Getting back on the trail was hard. There was so much to miss about my time in Ashland. And, I’d oversupplied, so putting my pack on weighed down on me a lot more than usual.
This cat bid me farewell from Callahan's
The trail was mostly dry and grassy today, with out-of-season thimbleberry plants lining many sections.
I think that's Little Pilot Rock on the right
The trail entered and exited the Soda Mountain Wilderness several times outside of Ashland
There were several noteworthy rocks along the trail too, but I had trouble identifying them. Pilot Rock, Little Pilot Rock, and Joe’s Rock are all candidates for the rocks I saw below.
Later in the day, I approached Hyatt Lake, and the nearby valley.
A hiker had turned the PCT logo on a trailside sign into a pizza sliceHyatt Lake outflowA boring-colored snake
Hyatt Lake had a nice campground with electricity, flush toilets, and garbage service, so I stopped there for the night, and chatted with other PCT hikers until late.
Today was a short day. We only had about 7 miles to Callahan’s Lodge, where I’d pick up my repaired phone, and hitch into Ashland for some zeroes.
The trail was downhill and easy, but a bit overused and had a lot of road crossings. We ran into Coppertone at one of them, but didn’t stop for a root beer float, since we were so close to town.
Apparently, someone actually packs MREs. Someone who drops all their garbage by the side of the trail just a few miles outside town. I carried these to Callahan's dumpster.Another regulatory boundary. I tried to lean to match the leaning post.Ashland's Pilot Rock, on the left, is a volcanic plug left over from a volcano whose exterior eroded away. That mountain on the right looks familiar, too.We approached Old Highway 99 and Interstate 5 on paved road
We hitched a ride into town with a man who worked at the Mt. Ashland Ski Resort. I mentioned that I’d read about it, and it sounded nice — a Yelp review had told a story about showing up without ski pants, and an employee letting him borrow his personal ski pants. “Oh! That was me!” said our hitch.
In Ashland, we had lunch and stopped at the Caldera Tap House, which is maybe my favorite brewery. The Rauch Ür Bock, Coconut Porter, and Mogli beers were all terrific.
Afterwards, we did laundry at the Stratford Hotel, since there were no laundromats for miles, and they didn’t ask if we were guests. Then, we went to our separate bed and breakfasts, and started some time off.
Caldera Beer and laundry access -- hikers' paradise
I’d be staying a day longer than Elizabeth, so we’re splitting up here, and probably won’t be hiking together again for a couple weeks or so. This should be a new backpacking experience — I’ll see how it goes.
My shoes were due for replacement, but had been discontinued a couple weeks before I got into town. We'll see how the Altra Lone Peak 3.0 model is.A resupply from Market of Choice
The rest of my time in Ashland was great. The Granite Tap House had great fish and bread. The Black Sheep makes a good rarebit. Mix makes a good affogato. Just about everything in Ashland is at least pretty nice.
Some restaurants try a bit too hard to be different
Ashland is known for their Shakespeare festival. This year’s Winter’s Tale was slow going at times, but the outdoor theater and costuming were great as always.
Today was another simple day. Get up, hike, eat, find water…
But today, we finished California.
.
I am now free to busk, wear flowing robes of tie-dye, and hang beads in doorwaysMe with some outdated mileage signsAs if from the Oregon Welcoming Committee, it started raining a few hours after we'd entered Oregon. If you look carefully, you can see the raindrops in the trail.
And we crossed the 1700 mile marker soon after.
I continued to deal with my food resupply mistake, and had tortilla with peanut butter and Nutella for both lunch and dinner. That has a lot of calories, but can be hard to stomach in thru-hiker quantities.
I noticed the Seiad Valley peanut butter was the jar you get at Dollar Tree. It was $2.50 in Seiad Valley.
Today had some sights of course.
I think that's Ashland's famous Pilot Rock in the distance, after which Caldera's porter is namedThe trail took many different forms today, many of them gently-slopedIt became a nice day to be outdoors, after the drizzle let up
I was curious what the lines in this hill are forThis tree looks mildly perturbedGiant dandelions ahoySomebody built a nest for the cairnSadly, empty
We stopped at the last campsite before Callahan’s Lodge. Callahan’s is a traditional stop on the PCT, and they give hikers a free beer, but we would’ve had to hike late to get there, and it costs money to camp there.
As we ate dinner, a man playing an acoustic travel guitar strolled down the trail. He ignored us, and just walked on by, playing his song. He had no backpack, just the guitar, and a hoodie tied around his waist. There were no campsites in the direction he was walking, but he was gone before we could ask any questions. We’ll probably never see him again, but he was a definite sign we’re nearing Ashland.
The red line is the PCT, the blue dot is where I am
