Rollin’ Along the Meadows to Lake Hyatt – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [39]
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Part 38 ‘Bye Bye California, Hello Oregon!’
Day 117 (05/08) – Ashland
It was a nice sleep-in at trail angel Becky’s house, on her deck, in Ashland. I had a cup of coffee, before heading into town for breakfast. First, was more coffee… and by more I mean several more cups of coffee at Ruby’s café. The breakfast burrito here was incredible.
Chores were to be done – including changing out my darn tough socks. The same thing as I had done in South Lake Tahoe – where you basically replace them for free at affiliated vendors. I then decided, ‘fuck doing chores!’, and just sat down for beers at the brewery whilst dicking around on my phone.
Rex and Bubbles were briefly in town too, and I hung out with them for an hour before walking to the other end of town to do my resupply. I ended up going into the music store and purchasing a tin whistle and songbook – why? Why not! I could become the pied piper of the PCT, with chipmunks following me instead of rats, haha.
Why I next road-walked to Anderson’s supermarket, some 2 miles away, is beyond me. After doing my shopping, I pushed my trolley of food goods into the local park, and began repacking and sorting out items. I was doing this, all whilst eating ice-cream, a huge tub of mixed berries, some chicken from the deli, and all this topped off with fruit juice and Gatorade – what a mix! I did feel pretty bloated after to be fair… The hip belt on my pack wasn’t going to fit without some adjustment. Remember how people say, ‘don’t shop on an empty stomach?’ Imagine hiker hunger AND being normally hungry!
I then attempted to hitch on the ramp adjoining the Interstate 5 highway back to the trail about 7 miles away. It turned out less successful than I had expected. I ended up having a whole conversation with my parents on the phone whilst sticking my thumb out, knowing all was futile. I ended up calling a taxi after an hour and a half – sadly costing me $32. The driver was cool though, a Burmese military man and was interested in the trail.
After being dropped off, I planned on hiking not far into the trail as it was already 8pm. I met Bobby Hill again somehow, and we found a spot with a few other guys and cowboy camped there.
Distance hiked: 3.5 miles
Total PCT hiked: 1717.5 miles
Day 118 (06/08) – Hyatt Lake
I departed camp at 6am, just before the four others left. Plenty of water left to last the 10 miles to a good water spring. I don’t like taking the inferior water unless I have to (ponds, lakes, rivers, etc). Springs are great as they are cold and usually the freshest tasting.
About 17 miles in, I came to a dirt road with an esky (cooler) and chairs, with a couple there. They were doing trail magic and waiting for their son, Sinatra, whom I haven’t met yet. They gave me a Gatorade and some kind of homemade Rocky Road thing, which was delicious! What lovely people!
I briefly hiked with the three guys I stayed at the trail angels with, who caught up. They were hiking with a girl I met in Sierra City who had been going southbound, but now was heading north since Ashland.
I arrived at Hyatt Lake, and even though it was only 3:30pm, I decided to camp. I pulled out my tin whistle and started practising. I felt sorry for my neighbours, even if they were distant. It was going to take some time to learn! I had a shower in the toilet block and cooked dinner at the table. The campground was part of a larger one, but it had a small PCT section.
Distance hiked: 22.5 miles
Total PCT hiked: 1740 miles
Day 119 (07/08) – Fish Lake
I kind of felt sorry for the other PCT hiker camped near me. I passed him the previous morning at 9am, and he had only just gotten up. Yet there I was cooking breakfast and packing up between 4 and 5am, probably waking him in the process unintentionally.
It was a good morning’s hike, and I managed to make 8 miles by 8am – something I hadn’t done before. I intended to get to Fish Lake, which was 32.5 miles away.
Along the way on the trail… something caught my eye. Could it be? Yessssss… an object of great desire… soda… I’ve never been so excited about unexpected soda! Many ice-covered cans of Mountain Dew and Pepsi! With a giant gulp, the can was gone. I longed for a second, but being greedy and cutting another hiker short was not my nature. Refreshed, I pushed on!
The trail turned into volcanic lava rocks from the extinct volcanoes around, but the trail crew did a good job of filling the gaps with smaller stones and making it tolerable to walk on. The volcano beside the trail, Mt McLoughlin, was also stunning.
I eventually detoured off to Fish Lake, following a bike trail for two miles. Upon arriving I met up with Bobby Hill, 3G and two new hikers I hadn’t met. We all stayed there for the evening. We needed to make plans to figure out what we were going to do about the fires coming up in the next section. Both Sky Lakes and Crater Lake were closed, and we needed to detour around them.
Little did I know at the time, this would be the start of a very painful fire closure experience leading all the way to Washington…
Distance hiked: 32.5 miles
Total PCT hiked: 1771 miles
Next Post:
Part 40 ‘A Hike of Ice and Fire’
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