Going Wherever It Leads

Exploring motherhood and Mother Nature

Category Archives: Northern California


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Wildfires, Big Feet & OREGON!!!

So, if you’ve seen Instagram you know that we finally crossed the border into Oregon! We learned the hard and very long way that California is a very big state!

But before we get to Oregon, here’s a little more of Northern California. I last left you in the small town of Etna. From there, we hiked through the smoky haze of wildfires. We stopped to resupply in the very little town of Seiad Valley (in the lovely wanna-be state of Jefferson). It was a long hike into town (27 mile day) ending in a 7 mile road walk that is part of the actual trail.

It was such a long day because we didn’t make our planned mileage the day before. It was a very hot day and I started it out feeling sick. After a long morning rest, we only made 15 of the 20 planned miles. So by the time we got into Seiad we were pretty exhausted, but we managed to get some food for the next leg of the trip before the little general store closed, and shower and set up our tent in the local RV park beside it. It actually was kind of a fun day. Cooler than the day before, we had a couple nice opportunities to get wet in stream crossings, and an afternoon thunderstorm was just long enough to cool us off without leaving us soaked for the rest of the day.

hot and sick feeling this day, but some views are just too gorgeous to ignore

 

Grider Stream, a bridge burned in last year’s fire is of no use to us now, but it’s so hot we welcome the chance to take our shoes off and ford

 

this is not a sunset, but the wildfire haze makes it look like one

 

 

eerily beautiful sky reflected in the Klamath River, hiking the road into Seiad Valley

 

this also happened on that road, only 999 miles to Canada!

We were a little nervous about all of the smoke we were seeing (and inhaling), especially while passing through many miles of last year’s devastating fire. But we learned when we got to town that the smoke was coming from fires hundreds of miles away. This same smoke would follow us up into Oregon and mix with the smoke of its wildfires as well, still very far from the trail. Not too fun to hike in. You know those days when the weather forecasters warn to stay indoors and limit outdoor activities? A little hard to follow when your job is to hike all day.

yay Oregon!

 

more eerie wildfire sky


The smoke was just one of the factors that made me take my Oregon break a little early. The other was my feet and their amazing ability to outgrow my shoes. I finally realized in Etna that my feet have actually grown and this is the probable cause of most of my current foot pain. This was confirmed while trying on shoes here in Eugene. I am now an 8.5. This is common on the trail and I’ve read that some hikers’ feet never go back to their old size. (I wonder if there will be more shoe shopping in my post-trail future?)


After Seiad, and a very long climb out of town (about a 5000 foot elevation gain over 9 miles), it was only another few days to Ashland, a very cool town I’d always wanted to visit. We walked into Callahan’s Lodge to get our free hiker beers, then found a room in town.

 We returned to the lodge the next afternoon to fully make use of our zero day in one of their very nice rooms (hiker rate), including a jacuzzi tub. Shouldn’t zero without one!

The next day, we parted ways: Jason continuing the path to Canada and I being picked up by my ever-so-kind Oregon family, where I’m spending the week, with my car and all my stuff in storage there, as this is where we’ll be when we finish the trail. It’s a weird feeling to be parted with your “stuff” for so long, and then be reunited. More on that later I’m sure.

I spent the last few days shoe shopping, sleeping, and lying in bed reading frivolous novels on my kindle unlimited, zombie-like. After 5 days I finally feel human again, and, are you ready for this? ready to hit the trail!

Yesterday I visited Jason at Crater Lake National Park, about two hours from Oakridge (the town I’m staying in).  Seeing the other hikers and the beauty there made me miss it. I am developing quite the love-hate relationship for this trail.

us at Crater Lake, Wizard Island just behind us

 

Crater Lake

He’s been hiking the good hike, but he is getting tired too. I admire his determination not to quit, even if I don’t share it.

Not-a-Bear passed this a few days ago

 

In a few days I’ll pick him up at the trailhead at Willamette Pass, just a 40-minutes drive from Oakridge. He’ll take the next day off, then we’ll both head back out on the trail. We’ll have only about a week and a half left of Oregon, then it’s Hello Washington!

 

expressing my Oregon love at the border

Well rested and read,

Comet/Catie


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How Hikers Curb Boredom on Our Way to Oregon

Riddle: Come up and let us go, go down and here we stay.

Just about everything, even enjoyable things, when done over and over again get a little old. Hiking is no different. Do it everyday, all day and it gets a bit monotonous at times, especially in Northern California.

So, we do things to break up that monotony. A lot of hikers listen to podcasts or music.

Another thing we did this stretch is start solving riddles. We happened to fall into a group of friendly Canadians and one of them has a riddle app on his phone. Some are pretty easy, while others take a day or two of hiking to solve.

During another stretch we amused ourselves with a word game we’d seen being played out on signs on the trail. You think of all kinds of crazy word combinations that the letters P C T could stand for. Pina Colada Time was one of my favorites.

Some hikers amuse each other with practical jokes or pranks, like putting a big rock or a bunch of your trash in your friend’s pack and seeing how long it takes them to notice it’s there.

And then there is Toto Toyota the PCT hubcap.


