July 3, 2016

Bushcamp (Mile 1655.8) to bushcamp (mile 1676.8)

Miles: 21

Our alarm went off at 4 am. It was still dark.

At 5 am it was still too dark to see the poison oak plants clearly and we didn’t want to take any risks.

So we sat, fully dressed, inside our tent hiding from the mozzies and waiting for dawn to creep into our foresty area.

At 5:45 we were walking. Speed, Fixie and Cardinal had taken off around 5:15 am.

The trail climbed but the cooler morning air and shade made it bearable. The poison oak was abundant but there were only a few places where we attempted to contort our bodies to avoid contact.

At 3,800 ft we saw our last poison oak bush and the day greatly improved.

We walked through a burn area with Fireweed and Mountain Lilies. The flowers are a true highlight of this section. There always seems to be one beautiful flower that makes the poison oak sections feel worthwhile. Today, that was the Mountain Lily.

We caught up with the rest of the group when they stopped to get water. We had enough and we all continued on together, marching one after another up the hill.

The climb never really ended but got much more gentle after a few miles. The rest of the morning we hiked up a small hill then dropped into a little valley and gradually climbed up again.

We were suprised and wowed by the green ponds and grass amongst the rock and sand. Around every turn there was more beautiful scenery. This trail is truly amazing.

We stopped for lunch at 11:30 at Cook and Green Pass. We chatted with day hikers and campers and secretly hoped for some trail magic.

We spread out in the shade and relaxed. Shoes off, minimal bugs and cooler temps made for 5 happy hikers. Laurie, Fixie and Cardinal took luxurious naps. Turns out food bags make excellent pillows!

Around 2 pm the sun had shifted and we got ready to hike on. Two mountain bikers came over to chat and offered to house us for the night near Ashland. The generosity of strangers continues to amaze us!

It was hot as we began our last 1500 ft climb. The scenery was still beautiful but Laurie struggled with the heat. She kept her head down and played the alphabet game to keep her mind occupied.

Around 4:30 we got to a spring only 3 miles from camp. We filled our bottles for the night and tomorrow morning and hiked on.

We talked as we walked, which always helps the miles go by faster. Cardinal is starting medical school at UCSF and is moving into the neighborhood that Laurie moved out of. We talked about favorite restaurants (a dangerous topic on a thru hike with no good Vietnamese food in our forseeable future) and other neighborhood highlights.

After climbing over 15 downed trees in the last half mile, we got to camp around 6 pm. This is the earliest we have made it to camp in a while and it made us giddy.

We enjoyed happy hour with nuts, cheese and DANG coconut chips. We all made dinner and enjoyed the feeling of being sedentary after a long day.

The air turned cool and then cold as the sun dropped towards the horizon. We again, got the best spot since we have the largest tent and two people. Thanks Speed, Fixie and Cardinal for being so generous!

It is now 9:15 pm and we are cozy in our sleeping bags listening to the birds sing.

Tonight we are grateful for trail naps and cool nights.

July 2, 2016

Grider Creek campground (mile 1647) to bushcamp (mile 1655.8)

Miles: 8.8

It was only 6.4 miles into the small town of Seaid Valley. The previous two days had been long and we were tired. We choose to let ourselves wake up naturally.

But sleeping in doesn’t exist in nature. We were up at 5:50 am and walking by 6:30 am.

The trail into town is actually a combination of dirt and paved roads. We were all grateful to have a large buffer between us and the poison oak, however walking on asphalt hurts our feet after a while.

Plus, the road made a huge loop to cross over the Klamath River. It was hard walking in the wrong direction for 3 extra miles knowing we were walking further away from pancakes.

The temperature was comfortable and we walked 4 abrest chatting our way into town. The Klamath River shimmered in the morning light. Andy spotted 2 bald eagles across the river; he’d never seed them before.

We made it to the Seiad Valley Cafe around 8:30 am. The place was full except for one empty table.

We left our packs behind the entrance door and headed for the table with our phones and chargers.

Outlets, free wifi and great food at reasonable prices – what more can hikers ask for?

We tried to cram 4 of us into a small space but the owner didn’t approve. She made it clear that we would need to be patient if we wanted a table for 4.

We represent the hiker community wherever we go and do not want to insult anyone, so we let it go. Speed chose to sit at the bar and we shared the table with Fixie.

