along the rim so there was great views.  I found a place for lunch in the shade of a tree overlooking the lake.  I was delighted when I opened up my ham sandwhich and discovered a hard boiled egg in it.  Yummy sandwich.  I hiked a good pace but it felt very chill and relaxed today.  About mid afternoon after leaving the rim, I stopped for a break and Quest came up the trail.  So we are hiking together for the next few days.  When we got to hwy 138 we heard there was a fire 39 miles ahead.  So we hitched to Diamond Lake to get info and camp for the night.  Imagine my surprise when there sitting at a picnic table was a friend of my cousin who I knew.  She is on vacation with her family.  So fun.  The word we got about the fire was call the Umpqua Forest Service in the morning to find out if the PCT is closed and how to get around it.  It's become an adventure within an adventure.  And instead of ramen noodles for dinner I had pizza and double fudge brownie ice cream. 

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Aug 13, 1817 - 1830

Crater Lake!  I'm here! I think I'm as excited to be here as I was getting to Kennedy Meadows.  It's hazy so the lake doesn't have that bright blue hue but its still gorgeous.  There were several hikers at the Mazama Village store including Busted Magic.  I hadn't seen her since Etna so it was good to see her.  I had a big breakfast and got my resupply box.  Then hikers/trail angels Early Girl and Water Boy drove up.  They are the angels who gave me a ride to the trail from kickoff.  They were hiking this year but Water Boy fell and fractured his leg.  Anyhow, I'm spending the rest of the day with them and will hike on in the morning.

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Aug 13, 1817 - 1830

Crater Lake!  I'm here! I think I'm as excited to be here as I was getting to Kennedy Meadows.  It's hazy so the lake doesn't have that bright blue hue but its still gorgeous.  There were several hikers at the Mazama Village store including Busted Magic.  I hadn't seen her since Etna so it was good to see her.  I had a big breakfast and got my resupply box.  Then hikers/trail angels Early Girl and Water Boy drove up.  They are the angels who gave me a ride to the trail from kickoff.  They were hiking this year but Water Boy fell and fractured his leg.  Anyhow, I'm spending the rest of the day with them and will hike on in the morning.

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Aug 12, mile 1784 - 1817

I love how the morning light filters through the trees giving them different shades of green.  It's very still and peaceful.  The only sounds are my footsteps on the pine needled trail and the occasional breath of wind rustling the limbs.  I left the forest for rocky ridge tops.  Then scattered pines and finally a large burn area.  I finally saw some other thru hikers.  A couple.  I think her name is Blue Jay.  She has giardia too.  Other than them, no one else.  I'm really looking forward to Crater Lake.

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Aug 11, Mile 1750 - 1784

I'm baack!  34 miles!  I had the daylight and will to do more but body said no.  I listened.  Only 47 miles from Crater Lake.  I woke up ready to go.  This morning after passing a couple hikers from France it was just me and the deer on the trail.  I saw a lot of deer.  I also crossed the first lava fields of the trail.  There's more ahead.  It's been smoky and hazy all day.  It smells of smoke too.  Somewhere there's a fire but its not near the PCT.  I passed the trail to Fish Lake resort but didn't go because it is two miles off trail.  I didn't want to walk it and the cars on hwy 140 were driving too fast for me to hitch.  All for the best.  I got more miles in.  There's a good chance I'll catch up to my friends as they've slowed down. I lucked out with a camping spot.  It's probably the only flat spot for miles and its perfect for my tent.  Woo hoo!  I'm tired.

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Aug 10, Green Springs Inn - Hyatt Lake mile 1750

I struggled with the go or not decision this morning.  Didn't feel good, didn't feel bad.  On the fence.  So I had breakfast and I felt like a new person.  But it was still one of the hardest mental battles I've fought on the trail.  The first step is the hardest even when you're motivated.  But once you get going, wow.  It felt great to be hiking again and in the Oregon Cascades too.  The trail passed through the Siskiyou Ntl Monument.  It was designated to protect its diverse ecosystem.  It's beautiful.  I heard a high pitched sound.  Was it an animal, bird, or a hiker?  I know a few hikers who like to whoop and holler.  Never did figure out what it was.  Another fun encounter happened while I was resting enjoying the view of Hyatt Lake Reservoir.  A small furry head popped up out of the ground.  It watched me intently.  I said hello but it wasn't impressed and dropped back in his hole. 
When I got to Hyatt Lake I was ravenous for a hamburger.  So I stopped for a late lunch.  I got picked up right away for the ride to Hyatt Lake.  It's only a mile off trail.  The lady who picked me up, Liz, has been trekking in Nepal, India, Afghanistan, and a lot of other places.  She was cool and I would have loved to talk to her further.  The hamburger was delicious and I handled it ok.  I was going to hike another 4 miles and camp but decided to stay here and not push too hard the first day.  I feel good about tomorrow. Marionberry cobbler anyone?

