Oregon at last

In Oregon finally after 3 months and 1 day crossing the 1699 miles of trail in California. I'm excited to be deeper in the PNW and closer to my goal. Gretchen will be visiting me at Crater Lake (1830) on August 4 for a few days. I'm beyond excited to see her, and were in the process of planning for her to complete this epic hike with ne from Stehekin, WA into Canada. It's made a little more challenging by the fact that Stehekin cannot be accessed by road, but there is a 4 hr ferry that can get her there. It's definitely a remote town. I'm currently in Ashland, OR (1726) taking my first zero day since July 4 in Tahoe (1092). It's nice to sleep indoors in a bed for the first time in almost a month. As Gretchen indicated my phone was not booting, but I found a fix no thanks to Verizon. So if you've called and I haven't returned your message I apologize. The hiking has been scenic and we've been hitting 25 to 30 miles a day. I look forward to reaching Canada. Not necessarily because I'm tired of the hiking, but because I know that hitting that monument will be one of the most awesome moments of my life. I miss Gretchen terribly and look forward to returning home to her. At this point the trip is very much a mental challenge and it has been a mental journey as much as a physical one. I know that all the moments that have been difficult and where one might throw in the towel will make the accomplishment all the sweeter.

lookin' at Oregon

Andy just call me from Seiad, only about 40 miles till the Oregon border.  He hasn't taken a zero day since Tahoe, he is on a role.   He had to call me from a pay phone, his phone has been giving him trouble for a while and finally took the death plunge.  I hate the idea of him out there without a phone.  He's hiking with Fairway, who has a phone, which makes me feel better.  He'll have to pick up a new phone in Ashland, maybe.  Ashland is not a very big town and he may not be able to find a Verizon rep.  I'll be seeing him in a week at Crater Lake, so hopefully we can figure this out before then.  He hates being unconnected and not be able to call me.

Mt Shasta

Andy has been skirting around Mt Shasta for several days now.   Which means he's in Northern Cali!

He's at mile 1535 and will be in Oregon at the end of the month, he is booking it.  I'm so proud of him, I'm sure there are days that he misses his bed and a daily shower.  I miss him a lot and I know he has a tough time without my world famous head massages.  I'll be seeing him in two weeks and get to rough up his beard.

I defended my masters thesis last Friday and I know that Andy felt bad about missing it.  This is one of the draw backs of being a hairy nomad for 5 months.  But Andy has supported and pushed me through the program for the last two years and I love his support and encouragement.  He was able to get cell service along I-5 and he called me afterwards.  Another month and a half and he'll be back and ready to help me make taco and pizza dinner.  I can't wait to see him again.

Half way

Andy is half way through the trail.  

Andy is in northern California and has hiked more than 1300 miles, the picture above marks the exact middle of the trail.  He has been on the trail since April 28th and in that time has gotten in crazy shape.  He tells me that he hikes an average of 3 miles an hour, this is regardless of the terrain.  Hiking 3 mph, up hill, with a pack on for 25 miles straight is something to be proud of.  

His goal is to be in southern Oregon by August 1st.  Our plan is to have me visit him in Ashland, Oregon.   This will be for only a day or two, but we're both looking forward to it.  I miss him a whole bunch,  it's been hard having him gone.   

Sierra City, almost halfway!

Made it to Sierra City (mile 1197.5).  Another week and I'll be halfway to Canada.  I have a ton more awesome photos to post of the Sierra, but can't seem to get them efficiently off of my camera so I may have to send the memory card from Belden (mile 1289) to Gretchen.  We're done with the Sierra Nevada now and won't be over 8,000 ft again, I believe.  We can see that the mountains mellow out to the north and now look like big hills compared to what we have travelled through.  We did get a long distance shot of Shasta from the mountains yesterday.  At this distance it looked like a white pyramid totally covered in snow.  For those that don't know, it's a Cascade volcano that stands a little over 14,000 ft.  Looking forward to walking through the dense forests ahead and getting to the Cascades and Oregon in the next 3-4 weeks.  Gretchen and I will try to get the photos posted soon.  They're some of the most gorgeous.