This little cafe in a small town of 350 people offered gluten free pancakes, gluten free bread and dairy free butter alternatives. How incredible is that?

Laurie was over the moon when she heard the news. We ordered a stack of gluten free pancakes and a veggie omelette with O’Brien potatoes to share.

The pancakes were delicious and the omelette was perfectly cooked.

We weren’t even done eating when the owner came over and asked if we wanted more pancakes.

What??

She had extra gluten free pancake batter that she didn’t want to waste. We of course said yes. Soonafter we were served two more scrumptious gluten free pancakes.

The meal kept getting better and better!

We loved the food so much that we chose to go there for lunch a few hours later.

In the meantime, we had lots to do. But then we heard there was a farmers market. Even though we were stuffed, we decided to go check it out.

We got a ride from a friendly local we had met the day before up on the trail. Unfortunately, the farmers market was disappointing. There wasn’t any fruit or veggies, just local handcrafts and plants.

We walked back to the cafe empty handed and went next door to the general store to pick up our resupply boxes.

Seaid valley is a tiny town so everything was within 1 block. By 11 am the heat was oppressive. We took refuge in the shade at the RV park next to the store.

We planted ourselves down on the moist grass and started to sort through our packages. This process still overwhelms us. Despite having it all in front of us, figuring out how much to take and of what type of food we need is still a tedious process – especially for Andy.

As we were busy shuffling and sorting, Bruce – the manager of the rv park came over and very graciously explained to us the amenities they offer for day use. Ten dollars gave us access to the lounge area, the shower and coin operated laundry.

The cool lounge area with chargers and wifi sealed the deal for us. We really had nowhere to go and it was nice to sit in a cool room.

Before we knew it, it was 1:30. Time for lunch!

We walked over to the Cafe again, sat down at a table for 4 (😄) and eagerly awaited the deliciousness coming our way.

Laurie ordered a hamburger with a gluten free bun (!!) and Andy ordered a mushroom melt with Swiss cheese.

“I forgot how good a hamburger tastes with a bun!” mentioned Laurie mid way through her burger.

The food was excellent, but the service was even better. Our waitress remembered that Laurie was gluten free and that Fixie was dairy free. Moreover, when she presented the options to us she included possible substitutions to accommodate everyone.

There are lots of restaurants in much bigger cities that can learn a thing or two from these wonderful folks.

The kindness of everyone we met and the amazing food has moved Seaid Valley to the number one spot for best town stop thus far. Idyllwild and Etna are second and third respectively.

On the way out Laurie ordered a milkshake. It was huge, delicious and she had no problem finishing it. Suddenly we both are bottomless pits. We eat and eat and eat and never seem to get full. Good thing we have tons of food!!

After lunch we walked back to the RV park and our cool oasis – which unfortunately was warming up along with the rest of the city. We switched the channel on the small tv and watched some of the Olympic swimming qualifiers and Tour de France.

Needless to say it was hard to focus on editing blog posts, posting pictures on Instagram, checking email and speaking with family. But we managed to get caught up on the blog. Wahoo!

We had originally planned to leave at 6pm but a few trips outside to check on our laundry reminded us of how hot it still was, so we bumped our departure to 6:30, and ultimately 7 pm.

We were only walking 2.5 miles and with daylight lasting until 9:30 we had plenty of time.

On our way out of town we stopped in the general store. Laurie and Fixie bought popsicles and Speed bought Gatorade.

“I have never had a Popsicle that melted faster than I could eat it” mumbled Laurie with mango Popsicle dripping down her fingers.

We walked on the highway for the first seven tenths of a mile. There were very few cars and those that passed us waved and gave us plenty of room.

Cardinal, a young woman from the Bay Area is also hiking with us until Ashland. Her hiking partner wasn’t having fun anymore and decided to leave the trail. Cardinal wanted to continue on but not by herself. We were happy to welcome her into our little trail family.

Once on the trail we climbed up and up. Some sections were pretty steep but it was all in the shade. Thank goodness for shade!

It was over 90 degrees when we left at 7 pm and we were soaked in sweat by the time we reached the spring 1.7 miles later. Even in the desert we didn’t experience heat like this. Our pants and shirts clung to our sticky bodies. No part of us was dry, not even our shins.

