July 5, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 1700.1) to the Callahan’s Lodge (mile 1715.2)

Miles: 15.8 (15.1 PCT miles plus .7 mile side trail to the Callahan’s)

As a request from one of our readers we are adding our total miles walked to each post.

Total mileage walked: 1309.6

Sometimes it is easiest to wake up the morning of a town day. Large breakfasts or the appeal of fresh fruit call our names. This morning however, the coziness of our sleeping bags won the battle.

We braved the cool air and started walking around 6:30 am. We enjoyed the uphill as a way to warm up. So far the weather in Oregon has provided a nice change from the oppressive heat of Northern California. We hope it continues but without rain.

The trail paralleled dirt roads for a few miles. We walked amongst corn lilies in meadows and admired all the flowers. It feels really special to be here at this time of year – the skies are smoke free, temperatures refreshing and the colors of the flowers are vibrant.

At the top of our climb we found 2 lawn chairs and coolers on the trail.

More trail magic!!

It didn’t matter that it was only 8:30 am, we sat down and enjoyed a soda. There is something delicious and incredibly special about finding random sodas in unexpected places. Thank you to whoever maintains this cache.

So far Oregon has been pretty amazing. We have had trail magic 2 days in a row!!

From here it was a long 10.5 mile descent to Interstate 5 and the Callahan’s Lodge. We took our time, winding through open fields and shady wooded areas.

We passed many day hikers out enjoying the flowers and nice weather.

Eventually we came to the Callahan cutoff. Initially Laurie walked right past the sign since, in true Laurie fashion, she was staring at the ground. To her credit, the sign is located much higher than most signs and everyone else in the group missed it initially as well. Everyone except Andy, he looks up a lot.

We followed the narrow path straight down through the forest. The steepness of the trail helped us appreciate the gradual grade of the PCT. We walked past a sketchy railroad yard and down a few dirt roads to the I-5. We crossed under the freeway and finally made it through the double doors of the lodge at 1:30 pm.

Fixie and Cardinal arrived a little before us. Speed, who seems to always arrive at our destination at least an hour ahead of us, had already enjoyed lunch and inquired about room rates.

We discussed our lodging options and opted to share a penthouse suite. We added two rollaways to our room with a king size bed. The jacuzzi tub turned into a great foot and long underwear washing station!

We sat on the patio while waiting for our room to be ready. We sorted through our resupply boxes and organized our backpacks.

Fixie’s partner arrived around 2:30 pm with gluten free and vegan banana bread. Town magic!! We devoured it within 10 minutes. Thanks Steven!

Around 3:30 our room was ready. We showered and piled into the car for a field trip to Ashland.

We got fuel at the outfitter, Andy bought new shoes at the local running store and we all ate dinner at the Ashland Food Co-op. The store was amazing and also a bit overwhelming.

We wanted everything we saw. The highlight of the dinner was the sautéed kale, a normal staple in our diet.

We were still hungry after dessert (coconut ice cream, peach and nectarine) so we ordered a burrito bowl. We are not sure if we should be amazed or frightened by how much we are eating these days.

Once back at the hotel we tried to catch up on blogging before falling asleep.

We love neros. We get the luxury of fresh food, a clean body and clean clothes after an active morning. But we don’t break the bank because we only eat lunch or dinner once.

Tomorrow we start our 5 day trek to Crater Lake. Neither of us have been there and are really looking forward to seeing it.

And we really don’t know what to expect from the trail. We keep hearing mixed things. Will there be lots of snow? Blowdowns? Mosquito clouds so thick one can’t see their feet?

We will find out!

Tonight we are grateful for food co-ops and comfy beds.