I finally crossed from California into Oregon today. After so long in one state, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to the trail than just California. I walked from Bearground Spring to Donomore Meadows, visited Donomore Cabin along the way. Just after Donomore was the California/Oregon border. Once in Oregon, I continued walking along ridges for the rest of the day. Save for a couple of climbs and one descent, the trail was fairly flat for most of the afternoon. I covered 16.1 miles, 25.9 km today.

I woke up before dawn again today, and was out of camp early enough to catch another sunrise on trail. Cowboy camping these past few nights has really simplified my morning routine, and NorCal has given me some of the best sunrise and sunsets of the trail so far.

After a couple of hours, I made it to the Donomore Cabin, built in 1935 and recently renovated to save from collapse. The cabin was built for cattle ranchers in the area, namely the Offenbacher family who’s descendents are now working to preserve the historical structure.

From the cabin, it was only a short climb to the California/Oregon border. In all the time I’ve been out here, I’d just taken it day by day and never actually thought about this major landmark. It was quite a surreal feeling being here and actually stepping over the line from one state to the next. I stopped for quite a while to read the logbook and reflect on the months I’d spent on trail in California; Campo and the Mexican border felt like lifetimes ago.

At the top of the climb, I stepped into green forest, shade, and cooler air. The trail immediately flattened and widened with soft loam underfoot. To me, it felt as though the real border was at the top of this climb, because that’s where things truly felt like they’d changed.

I walked along the ridgeline for the rest of the afternoon. Occasionally the trail would cross over to the other side of the ridge, it felt appropriate that the NorCal side was rocky, hot, and exposed, whilst the Oregon side was lush and green. By the end of the day, huge storm clouds were forming overhead, I set up camp a little early to shelter from the weather. I ended the day with a hasty dinner under my tent, thunder rolling overhead and hail pelting all around me.