Unfortunately, this section of trail, like the one just south of Seiad, is notorious for poison oak. We wore our long pants and long sleeves and did what we could to step around the bushes but a few leaves brushed up against us anyway. It wasn’t as bad as we had expected and hope it continues this way tomorrow as well.

We reached camp around 8:30pm and managed to fit 3 tents in a campsite the guidebooks listed as a one tent site.

The mosquitoes were tiny but fierce. We were all hot and sticky from the day and the climb. Thankfully it was a little cooler up here compared to the valley, but still too warm to sleep with a sleeping bag.

None of us made a hot meal. Some of us were still full from lunch while others snacked in our tents.

Tomorrow we plan to be walking by 5am to knock out the massive climb before it gets too hot.

For us that means waking at 4am. Blah.

Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for our shady oasis and gluten free pancakes.

July 1, 2016

Marble valley (mile 1621.2) to Grider Creek campground (mile 1647)

Miles: 25.8

We slept hard. We woke up around midnight to Fixie calling out because she heard branches breaking but couldn’t see without her contacts.

Andy peered out of our tent to find two pairs of eyes within 20 ft of our camp. They were just curious deer (much less scary than a bear) so we all fell back asleep.

The morning was beautiful. We had agreed as a group to be walking by 6 am. We started out in a line, walking through the green meadows. But within 45 minutes we had split up. With differing needs at different times it was hard to stick together.

We slowly climbed past more wildflowers and chunks of marble that lay in the meadows. We made our way across a few snow banks but all in all it was easy walking.

Laurie was struggling this morning. The left side of her back was tight and on the verge of spasms. We are not sure if it was due to awkward positions while climbing over down trees or a bad sleeping position.

Either way, she was moving cautiously. Andy was wonderful and lifted her pack to minimize the lifting and twisting that comes with hoisting a pack onto one’s shoulders.

Once on the ridge we stayed high for awhile. The views were beautiful and although it was warm we were happy.

These are the moments when thru hiking feels magical. We carry everything we need on our backs and walk to places far from towns to sit on ridges and feel the wind brush against our faces.

These are the moments when life feels so simple. These are the highlights of the day. The moments that make the harder, more painful moments worthwhile.

From the ridge we dropped a bit, climbed back up and then began the long afternoon descent. Today we went up 4000 ft and down 8000 ft. It was long.

We ate lunch on a dirt road with a southbound section hiker named Riser. It is always fun to trade stories, see what other hikers eat and meet other down to earth people.

We rested for over an hour in the shade, all of us dreading the long descent ahead. Worse than the downhill was the poison oak that we had read and heard about.

With Shot Bloks and Sour Patch Kids in mouth and pocket, we headed down.

Initially it was beautiful. We had walked back into a lush thriving forest. Ferns and lots of other green bushes lined (and often covered) the trail.

We walked through a rainbow of wildflowers, purple ones interspersed with pink ones and then a flooding of white and splotches of yellow. It was beautiful.

About 4 miles in we saw our first poison oak plant. We called out to one another to avoid touching them but eventually it became inevitable. The stuff was everywhere.

We crossed Grider Creek 4 times. The first two had no bridges and we gladly walked straight through, refreshing our feet and legs with cool water.

As we dropped in elevation we entered what Andy kept referring to as a “sweat box.” The air was hot and there was no wind.

The southbounder we ate lunch with mentioned that it was 103 degrees in Seiad Valley the previous day. It felt like that in the forest. Heat and poison oak – not a good combination.

We washed our faces and dumped water on our heads as often as we could, but we still kept sweating.

Twenty five miles always sounds doable the night before, but boy did those last 5 miles go on forever! Especially with poison oak around and us walking slowly to spot and avoid them.

We got into camp at 7:15 pm. We said hello to Speed, dropped our packs and headed to the river to cool off. Boy did that water feel good!

We enjoyed the luxury of a picnic table as we ate dinner and the mosquitoes ate us.

Speed was already in his tent, having eaten dinner, cooled off in the river and scored a beer from another camper before we showed up.

After dinner we turned our clothes inside out to avoid exposure to poison oak, blogged for a little while and were ready for bed.

We have decided to not set an alarm tomorrow morning. We will wake up naturally and get to town then. Whether Speed and Fixie wait for us remains to be seen.

It’s late and time for bed. Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for wildflowers and our sponsors.