Day 118-120: Oregon
July 31 – August 2; Mile 1773-1777
Smoke lay thick across the horizon when I woke up the next morning. Hours passed as I read about the fires, the evacuations, and the plans people were making to salvage their hikes. With a new 60-mile stretch of trail closing north of Crater Lake due to the Windigo fire, it seemed like the safest course of action was to skip ahead to Washington. I’d even read that some hikers were jumping westward to the coast in order to hike the Oregon Coastal Trail before coming back onto the PCT near Washington.
That afternoon Dana and I drove into Ashland to hear her friend play traditional Irish music at a pub. We got to talking with the waitress as we were getting ready to leave, and of course the topic turned to the fire. “You see all these people with backpacks?” she asked seriously. “They were hiking that Pacific Crest Trail and had to be evacuated yesterday!”
Dana and I exchanged a knowing glance. Freshly showered and in my town dress, I didn’t look like a thru-hiker, but Dana piped up that I, too, was hiking the trail. “You be safe out there,” the waitress said before heading to another table.
Even that short trip in the smoke was enough to give us both mild headaches, and we retreated back to the comfort of Dana’s cool, dark house. It was one thing to walk outside on the flat pavement without a heavy pack knowing you could return to the safety of your home; hiking up mountains and sleeping in the sickly haze would be miserable. I was convinced that I should jump ahead to the Oregon-Washington border and hike north; if Oregon was still on fire when I reached the northern terminus, then at least I’d get to finish somewhere monumental. If it had cleared up, then I would jump back south.
I was convinced… and yet I could not bring myself to buy a ticket north. I spent the next day putting off a decision and reading the book that I’d started when I stayed with Dana before the wedding. At least the time off was letting my shin heal.
That evening I told her that I wasn’t ready to give up on Oregon yet. The two of us spent an hour stitching together a plan: there were three fire closures in the state that I’d need to go around, and I wanted to avoid hiking in smoke if possible. She proposed that I start at Fish Lake – about 50 trail miles north of Ashland – so that I would be out of the smoke and high up in the mountains. If I started hiking there on Tuesday evening, then I would reach the next closure on Saturday morning, and she would be free to give me a ride. The third closure I would get a ride around from a friend I’d met at the wedding.
In the end, I would hike about half of Oregon. But it felt better than giving up completely and skipping ahead to Washington. I called Dov again to let him know I wouldn’t be coming to Seattle after all, and we agreed on some extra safety measures for hiking near wildfires. I was back on track and still headed north.
Day 120
Dana and I stopped at Lake of the Woods that evening for a dinner picnic. The water was warm between my toes, and Mt McLoughlin towered above the end of the lake. Despite the thunderstorms the past few days, the smoke had abated slightly, and up here among the green and the trees the air felt cool and moist.
As I began hiking up the trail once more, I fell into a comfortable rhythm. The trees were thick and alive, the trail was gentle beneath my feet, and I only had four miles until camp. I raced ahead, reaching the turn off for Freye Lake and heading a quarter-mile off trail. The place was deserted, and I set up my tent amid the gloom. Night crept in, and I drifted off to sleep, relieved that I was still on trail.
13 Comments
peggy
Glad your your shin got a rest and that your brain also got a rest with a good book while your subconscious figured out your druthers and you could focus on research and planning around the obstacles. I will echo the waitress with ‘You be safe out there”.
chasingalpenglow
Me too, it was probably for the best
Dana
I can’t think of anyone I would more like to share my humble adobe (complete with hot water, shower and washing machine!) with than you, Karen. And… now I know what books you need for your next birthday present! Thanks for the good company, good meals, and stories! Happy Trails!
chasingalpenglow
Ha! Oh I have the whole series back at my parents’ house in IL
Dov
Even though I knew the eventual conclusion (Karen hikes an abbreviated Oregon) I was reading the decision making process on tenterhooks. I’m glad you got to hike it and didn’t have to scrub the entire state!
I guess you’re just to sunny and delightful to immediately track as a thru-hiker, with their hollow-eyed stares and strata of grime. Hike safe!
Ann
Pete, Jane, Ethel, and I just finished our backpack southbound on the PCT from White Pass through the Goat Rocks and then out at Walupt Lake, and we ran into literally hundreds of northbound through hikers. Most of them had skipped ahead because of the fires, and that has created a bow wave of hikers on the trail. Many mentioned anxiety about being able to find suitable camp spots due to the crowding, and were hoping it would ease as people spread out more over the trail. We ran into four hikers who knew Stormy: Trash Balloon, Qwerty, Captain Planet, and Icky! On our way home, Jane and I got to play trail angels and gave a ride to a young woman, trail name Super New, from White Pass down to Packwood. I’m so glad you’ve had many trail angels in your journey, and met so many nice people on the trail.
chasingalpenglow
Oh yay! I like all the folks you mentioned 🙂 and congrats on being a trail angel for a day
Jack Shlachter
I, too, knew some of the story before reading but still felt nervous for your safety. So glad you made the decision you made. Stay safe!
chasingalpenglow
Thanks!
Norene Lewis
Your decision to hike as much of Oregon as you could was probably very important psychologically, I realize. Now, you won’t have your brain whispering, “Maybe I could have…” forevermore. Still, we’ll be watching the weather and hoping you find fire-free trails and good air out there.
chasingalpenglow
Absolutely. Although now of course they’ve opened the Lionshead closure a week after I passed it 🤷🏼♀️
Ray
Ummm . . . what are “extra safety measures for hiking near wildfires”? Would kill for your Guiness/Bailey’s float.
chasingalpenglow
I brought an N95 mask in case smoke got bad; I downloaded extra maps so I could plot an escape route if needed; I checked my Garmin 3x per day instead of once so that Dov could tell me about new fires quickly