After Trail Days, everyone had different plans, but we all needed to get back to trail, one way or another. A lot of people simply walked north from the island into Washington. My plan was to get back down south to continue from northern California, over the state border and into Oregon.

The first step for me was getting back to Portland, I hopped in on a ride back with one of Rox’s friends who lives in Portland, Eli. He had a place for us to stay while we sorted out the logistics of our return to trail. As well as staying there, we also got the chance to visit the coast to see something different which we wouldn’t get to see from the trail.

I decided I wanted to take the train from Portland to Dunsmuir, but tickets were sold out until 20th August. Fortunately, Eli was more than happy to have hikers staying with him for as long as needed. I took the opportunity to check out some more of Portland while I was there, the beers and pizza by the slice are some of the best I’ve seen on trail so far.

The day came for me to catch the train south, and I boarded around 2:30 pm for a late evening trip to Dunsmuir. I’d brought snacks and drinks for the ride, and watched the sun set out the window as we travelled south through all of Oregon. When I arrived in Dunsmuir, it was around 1:30 am and the town was completely asleep. I didn’t have many options, so once the train departed I put my headlamp on and walked through the outskirts of town to find a nice ditch to sleep in until morning. My first experience truly sleeping rough, it was a bit uncomfortable but all worked out in the end.

The following day, I got lucky with a bus ride to Yreka for $1, and a connecting bus to Seiad Valley which only runs twice a week. I didn’t have enough time to start walking from Dunsmuir and still make it to Canada, so this bus connection helped me immensely. I was the only passenger on the bus to Seiad Valley, and I knew I was far behind the bubble.

I made it to Seiad Valley in the late afternoon, and a heatwave had just started. It was over 100°F in the valley, 38°C when I started the climb from the road. Like it or not, it seemed I was going to get at least a taste of NorCal before reaching Oregon.