Week 8 Mileage: 274.7
Total PCT Mileage: 1897.5
Winged Devils!
I wanted to get to Seiad Valley in the morning. This would require 27.8 miles to a campsite just before the start of the road that led into town. It was 1 pm. Luckily, after about 6 miles the trail would go down for a long time. Not a big fan of this section, a lot of burn areas with blowdowns, a lot of overgrowth. Just a section of trail that doesn’t get a lot of maintenance. Last time through here I picked 7 ticks off me and got poison ivy on my pecker. I wasn’t looking forward to this.
I Pushed hard and arrived at 11:30 pm, sleeping by midnight. The next day, got into town, grabbed my new shoes, ate a big breakfast, showered, laundered and did a 2 day resupply. This climb out is always tough. 6-plus miles of switch backs, not much shade and water sources spread out between 3-8 miles. Of course, it was 11 am when I started making my way up the hill, and of course I blew past the first water source, not realizing it until I was too far past. With 2 sips of water left, I made it to the spring. Unfortunately it was trickling out weaker than Tom Hanks bladder infection in The Green Mile. Cooking under the sun, I finally filled and pushed hard to get 33-plusmiles and make it to Alex Hole Spring by 10:30. I was picking up my next box at Callahan’s Lodge, a nice hotel a mile off trail near Ashland, OR. I arrived at the California/ Oregon border just past 9 am on the tail end if my 50th day on trail. Almost 1,700 miles in 50 days, not bad.
34.4 miles to Callahan’s by 8 pm. I grabbed my box and did another 4 miles out. No snow now. I was able to crush miles getting into the 40’s. Crater Lake had my box, but they still got me for 15 bucks on deet. Out of there, I hit snow up high around the lake and cruised down to lower elevation with a 38 for the day. Into the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness, I got snow again for 12 miles. The snowpack level seems to be lingering around 5,800 feet. Half my days through this section are spent in snow but I’m able to make up miles on the low stuff. I’ve been dealing with the holy trinity of bullshit in this area, snow, blowdowns, and winged devils. Mosquitoes are starting to become a nuisance, but they do make me hike faster, not wanting to stop. I pushed hard into Diamond Peak Wilderness and ended my week with my highest mileage so far. Now it’s on to Shelter Cove for a resupply and the rest of Oregon.
California Stats
- 1692.8 miles
- 33.3 MPD avg
- Resupplies: 14
- Showers: 7
- Laundry: 6 times
- Water Treatment: 6 times
- Shoes: 3 pairs
- Cigs: 24 packs
- Nero Days: 2
- Zero Days: 0
