NorCal & Oregon

I took an alternate route today to put a bit more distance between myself and the Emigrant Fire. For the first section this morning, I was on the PCT with Catch-up, Brewmaster and Canyon Man. We hiked around Tolo Mountain and past Windigo Butte to Windigo Pass. From this point, I left the PCT, while… Read more

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the wildfire the last few days; the Emigrant Fire had grown to 19 500 acres since 26 August. Today we walked into the area affected by smoke from that fire. At first the smell was faint, but as we walked around the mountains and towards the fire, the… Read more

I walked along some of the flattest and softest trail I’ve ever seen today. In the morning, I walked to highway 138 and had lunch at a huge water cache. In the afternoon, we climbed up and around Mt Thielsen to camp at Theilsen Creek Meadows, a total distance of 16 miles, 25.7 km. When… Read more

We hiked up to, and then around the Crater Lake Rim today. Starting from Mazama Village, we got to the top of the rim around 11:30 am, with enough time for a couple of beers at the lodge. We walked around the Crater Lake Rim trail to the far side of the lake before descending… Read more

I was very lucky to be able to stay at Callahan’s Lodge last night. Inferno Man had booked a room for himself, but they had given him a double queen at no extra charge. The room was huge, and all the other hikers were invited to stay, but these guys were dedicated to the trail… Read more

The storm had passed this morning and I woke to a fresh day with clear skies. I climbed gently from camp up to Meridian Overlook, on the way up I saw a wildfire starting up on the side of Siskiyou Peak. The trail follows a ridge around for several miles to Grouse Gap. I then… Read more

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… Read more

I hiked up from Cook and Green today. On the way up, it was clear that a lot of trail work had been done to clear the blowdowns which people had been warning me about at trail days. After climbing the ridge, the trail was mostly flat and the going was quite easy. I passed… Read more

Getting started on trail today felt like the beginning of a whole different life. After spending so much time in the Sierra, enjoying whatever came my way and and any blue-blaze (secondary route) or sidequest I happened upon, it was time to get serious (ish). I woke up while it was still dark this morning,… Read more

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… Read more