When I first saw it, I thought it was the silliest thing, but then, isn’t this whole thing silly? It was found in Cajon Pass by the hikers Pretzel and Road Runner and has traveled with thru hikers on the trail ever since, each taking a turn carrying it 50-100 miles (it’s not really that heavy), then signing the back. You can follow its journey by searching the hashtag #tototoyotathepcthubcap on Instagram.

Not-a-Bear joked that the hubcap may be racking up more trail miles than I am. My response: it’s getting a free ride!

Also on this stretch, we stopped into the town of Mt. Shasta for a quick resupply and to get me some new shoe inserts at the outfitter there. I have to give another huge shout out to this outfitter, The Fifth Season, and especially Lief, the owner. He customized a pair of inserts for me by looking at my feet and the wear on my old inserts. My feet are still a work in progress, but I learned a lot from him and he gave me some extra foam to continue to add my own adjustments and get the pressure more evened out.

Northern California has been fairly flat and fairly uneventful. Here’s some photos of the scenic highlights.

 

Mt Shasta

a closer Mt Shasta

Jason getting ready for our seminightly foot soak and leg washing at Porcupine Lake where we camped one night

 

 

sunset camped on a ridgeline

 

shortly after sunrise same spot

 

hiking through the wildfire that closed the trail last year, a little eerie to think slmost exactly a year ago this was a thriving forest, now there is nothing living there

We’re in the small town of Etna now, Oregon so close we can smell it! We only have a few more days in California. It feels like a long time coming and I’m so excited!

See you in Oregon,

Comet/Catie

P.S. Did you get the riddle yet? I’ll post the answer in the next update.


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Volcanoes, Big Water Carries, and Town Food

There is such a stark contrast between our times in towns and our times on the trail. We go from one extreme to the other: from getting up early, spending all day on our feet, out in the open air, eating food out of ziplock bags to sleeping in, lying around in an air conditioned motel room on a soft bed, walking as little as possible, and eating as much as possible. Essentially, from extremely active to extremely lazy. And I love it! I love being able to order a big meal at a restaurant and finishing the entire thing (although Jason says he now has to rethink his ordering strategy to no longer include eating what’s left of my plate!). I love getting a little pang of afternoon hunger and filling it with whatever it is I’m craving – today a McFlurry.

 

ate all but 2 bites

We are zeroing today at the Charm Motel (hiker discount) in Burney, California, a little town big into fishing, and not much else. We hadn’t planned to zero or even come into this town, but here we are and happy we did.

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Burney, CA

We just completed a tough stretch of trail. Hat Creek Rim, although one of the flattest sections, is also one of the hottest and driest. It is a 29.4 mile hike on top of the rim with no water and little shade, felt a bit like being back in the dreaded desert. A lot of it was through an old burn section, so at one point in time, it had been shadier.

Our plan was to do it all in one day, but after a 27 mile day before, my feet were aching and the heat was getting to us, so we put in 25 and called it good. We did carry enough water with us to be able to camp and have a little for the 4 mile hike to the creek the next morning. It was nice to be able to see Mt. Shasta for the first time, and the view of the valley below was nice.

 

first view of Mt Shasta, through a burn area

 

Mt Shasta

So the next morning, we decided that rather than stopping at Burney Falls State Park, where we’d planned on a quick resupply, meal, and shower, we’d earned ourselves a bed in town, especially since the last town we were in didn’t have any beds for us. This time we called and booked ahead before hitching in.

We had the nice big lunch special at the Chinese restaurant, where we learned, with the free wifi there, that the new shirt I ordered online and was having shipped to the state park wasn’t going to be there until Monday. Oh well, another day in town.

This last stretch also included Lassen Volcanic National Park, which was very cool. It is also very cool that as PCT hikers we get to pass through a lot of national and state parks for free, seeing parts of them that many tourists never get to experience, as well as some other perks I’ll get into in a bit.

Lassen is still an active geothermal area.  Its last eruption was in 1921. We did a side trail to Terminal Geysere, which is actually a big steam vent.

 

Terminal Geysere, Lassen

We walked past sulphur-smelling Boiling Springs Lake, literally boiling, with an average temperature of 125 degrees, and it’s bubbling mud pots.

Boiling Springs Lake

 

bubbling mudpots

 

Lassen Park

Then we got to Drakesbad Guest Ranch, one of the best perks on the trail, in my opinion. Another hiker we’d been leap-frogging dubbed it the best shower on the trail. I would concur. Plus, it was free! They also allow hikers to swim in their hot spring-fed pool (during the guest dinner hour). It felt so good to take a refreshing shower then emerse in the warm pool for a quick soak. Then, we got an all-you-can-eat buffet BBQ dinner for $14! And this was real food, not the diner food we’d been getting off trail. Real fresh salad, super sweet corn on the cob, baked potato drenched in butter and sour cream, and a variety of grilled meats– the perfect summer meal.

We’ve got a few more town stops in California, with Oregon on our mind!

Happily well-fed,

Comet/Catie

P.S. Next mail stop will be in Ashland, Oregon. Check the “where we’ll be” page for date and address.

yes, he ate all his