Day 107-113: Interlude

First, an interlude from this Interlude: during the month of August I will be participating in the Washington Trails Association Hike-a-thon. This group is responsible for much of the work done to keep the trails in Washington – including the PCT – looking beautiful and free from obstacles or erosion. Every dollar raised will help maintain our trails in years to come. If you’d like to donate, you can visit my page here: https://give.wta.org/fundraiser/4014891

And feel free to make it interesting… Donations contingent on how far I make it into Washington? On how many blog posts I write? On achieving the elusive 30-mile day? Let me know in a comment below 🙂

July 20-26; Mile 1529-1539

Day 107

I awoke to a sunrise over Mt Shasta. The day started out with easy walking along beautiful ridges with wide-open views. There were fields of flowers, and around every turn another stunning angle of the sleeping giant.

I ran into a hiker named FJ – someone I’d met near Tahoe – hiking with her daughter, Corn Dog. We’d end up spending several hours together in the parking lot ahead, but first I had a lake to swim in.

I stopped at Lower Deadfall Lake, and the smell of pancakes sizzling nearby was almost too much to handle. I chatted with the two folks spending the night before wading into the warm lake and floating, weightless, upon its glassy surface. I hoped a good swim would help with getting a hitch into town later.

I departed for the trailhead and was heartened to see several cars parked. As folks came back from their hikes, I’d ask if they had room to take me to Weed. Everyone with room was going the wrong way, and everyone headed toward Weed was in a full car. After three hours I had resigned myself to road-walking the 13 miles to the first town, when a couple that I’d passed earlier on the trail agreed to give me a ride! They were incredibly nice and took me straight to my motel, peppering me with questions about my trip.

I didn’t see much of the town; mostly I was content to lie inside the air conditioning and relax. The one part of my plan that had caused the most stress and uncertainty was behind me now. All that remained was walking a few miles to the Greyhound station the next morning, riding to Medford, and then flying to Seattle.

Day 108-113

I arrived in Medford in the early afternoon, where the wonderful Dana Kline – a friend of Dov’s mom – came to pick me up and let me stay the night. We chatted over dinner like old friends, and had a nice picnic overlooking the town before I was off to the airport.

Being back in Seattle was odd. I kept saying to Dov, “I shouldn’t be here. Not yet.” But otherwise it was a wonderful visit: seeing friends, visiting some of my favorite restaurants, spending time with Dov in the little garden he’d cultivated in our postage-stamp backyard.

And the best part was getting to celebrate the wedding of my two good friends, Shi Ya and David.

Too soon I was driving back south with David’s parents, who were kind enough to give me a ride all the way back to Yreka and then to the trailhead the next morning. Despite having come 1500 miles, I still felt nervous the night before heading out. Some things never change, I guess.