Date: July 15, 2017
Miles: 1676.8 – 1701.4
“It’s not a matter of if, but when.” ~ Valley Girl
Northern California did its best to try to keep me from leaving for Oregon today.
I’ve tripped on a million rocks but today I caught a hidden one and fell face first in the dirt. You fall harder with a backpack on, and it adds insult to injury when you land and it slides up to the back of your head, pushing your face right into the ground. I jumped up, looked around to make sure no one saw me crash and burn, cleaned the dirt and rocks out of my wounds and kept truckin’. The trail took a southbound turn for a bit, then it headed north in time for some awesome trail magic provided by a couple families who are updating the Donomore Cabin. I filled my belly with sandwiches and cookies before tackling the last hill.
Finally, I made it to Oregon! The trail suddenly got better…less climbing, a crew out clearing snow for an upcoming ultra marathon, cut-back overgrowth, fields of blooming bear grass and more trail magic. At a trailhead, we found watermelon in a cooler and met hikers Sparkle Motion and Wild Card, who shared their beer with us. At the end of the day, we camped with two of our favorite hikers, Valley Girl and A-Game. It was the kind of day that makes you wonder why you would ever leave the trail.
Jennifer, you have no idea how much I’ve enjoyed your posts. Thank you for sharing!
That means a lot, Carol, thank you!