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Aug 9, Getting Philosophical

I can't help it.  I've had a lot of time for introspection.  I've been thinking about the trail, about these last few months, and the metaphors keep coming.  You fall down.  You get back up.  To succeed you keep walking.  Just get up and walk, doesn't matter if you're fast or slow. You depend on, trust, and support your fellow hikers.  You look out for each other.  A hiker named Houdini had his backpack stolen when he went to get water.  He had to get off the trail.  But an outfitter in Mt Laguna, and other people in the PCT community pitched in donating gear and he's back on the trail.  How awesome is that?
There's more.  Sometimes I catch myself looking down too much and almost miss a beautiful view.  Yes, you have to watch the trail but look around, look up, don't miss out.  Same in life.
The Green Springs Inn is full tonight so the gave me a room above the restaurant for free.  It's used for storage but there's a bed & a chair and its comfy.  This place and the people here are awesome and I'd like to come back sometime with family and rent a cabin.  It would be a good base camp.
It takes two full days on the medicine before you really feel good again.  Then there are four more days of it.  So I'm planning on hiking out in the morning.  There are two resorts between here and Crater Lake - Hyatt Lake resort and Fish Lake resort if I have trouble.  The elevation profile looks mellow.  Fingers crossed.

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Aug 8, Green Springs

17 miles east of Ashland on hwy 66 at Green Springs summit, is the Green Springs Inn.  It has cabins, a lodge, restaurant, and group facilities.  It's beautiful here near the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.  The PCT goes through the monument at mile 1744.  Proprietor Diarmuid McGuire is supportive of PCT hikers and very kind.  My symptoms returned full force while camping last night and it was clear this morning I wouldn't be hiking anywhere.  I called the Inn and they had a room free and picked me up.  I was able to get the medicine I need and should be on the mend for sure this time.  It is Giardia afterall.  My friends of course hiked on but we are staying in touch.  When I'm strong I can really fly down the trail and do big miles.  So I'm going to stay here close to the trail and when I can I'm going to fly.
Pictures: the gang, love those dirty girl gaiters, & the lodge.

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Aug 7, Ashland - mile 1744

I wrote about how the trail provides.  Well it turns out the group I hiked with a few weeks ago spent a few days in Ashland and were hiking out today.  It's grown though.  I met them at the trailhead at 1230 and 6 of us now started hiking.  Our group now consists of Last Minute, Ruby Locks, Rem, Grit, Moss, and me.  Then a couple hours in, Quest joined our train.  It's fun to be hiking with them again.  Due to logistics getting back to Seiad Valley and in order to stay on schedule, I decided to pick up the trail here and when I reach Canada I'll come back to Seiad Valley to knock out the 68 miles I missed.  I'm feeling better and it feels really good to be in my home state.  Southern Oregon has these lush, green, rolling hills and tall grasses.  The forest offers nice shade from the heat.  We are camped near a reservoir.  The sound of the water is very soothing for going to sleep.  Nice!
It was awesome to spend time with my family.  I'm really blessed to have their support.  Best trail angels and trail magic yet!

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The Trail Provides, Ashland

When I look back on my trail experience so far, the phrase 'The trail provides' mentioned often in various planning resources comes to mind.  So many times I got what I needed when I needed it.  Whether it was trail magic, the right person(s) to hike with, or two fighter jets flying fast overhead minutes after saying it'd be cool to see.  It's certainly the case this time.  First, That Guy caught up to me in Etna and we hiked out with a few others.  So I'm not solo anymore.  Then while hiking we met a section hiker named Chuck.  We passed each other a lot for two days because I was so slow and stopping a lot.  He is from Sacramento.  He offered a ride to Ashland as his wife was picking him up at 2pm Sunday on Hwy 96.  Then, We got to the trailhead in Seiad Valley Saturday with a 6.5 mile roadwalk still to do but Lloyd was there to give us a ride.  Sunday the owner of the RV park gave us a ride to the meeting spot for our ride with Chuck.  Then as luck would have it my cousin and her family were in Ashland waiting for me to hike in as I should have been arriving Sunday on foot.  So it's all just worked out smoothly.  There weren't any walk in clinics open so we had to go to ER.  I do not have Giardia!  This is great news cause Giardia usually keeps you off trail for a week.  I have some sort of stomach flu bug.  There's nothing like 3 L of IV fluid to perk you up though.  Doc says two days off my feet getting food and fluids to build my strength up and give my body a chance to stabilize and recover should do the trick.  I have a prescription.  I'm already feeling better.  So, another little roadblock in my trip.  But these things happen on a long hike, just like real life, and you just have to roll with it.  So I'll rest here and then my cousin will take us back to the trail.  And I'm so happy to see my cousin.  I've missed her.  It'll be fun to catch up.
This isn't the best picture but these flowers are common on the trail.  I really like the contrast of the red and yellow colors.

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Etna - Seiad Valley, 1606 - 1662

There were several of us trying to hitch out of Etna.  We had been there a couple hours when the father of Momma Bear/grandpa to Monkey showed up.  He took us to the trailhead.  Back on the trail again!  It feels good to be hiking and while my knees are a little stiff I feel great.  We are still hiking in the Russian Wilderness and the first half of the trip was rocky trail.  It continues to impress though.  There were more meadows covered with wildflowers, forest, green hillsides with rock outcroppings and one final view of Shasta.  I saw another bear.  A big one this time.  It was in the evening around 6 about 2 miles from Paradise Lake where we planned to camp.  It was a good thing I was talking loudly to Tofu Todd and That Guy.  The noise gave notice to the bear and all I saw was its big, furry, brown butt as it jumped a log and ran down the mountain.  That makes a total of 4 bears I've seen on this hike.  Paradise Lake was a beautiful campsite.  It was spring fed and was surrounded by high cliffs.  It's also accessible by a side trail with road access.  So day & weekend hikers were around.  The trail smoothed out and started descending down 17 miles into Seiad Valley.  On the way it changed from a dry alpine environment to a lush rainforest type place with lots of streams.  It was also humid.  Tofu Todd is taking three days to get to Seiad.  I planned two days.  So I had to wish him well in the morning and head down the trail.  I didn't have enough food to take longer.
There are a lot of discomforts that long distance hikers have to deal with.  Blisters are the most common.  Then there is foot pain, shin splints, IT Band, and knee pain.  You learn to deal with it, then ignore it and keep hiking.  There's always some little problem.  Another common ailment is Giardia, which is a parasite that you can get from drinking bad water.  In the desert every one was religious about treating or filtering the water.  Then in the Sierras there was an abundance of clean safe water.  So many hikers stopped treating.  I have a Sawyer inline filter attached to the drinking tube of my Platypus bladder.  But I would frequently fill up my gatorade bottle and drink it untreated.  Those springs are delicious!  Now though we have to treat again.  a lot of hikers got Giardia between Shasta and Etna.  There's a time lapse between infection and symptoms.  I developed symptoms 10 miles up the trail from Etna.  Yukky.  So at night I've just gone straight to bed.  It's been pretty slow going.  But I made it to Seiad Valley.  Tomorrow I will go to a clinic and get some meds. 
Seiad is tiny.  There's a store, a cafe, and an RV park.  We are camped at the RV park.  Fingers crossed this won't delay me too long.  If it does I'm confident I can make up the time.

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Lately I've had to tear myself away from town. I've had to prod and push myself a little to leave the company of people and comforts of food & cold drinks behind.  Not this time.  Etna's great.  A lot of hikers have come in and then left. It's great to see new and old faces.  But I have ants in my pants.  I'm anxious to get back on the trail.  I'm restless and need to get moving!  Only 4 hiking days from Oregon.  But I'm doing what I need to do, resting and icing my knee.  I like riding the bike donated by the hiker hut because it uses different muscles and gets the blood flowing so I'm not so stiff.  It's working.  I'll be able to hike out.  I'm feeling good.  There's still a lot of snow in Oregon north of Crater Lake and in Washington that has slowed hikers down.  They've even had to break out thier microspikes and ice axes.  So an extra day here to allow snow to melt more there, its all ok.  I'll be able to make up time with the mellow terrain ahead.  And I'll have people to hike out with.  So yay, back on the trail again I go.  Stacy, a local thru hiker had a dinner party at her house last night.  She rounded up the hikers staying at the Hiker Hut and Motel Etna and brought us to her house where another hiker who is a chef was cooking.  And could he cook!  He made Jambalaya, salad, and a zuchini/yellow squash dish.  It was delicious.  It was fun to share a good trail experience with my hiking friends.  So Etna has been one of my favorite stops but I'm happy to finally be getting back on trail.  I haven't been able to get pictures of myself since I've been hiking solo.  So here's a picture of me at the Hiker Hut with a bike.

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